Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-01-17-Speech-1-043-000"
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"en.20110117.12.1-043-000"2
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"Mr President, it is a good way to start the New Year with this debate and tomorrow’s vote on the deal concluded under the Belgian Presidency on this important report on construction products.
On the separate issue over transparency concerning who serves on technical bodies and how they work, I think that we have moved the bodies which approve products further than was originally foreseen. The transparency over processes and the approval of products can only help break down the walls and barriers which exist in the European Union today. This should help companies in the EU and, in particular, the special conditions set for micro-enterprises are also helpful in these tough economic conditions.
In the European Union, we should always strive for better regulation. Along with my shadow rapporteurs, I have modified the sections of the report which are no longer relevant or which were so unclear that no one was able to follow them or ensure their application. For an industry such as the construction sector, it is imperative that the rules are clear and I look forward to seeing the difference these particular changes will make.
The scale is huge and the challenges many, but today, these new rules which will come into force through Member States in the next 24 months will help the construction sector as we attempt to create economic growth and, through this, jobs.
I would like to start by thanking all colleagues who made this possible for their hard work, their thoughtfulness and commitment to making this proposal a reality. I would also like to put on record my thanks to the IMCO Secretariat and to the Belgian Presidency, in particular, to Mr Vertessen and Mr Haerynck for all their dedicated work.
As I said in my report quoting the poet Robert Frost - ‘Good fences make good neighbours’ (with an implied question mark). It is important that we maintain the momentum to complete the internal market and break down barriers to trade. As Mario Monti in his report on the Single Market acknowledges, ‘Europe is still in a phase of ‘market construction’ that requires breaking down barriers to cross border activity, cutting dead wood of national administrative and technical barriers and overcoming corporate resistance’.
With this proposal we have attempted to make the single market work more effectively, we have attempted to have clearer and more transparent systems in place so that products placed on the market are of the highest standards and that the construction industry has a fairer market place to trade within.
Currently, the construction industry is facing the economic challenges caused by the global financial meltdown of 2008 and exacerbated by the slow economic recovery we face across the EU. We should never forget what an important sector the construction industry is – 12 million EU citizens are directly employed in the sector and 26 million EU citizens are dependent on it – that is 38 million people reliant on the sector. For economic growth, construction is essential for jobs and employment.
It is also one of the most dangerous sectors to work within. Taking Germany, whose safety record is second to none, one construction worker in 5 000 will suffer a fatal accident during their lifetime. The health and safety of those who work at the coalface of construction should always be remembered and it is important to have acknowledgement of this in the report.
It was with this in mind that we successfully managed on both sides to come to some agreement on the issue of labelling hazardous substances, so that the report was in line with REACH but also helps those who work with products which, in the past, have led to chronic conditions and death – conditions such as asbestos-related mesotheliomia and, to an extent, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease caused by working conditions and by inhaling dust.
The proper labelling of hazardous substances can help those with these lung conditions and illustrates how interlinked our work here is. I am proud of the fact that this report was conducted and concluded under the European Year of the Lung. Lung health is so often neglected and I was delighted that in this Parliament, we recognised its importance.
I would also like to briefly comment on SMEs. In Parliament, we are urged to ‘think small first’ and this should carry throughout our work. This is why we have managed to create a second stream for smaller corporations to place their products on the internal market and the system should make it cheaper and more practical for SMEs to reach a larger market place which can only increase their trading potential."@en1
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