Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-03-10-Speech-2-341"
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"en.20090310.31.2-341"2
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Mr President, today we have completed a difficult task, a hard road that the Parliament, Council and Commission have trodden together, beset by difficulties to be overcome, technical problems and some not inconsiderable conflict.
Now I would like to address not only all my fellow members in this Chamber, who are about to put the final seal on our work to introduce a new maritime package, but also all the European Union citizens that you represent. On the eve of the European elections, concluding this difficult task means sending out a strong message from the institutions to all European citizens. The job of the European institutions is to impose rules in response to issues raised by the public. When they have to, they can overcome difficulties and reach an agreement for the greater good of the half a billion Europeans who live within our borders. They are capable of sending out a message to guarantee safety. They are capable of sending out a message to protect the environment. They are capable of sending out a message to defend the rights of passengers. They are capable of sending out a message to protect companies and ensure the rules are respected.
Because, in Europe, we traditionally base our legal system on cast-iron legal certainties, introducing new rules to the maritime sector means again giving European citizens rules, rules that they can respect, rules that can improve conditions in the transport system; better conditions for this important sector that affects our seas. This is the reason I wanted to stress the importance of your vote over this package because, over and above its actual contents, it represents a political message sent out by the European institutions. The scope of this decision transcends our immediate needs, transcends the issues we are dealing with, that you have decided to turn into rules with the consent of the Commission and the Council. I would like to reiterate: this is a political choice, a message we are sending out to European citizens to have faith in their institutions, because they are able to tackle problems and resolve them.
So I certainly want to thank the Commission staff that made it possible for first Mr Barrot and then myself to work as effectively as possible. I want to thank the French Presidency and the Slovenian Presidency. I want to thank Mrs Bussereau for all the work she put in during the knottiest stage of the negotiations, and I also want to stress the important work done by all the rapporteurs, the Committee on Transport and Tourism and Parliament as a whole. My thanks also to Mr de Grandes Pascual, to Mrs Vlasto, to Mr Sterckx, to Mr Kohlíček, to the Chairman, Mr Costa, to Mr Savary – whom I thank once again for his work – to Mr Fernandes for his contribution and his ability to ultimately close the negotiations by overcoming even partisan or entrenched attitudes in the attempt to give the public some tangible answers.
Our challenge was to consolidate European legislative instruments to fight illegal shipping and prevent maritime accidents and the pollution of our seas. We must now use all the maritime transport regulatory instruments at our disposal to prevent the recurrence of the accidents that spurred us to action. These instruments firstly concern the Flag State, which bears primary responsibility for maritime safety, and a political line has now been drawn. All European Flag States must, without exception, be on the white list and be in possession of instruments designed for this purpose. A consolidated framework for European accreditation of classification companies will also allow us more effective control of our shipping.
Other devices will be applied to the Port State. Certain ships and shipping companies must no longer be welcome in our waters because they do not meet minimum safety regulations. Coastal states are subject to yet another set of measures: effective monitoring of ships over short and long distances represents an essential preventive tool. Reinforced rules on the accommodation of ships in distress in a place of refuge will make sure we can prevent shipping accidents from turning into environmental disasters. We must act to prevent whilst also taking responsibility for the consequences of accidents and learning lessons from them. Shipping companies must take out adequate third party and passenger liability insurance policies. A common investigatory framework will also provide us with optimum feedback on accidents so we can learn from them. It goes without saying that risk cannot be removed altogether from maritime transport, as it is from other sectors, but it is the duty of the law maker, the duty of whoever represents the public, to do their best to limit these risks as far as possible.
So I believe that this is our common goal. I believe that we have made a step forward that is important by any standards. The package you are about to adopt certainly represents a great stride in the right direction and – I reiterate – a great political message, a great sign of will by the European institutions to provide answers to the questions asked by 500 million citizens."@en1
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