Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-04-22-Speech-3-300"
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"en.20090422.52.3-300"2
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".
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance joins with all the Members who have spoken before me in expressing our condolences, our strong sense of solidarity and our support for those who have suffered as a result of this great tragedy, this disaster, this natural event, which was, however, caused by a whole host of things, and I do hope that the European Union, in a visible way, will be able to make a positive contribution to this situation.
There is one thing that cannot be denied: the impact of this earthquake could have been much less severe, the tragedy should not have been this great, because it is clear that a whole series of buildings and houses have collapsed and they should not have done. There has been negligence, there has been fraud and there has been deception, and we must establish who is liable, because this, too, is an essential part of reconstruction, which is also the moral reconstruction of the Abruzzo, its people and our country as a whole. Reconstruction should be an opportunity for huge innovation in sustainable development for those people who have shown us all that they not only have great dignity, but also great courage and an overwhelming desire to start afresh.
At this point, the least demagogical, most practical approach that will allow Europe to take swift action to support the emergency efforts and reconstruction in the Abruzzo is to review the region’s 2007-2013 operative programme, that is to say the Structural Funds. The Abruzzo operative programme currently provides for EUR 140 million in European cofinancing, for a total programme cost of EUR 345 million, with the difference made up by national cofinancing.
We are well aware that one of the problems we must face is that of Italy’s organisation in cofinancing the funds that the European Union is sure to grant, and on this point we Members must be extremely vigilant.
As I was saying, first and foremost, we must ask for the other European funds already planned for the Abruzzo, such as the Social Fund, to be reviewed and redirected towards measures and priorities that serve reconstruction. In this context, the Abruzzo operative programme could involve a reallocation of structural fund resources earmarked for other Italian regions that are now more competitive. We know that the European Commission is willing to evaluate grants, and this same mechanism can be used for other Member States.
Following this, the Italian authorities, primarily the government, with the cooperation of all local bodies concerned, must move quickly to calculate the cost of the direct damage sustained, in order to meet the deadline of 15 June 2009 for submitting an application for funds within the framework of the European Solidarity Fund. The amount of support granted will depend on the damage sustained, but will not in any case be more than a few million euros. This fund exists precisely in order to provide fast, effective and flexible economic assistance, therefore it is important that the Italian authorities quantify this damage, otherwise it will be difficult to get funding.
The national authorities also need to get to work on the loan application to the European Investment Bank, so that adequate sums can be granted for fast and sustainable reconstruction in this region."@en1
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