Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-10-22-Speech-3-435"
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"en.20081022.23.3-435"2
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"Madam President, thank you for the question. First of all, I think that in the action plan we are to present, we should insist on the need to give information to European citizens when they move from one city to another, so that they know what the situation is and what they will find when they travel from Stockholm to Madrid as opposed to from Rome to Vienna; so that they understand the set-up, what taxes they may need to pay, and can organise their trips, be they for work or as a tourist. This is already important and I believe we have work to do.
Of course, honourable Members, I would stress the issue of the principle of subsidiarity, because it is not for the European Union to intervene in matters that fall strictly within the remit of local authorities. The same goes for financial aspects; the Commission has no place to intervene. Funding is a problem. Of course, in our action plan, we will seek to gather all the suggestions that have been put forward at the various hearings, in order to provide a service and assistance to local authorities, who are then at liberty to accept or reject them. Our aim is to try to harmonise the system, at least in terms of information for citizens, and to provide the different local authorities with as much information as possible regarding experiences from other cities, for them to make use of if they wish. This is important.
As regards funding, I believe that each local authority is free to do as they see fit, without, of course, disrupting the market or the free movement of citizens. In each case, the most suitable solution must always be chosen. As regards the last question from Mr Rübig, however, the directive on public service obligations leaves local authorities the freedom to decide whether or not to call for tenders. I think that the European Union, from this point of view, has once again insisted on the principle of subsidiarity.
I think that this is right, because our work should not be invasive: we should not regulate everything and anything, we should be concerned with the big issues, giving big answers and, if anything, helping local bodies and Member States to solve problems, where they can, perhaps with the aid and support of the European Union, without this support being dominant or invasive. In my opinion, in local public transport, this should be a principle that we all keep to, and I believe we want to do so."@en1
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