Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-09-26-Speech-1-143-000"
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"en.20110926.19.1-143-000"2
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Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for again emphasising the number of MEPs who wished to take part in this debate. It shows that tourism policy is a priority policy for us. It is part of the policy for entrepreneurship and I am pleased that many of you stressed the importance of, and the support that we should give to, the small and medium-sized enterprises and the micro-enterprises operating in this sector.
I would stress – and thereby reassure the speakers from the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament too – our strong commitment to protecting jobs, to respect for workers, and I highlighted in my speech how important the tourism sector is for employment growth, especially for youth employment. I intend to continue to make every effort, as I did as Commissioner for Transport, to protect the rights of travellers, including tourists.
I would remind you that, fortunately, we managed to adopt – with Parliament’s support too – the charter of passengers’ rights covering all transport sectors, especially for passengers with reduced mobility. I intend to build on this work to develop tourism packages, just as we did for air transport. I believe that, as Commissioner responsible for industry and tourism, I can continue this action which I launched as Commissioner for Transport; it is never specified, but I am the Commissioner responsible for industry, enterprise and tourism.
I would repeat, we must capitalise on all sectors, including their specific features. I am thinking of food tourism, including the wonderful restaurants in Donostia-San Sebastián, perhaps among the best in Europe. Therefore every European area represents added value which, consequently, we should highlight. Lastly I would reply, in conclusion, to those of you who are concerned by an invasion by the European Commission: I do not take an invasive view of the Commission and the European Union; instead Europe can represent added value.
There may be beautiful places in the EU which are worth visiting, but which the Chinese, Russians or South Americans have never heard of. Visiting Europe also means visiting these places, these other lesser-known places. It means offering the chance to develop the principle of subsidiarity in the field of tourism throughout Europe.
This is what I intend to do, and I must thank, once more, Mr Fidanza for bringing Parliament’s politics in line with Commission politics with his report. I would like to reassure all the Members that I firmly pledge to continue my efforts so that tourism policy continues to gather ever greater momentum, so that tourism policy becomes ever stronger, so that it can genuinely become a key sector for growth, competitiveness, employment and the protection of the environment in our European Union.
My main commitment, as you know, is to support the business world, and, I repeat, as I said in my first speech, as far as I am concerned, the tourism sector is a fully fledged part of the business and industry sector. Several remarks made during the debate are entirely in line with the Commission’s position, and, I repeat, we are in perfect agreement and this only serves to consolidate a joint action by the European Commission and the European Parliament. No one could be happier about this than me, having spent 15 years as a Member of Parliament.
Together we shall be able to put in place a policy to drive tourism policy and its coordinated development which, I repeat, does not violate the principles of subsidiarity: the competences of the regions and the Member States, I repeat, will remain as they are now. European policy and coordination and governance at European level only serve to provide added value. They certainly serve to develop and make the most of the internal market, but they also serve to attract more tourists from wealthier countries to the European Union.
This is why I am making intensive efforts to attract Latin Americans. I am making efforts to attract visitors from Brazil, India, Russia and China. Clearly, as many speakers pointed out, visas are a key issue. The European Commission has acknowledged this, we are deeply committed and we have spoken about this in informal Council meetings with ministers for tourism: we do have a problem when it comes to security.
My position is that without the slightest doubt, terrorists are not worried, they have no problem obtaining a visa. I think, however, that we need to work harder to try to solve the problem, or at least facilitate the issue of visas. I fully agree with the commitment regarding the low season so that hotels and all tourist facilities can stay open as long as possible, hence the pilot projects which we are launching, and, I repeat, the Latin American project is important as far as I am concerned.
I also agree that we need to exploit all sectors in order to attract tourists, including the sports sector. It is no accident that the Commission’s document mentions the London Olympics as an event that we should capitalise on – likewise the Milan Expo – in short, everything that Europe has to offer must become a means of boosting tourist numbers.
I fully support the strong action promoting green tourism. Tourism must also be a tool to make the best use of Europe’s environment and natural heritage, whether in coastal or mountainous regions, and as has already been stressed, the idea of developing cycling tourism is something which appeals to me, and is a sector which is continuing to gain ground.
The other day, during an official visit to Bucharest, I talked at length with the Minister for Tourism who had launched a project to develop cycling tourism precisely in Romania’s capital city. I also support the idea that we need to give due importance to areas such as the Danube Delta, and also to countries which on the face of things are not top of the list when it comes to tourism policy. Every country of Europe has, however, an exceptional heritage to offer.
I am delighted that countries such as Poland are making every effort – as did the Hungarian Presidency previously – to support a European tourism policy that certainly represents added value for the growth of our economy, including by taking part in the summit on 6 October. Therefore, I can only congratulate Mr Fidanza and all the Members: it is rare to see so many MEPs in this Chamber during a debate at this time of day, which means that this topic is of great interest."@en1
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