Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-04-20-Speech-2-044"
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"en.20100420.3.2-044"2
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"Mr President, I welcome the opportunity that this debate gives us to face up to our responsibilities.
In response to today’s crises, the national dimension and intergovernmental decisions are not sufficient, nor are simple solutions, even if they are based on statistical models.
It is right to recognise the diligence with which, on the day after airspace was closed, the Spanish Presidency of the Council saw the opportunity for a European approach in order to find a solution to the chaos that was already spreading beyond the national governments and, more importantly, was plunging thousands of travellers within and outside our borders into a desperate situation. Repatriating them must be our priority.
While the initial measures were adequate, according to the principle of precaution and guaranteeing safety for all citizens – those flying and those under the flight path – the lack of clarity about the future and a growing feeling of unease, as a result of the complexity of the intergovernmental decisions, raised the big question that is always raised: what is Europe doing? We have to acknowledge that the joint work by Commissioner Kallas and the Spanish Presidency succeeded in record time – which is never quick enough, but to be honest, given the difficulties, they did it in record time – in changing the approach. Although this approach is precautionary, as it has to be, it raises important questions.
The conclusions of this choice are: the application of passengers’ rights does not stand up in an exceptional situation. The work done at European and national level was not sufficient. In the short term, we need to repatriate and provide urgent solutions, but in the medium term, we need to improve.
The External Action Service should also be able to respond to these emergencies; in some cases, it cannot close at the weekend.
The air traffic sector, travel agents, the tourism industry, logistics, etc., which were only just glimpsing an end to the crisis, have taken a real battering, and I welcome the presence of Commissioner Almunia, who will be responsible for managing the solution required for the sector.
Ending the uncertainty as soon as possible will also help us to get out of this crisis. Finally, we clearly need a replacement system for air travel, even once there is a single European sky. The railways, the roads and the maritime sector put together have not managed to replace it."@en1
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