Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-03-10-Speech-2-338"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20090310.31.2-338"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, this evening, in this session, we are concluding a lengthy piece of work and I believe that we should all consider ourselves satisfied with the results achieved. We should be satisfied for a variety of reasons, which are those that concern the Union as a whole, because it is clear that allowing the European Union to create for itself regional regulatory areas where international standards already exist to govern them, and to come between the Member States and international organisations in defining rules, is something that must only be done when necessary. Yet it is clear that it was necessary. Unfortunately, the incidents that set the process in motion made it clear.
The result achieved is a result that, I believe, cannot satisfy everyone, in the sense that it is an honourable compromise of a lengthy piece of work, which has seen all the institutions involved – the Commission, Parliament and the Council – play their part, with each representing the interests they are appointed to represent, so to speak. This ensures that the whole sector and the whole framework of maritime safety have today taken a step forward. After all, my colleagues and I have had the honour and the opportunity to tackle more specific problems. I had the responsibility and pleasure of dealing with the liability of carriers, in the event of accidents involving passengers on board.
I must, of course, admit that, as always, the result falls short of our stated ambitions, ambitions that sometimes even seemed like they might be achieved. The ambition was to immediately extend cover and protection to everyone who gets on board a ship, whether in international waters, national waters or on rivers. However, the reality of the situation, so to speak, required that the scope be partially reduced. I am aware, let us say, but I cannot fail to point out that something is missing from this set of rules, owing to the fact that many ships that travel indiscriminately between rivers and the sea are not covered in this way and, certainly, this is a point that should be covered somehow. I am sure that the Commission will make provisions along these lines as soon as possible.
We set, however, a rather long period to ensure that voyages in domestic waters are also covered. This problem regarding the length of time is a problem of transition periods, and perhaps it is an issue that we underestimated. I am afraid that the risk we run is that they are too long and that we will therefore have to wait too long for this. It is better, however, that they are there, rather than not having changed anything.
The other main discussion point – and, still, the point we have reached – is that this protection begins at a certain time. Certainly, we can now tell our fellow citizens that when they get on board a ship they are covered, in basic terms, from the end of 2012, irrespective of how they travel. To sum up, we have, also from this point of view, enabled all citizens to feel a little more European, since the same cover will apply in any sea, in any location, for any ship."@en1
|
| lpv:videoURI |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples