Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-07-06-Speech-2-609"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20100706.34.2-609"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to thank the original rapporteur, Mrs Lucas, along with the negotiators from the other political groups, very sincerely for their exceptionally high levels of cooperation. My thanks also go to Spain, which headed the talks in the Council of Ministers, and the Commission. Both the Commission and the Council altered their original views significantly, and the EU will now shut down its market in illegally harvested timber. This breakthrough, which is of global importance, would not have been possible without the support of a strong majority in Parliament for a ban on illegal timber.
Now, a clear ban has been agreed on operators that place timber or timber products on the EU market for the first time. These operators must be aware of the wood’s origin. Retailers have an obligation to record where they have purchased the wood or timber product and where they have sold it on. In this way, it is possible to discover, for example, the origin of wood used for furniture.
Parliament would have liked a ban on the entire chain, and not just the first seller. The regulation negotiated, however, contains guidelines requiring subsequent links in the sales chain and monitoring organisations not to act against the aims of the law. All parties must therefore take responsibility for ensuring that no illegal timber is sold in the EU.
I am sorry that the Council did not agree to list this regulation under the directive on the protection of the environment through criminal law. I would appeal strongly to the Commission that it should rework the directive as soon as possible to apply also to the latest environmental legislation. The most blatant breaches of the ban on the sale of illegal timber should be treated as crimes.
Parliament’s negotiators were concerned about the concept of negligible risk that came out of the Council’s insistence on a statutory text. We examined the sort of contexts in which this concept occurs in current legislation. It seems to mean a risk that is, to all intents and purposes, zero, in laws that concern such issues as genetically modified micro organisms, BSE (mad cow disease), food hygiene, cosmetics, pesticides, etc. Parliament therefore accepts the concept of negligible risk, understanding it to mean a risk that is, to all intents and purposes, zero.
With respect to the shortcomings that remain in the act, I would still like to mention the fact that printed matter is excluded from its scope of application. I fear that this could turn out to be a huge loophole, and one that will grow in size, and an incentive to outsource the printing of books and magazines to countries such as Turkey and China.
A total of 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions are caused by deforestation, and a part of that by illegal harvesting. Illegal harvesting also destroys biodiversity. It is because of this that we are losing, for example, potential medicines before there is even a chance to study them.
For years, the EU has preached against illegal timber, though at the same time hypocritically providing it with it one of the biggest markets there is. Despite the grand speeches, the EU has, through its actions, promoted the destruction of the world’s natural forests. The fact that the EU is now to prohibit placing illegally harvested timber on the market is a globally significant breakthrough and an excellent example of how the EU can, again through its own actions, be part of the solution to what is a global problem. This legislation is a way for us to support all those countries that wish to curb illegal harvesting in their own territory."@en1
|
| lpv:videoURI |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples