Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-04-22-Speech-3-482"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20090422.60.3-482"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"−
Mr President, Commissioner, Mr Savary, ladies and gentlemen, we are here in a parliamentary assembly that is made for voting on texts, Commissioner, and we are above all in a parliamentary assembly so that texts are implemented.
You have not answered our questions today, Commissioner. You have made what is, in a way, a half-hearted commitment; you have been quite firm on the principle, but you have not provided us with any guarantees.
The situation is in fact serious. Why? 400 million Europeans live in cities, and those 400 million Europeans are affected by living conditions such as this that cause them to waste time every day in traffic jams. We know that these traffic jams cost us 1% of GDP. At the same time as we are talking about a recovery plan – an economic recovery plan – we are letting billions of euro go to waste.
Swifter action is required, Commissioner, for these action plans on urban mobility are a crucial element of the recovery plan, but they are also crucial in terms of the climate-change challenge since, as you pointed out, 40% of pollution is found in cities. I should not like to ignore the safety aspect, either, since two out of three road accidents occur in cities. When we know that one death costs nearly EUR 1 million, and one case of serious injuries more than EUR 1 million, you see the economic cost and the human cost that this challenge of urban mobility represents each year.
Thus, for all of these practical reasons, on the eve of the European elections, we are asking you, Commissioner, if possible during the conclusion of this evening’s debate, to go further in your proposals and in your promises, not by making general promises, but by committing to an action plan – your action plan – so that our fellow citizens will be more inclined to vote on 7 June.
We note today that, after the excellent work carried out by your predecessor with regard to the Green Paper and to the 400-odd contributions that have followed it, work has barely moved on, to the extent that, as you yourself repeated just now, it was interesting that the European Parliament should have expressed an opinion.
Indeed, nature abhors a vacuum, so when the European Commission does not do its job, it is Parliament that has to do it, and, in that respect, I must say – and you have said it too, Commissioner – that the work done by Mr Savary is very interesting since, in fact, he has provided you with all the material needed to draft the action plan.
I do not mean that a role reversal is taking place between the Commission and Parliament, but we should note that, while the Treaty of Lisbon has yet to be adopted, Parliament is in fact seizing a little more power.
This work by Mr Savary is excellent because it takes account once again of a number of proposals by the Committee on Regional Development.
While respecting the principle of subsidiarity, of course, we expect you to present us with a guide. The latter will be useful. Its aim will not be to constrain local authorities, but rather to help them. We expect you to present us with indicators – again, not as a constraint, but as a support. Above all we also expect you to present us with the travel plan-related elements. In certain countries, these exist; in certain countries, they are even mandatory, they are absolutely vital.
I should like to give an example. At the Urban Housing Intergroup, which I have the honour of chairing, we have highlighted urban growth over the last few years: in 10 years, urban growth has covered three times the surface of Luxembourg. So, how is that linked to our debate this evening? It has a very direct link since city-based users travel exactly 20% more each day due to urban growth, and more than 70% use their own cars.
All of this is a means of saying that, when the Committee on Regional Development asks you to observe the condition not only of the integrated approach but also of the travel plans, it is establishing a general principle that we very much hope you will take into account in your action plan.
This issue has obviously already been raised within our Urban Housing Intergroup, and we would like to express our gratitude to you in advance for taking account of the integrated approach here too."@en1
|
| lpv:videoURI |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples