One-minute speeches on matters of political importance
President
The next item is one-minute speeches on matters of political importance.
Simon Busuttil
(MT) I would like to start by saying that I, too, congratulate the new Commissioner, Mrs Vassiliou. Madam President, the decision that we are going to take tomorrow to approve the granting of almost EUR 700 000 from the Globalisation Fund to 675 Maltese workers who lost their jobs with the companies VF and Bortex in Malta is a display of solidarity, and solidarity is a main pillar of the European Union. If the European Union means anything, it is this; that yes, the Member States should open up their economies and markets to competition, but at the same time they are not alone, and the European Union is there to facilitate challenges, to help us exploit them and to reduce the negative impact that may result from them. Madam President, today the workers of VF and Bortex have a better idea of what solidarity means and a better idea of what the European Union means, and I, from here, salute them.
Rovana Plumb
(RO) The recent demonstrations in Ljubljana have brought to the forefront the subject of salary differences between women and men, as a negative factor in the achievement of the social cohesion desideratum.

Although we have made important progress at the European Union level, there is still a 15% difference and, in Romania, a 13% difference.
I would like to call attention to a problem that persists in the public sector, namely in the fields where mainly women work - healthcare, social assistance, education, light industry and public administration - which are some of the most poorly remunerated.
I welcome the support Commissioner Špidla has shown in the issue of eliminating salary differences and I believe it is necessary to accelerate the measures contained in the related action plan, especially Item 2 - salary differences as the main component of employment policies.
Marian Harkin
Madam President, I would like to say a few words on the implementation of the Habitats Directive in Ireland, with particular reference to turf-cutting on raised bogs.
Irish turf-cutters and bog owners are now being asked to cease cutting turf for personal use. This situation has arisen because of the unrestricted industrial and commercial turf-cutting right across the EU, which has resulted in virtually all of Europe's raised bogs being destroyed. It is vitally important to understand that for many Irish people, both rural and urban, turf-cutting has been practised for generations. These people should not be made to pay the price for the destruction of bogs by others. Also, given that oil is now fetching approximately EUR 110 per barrel, we can see that turf is now a very valuable economic resource for the individuals concerned.
In this context, at national level there must be full compensation for the loss of turf-cutting rights, and flexible arrangements will have to be put in place so that we can balance the rights of owners against the need to conserve the raised bogs.
Willy Meyer Pleite
(ES) Thank you very much, Madam President. I would like to ask the European Commission to act quickly regarding the problem that the accredited Spanish press is experiencing in the Kingdom of Morocco: the Moroccan Government is coercing and threatening to expel the Spanish accredited press for covering the conflict in the Sahara.
Since January of this year, Televisión Española, TV3 and Canal Sur have not been allowed permission to broadcast due to the coverage that they have been giving to the conflict, and recently the correspondent for Cadena COPE has been threatened with expulsion, along with Cadena SER and the newspaper La Vanguardia.
I think that it is unacceptable, with our neighbourhood policy, for a government - the Government of Morocco - to create a serious problem of freedom of expression and to threaten the whole of the Spanish accredited press in the Kingdom of Morocco, unlike the rest of the European press. I therefore call for a rapid, forceful response from the European Commission in order to put an end to this situation.
Irena Belohorská
(SK) Right at the start of my speech I want to say that I am not happy to see two neighbouring countries that are both part of today's common Europe washing their dirty linen here in the European Parliament.
What is the case of the Hungarian village of Mlynky about? According to the latest statistics, 54% of the village's inhabitants are Slovaks. The mayor of Mlynky has evicted five Slovak associations from the two rooms in which they carried out their activities. Let me say that when it comes to treatment of the Slovak minority, this act is only the tip of the iceberg. In a Slovak school in the Hungarian village, Slovak is taught as a foreign language for 3 hours a week and a priest says mass in Hungarian. The bilingual village paper is not published any more.
I want to thank the Hungarian President, Mr Sólyom, who visited the village right at the beginning and listened to both parties. I also want to thank the Hungarian Ombudsman, who in this case favours the Slovak minority. The local authorities, however, seem to be standing their ground. The friendship bridge near the town of Ostrihom, paid for with EU funds, is only 30 kilometres away from this village. I hope that friendship prevails in this area, the friendship symbolised by this bridge.
Dariusz Maciej Grabowski
(PL) Madam President, in Bucharest the Germans stood against an official invitation to Ukraine and Georgia to join NATO. The reason they gave was their concern and anxiety that relations with Russia should not deteriorate. The Germans know, however, that Russia's fears are entirely groundless, as NATO is a defensive pact and has done much to maintain peace in Europe and many regions of the world.
The questions therefore arise as to what, whom and against whom the Germans wish to arm and represent in the progressively unifying Europe of the 21st century. Surely not against states in south-eastern Europe, including Ukraine and Georgia, with their experience of Soviet occupation? In this progressively unifying Europe, do the Germans wish to resurrect the phantoms and demons of 20th century politics, i.e. unions and pacts that led to wars, crimes, the Holocaust and the division of Europe? Is the position taken by Germany in Bucharest a warning signal that a common European foreign policy may be realised at the bidding of the Germans, looking after their own interests, but forgetting the bitter truth of history?
Urszula Krupa
(PL) Madam President, the Council of Europe was set up to protect human rights - which includes the right of every person to life - and to promote common fundamental values while at the same time strengthening security for the citizens of Europe, and this constitutes a denial of the right to kill. Meanwhile, at its plenary session on 16 April 2008 the Parliamentary Assembly will be examining a report entitled 'Access to safe and legal abortion in Europe', in which it is recommended that women are guaranteed access to abortion, that obstacles to the performance of abortions are removed, and that contraceptives are made available at low cost, including early-abortion methods, which is not only harmful from a medical aspect, but also highly unethical.
I would like to express my opposition to the report, which, in denying the aims for which the Council of Europe was set up, amounts to the promotion of murder of the most defenceless and of contraception.
Marie Anne Isler Béguin
(FR) Madam President, the energy and climate package marks the arrival of a new kind of blackmail: blackmail using carbon emissions. Having announced 575 job losses at Gandrange in Moselle on 4 April 2008, Arcelor-Mittal is agreeing to keep 124 jobs on the site provided that it can have CO2 emissions certificates. And to sweeten the pill of the job losses in Lorraine, Arcelor-Mittal is allowing rumours to circulate of a possible pilot CO2 capture project, although this process has not yet been validated in terms of its energy neutrality. Gandrange in Moselle is becoming the Trojan horse of the energy-intensive industries, with their great defender in the European Council, the French President, Mr Sarkozy.
I am delighted that the Commissioner is with us because I would really like us to reject this new kind of blackmail using carbon emissions. To be effective, the energy and climate package must follow the beat of European legislation. The European Parliament must demand that the Council comply with the rules we are set and not give in to the sirens of industry seeking free quotas. We as co-legislator must ensure fair access to quotas for European SMEs against the large industrial companies.
Kinga Gál
(HU) Hungarian citizens who emigrated from Romania to Hungary and became pensioners after 2007 following Romania's accession to the European Union have not yet received the pension they are entitled to for their years of pensionable service in Romania.
On the basis of the agreement in force between Romania and the other members of the European Union, from 1 January 2007 the Romanian authorities were supposed to make pension payments directly to those affected. For some months now, the Romanians have failed to do this, and Hungarian citizens drawing their pension from the time of Romania's accession in 2007 are only receiving the portion of their pension due to them in Hungary. The Romanian authorities tend to procrastinate when it comes to settling such matters, despite the fact that the relevant EU directives are supposed to be in force in Romania too.
Since it is the job of the European Commission to oversee compliance with EU directives, I ask the Commission to investigate what is happening in Romania as regards assessment and payment of pensions, and to call the attention of the Romanian authorities to the need to resolve this problem as soon as possible. It is small consolation that these pensioners would win their case in Luxembourg. Thank you very much.
Miloš Koterec
(SK) The local government in the Hungarian village of Mlynky, where 55% of the inhabitants are Slovak, approved the mayor's proposal to evict two Slovak minority organisations from the traditional 'Slovak House'.
The organisations protested to the local authorities in writing, drawing attention in their letter to the fact that it was a violation of the existing status and damaged the national interests of the Slovak minority in Mlynky. In any case, the decision to evict them is not a random act. It follows a decision made by the local authorities to stop publishing a bilingual magazine, change TV broadcasting to the detriment of minority broadcasting and reduce the wages paid to Slovak teachers. This is a general negative trend and I must protest against such actions. These actions and decisions are dangerous primarily because they interfere, in a fundamental and perhaps premeditated way, with the minority status in the area in question and lower the existing standards on minority rights. The Hungarian Ombudsman for national and ethnic minorities, Mr Kállai, denounced these decisions as incomprehensible.
The actions of the local government in Mlynky, which repeatedly attacks the Slovak minority, are a very bad signal, particularly at a time when senior officials of the Slovak and Hungarian Governments are planning the meeting of their respective prime ministers, from which an improvement in relations between our countries is clearly expected.
Milan Gaľa
(SK) Some Members of the European Parliament have voiced their concerns about the construction of a coal-fired power plant in the town of Trebišov in eastern Slovakia.
I should point out that the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic has rejected this idea and does not expect construction of the power plant to go ahead, within the framework of energy security in the Slovak Republic, before 2030. I want to give my support to the efforts of the citizens of Trebišov, who bravely oppose the construction of this power plant, too.
I also want to stress that the former Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic, Mr Mikuláš Dzurinda, and other politicians who are worried about the negative impact the power plant would have on the environment and on the quality of life in Trebišov, and about its negative impact on the unique Tokay winegrowing region bordering Ukraine and Hungary, have lent their support to the actions of the citizens of Trebišov.
Marco Pannella
(IT) Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to give the Commission and the Presidency of our Parliament and of the Council some information, if I may. If we obtain recognition from Beijing, even if incidental, that in all his public appearances and declarations in the last few years the Dalai Lama has never asked for independence but has always asked for autonomy, and if it is also acknowledged that in all his public appearances he has urged non-violence, this declaration from Beijing could immediately be interpreted as a gesture of openness and goodwill by the government in exile and the Dalai Lama himself. I hope this is the direction we want to move in.
Kyriacos Triantaphyllides
(EL) Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the European Finance Ministers have decided not to agree on a Europe-wide increase in wages to counter the rising cost of living. We all know of the demonstrations that took place in Ljubljana. My fellow Member who spoke just now has already referred to them. We all know too about the increase in the cost of living that has ruined middle- and low-income groups. What has the EU done about this? Nothing whatsoever! Instead, the wages of large company executives continue to go up, while ordinary workers find surviving until the end of the month increasingly difficult.
Let me point out in conclusion that Mr Almunia indicated the impact of a possible increase in wages on productivity. Such statements are a slap in the face for the hundreds of thousands of workers in financial difficulty. The huge profits of multinationals are, of course, no secret.
Monika Beňová
(SK) The recent actions of the Hungarian Guard against the Roma represent a serious threat to the basic principles on which today's Europe has been built, as does the fact that is openly advocating extremism and revisionism and looking for an external enemy in neighbouring countries and among other countries' nationals; this alongside the continuous activity, on the increase with new members of this organisation sworn in less than two weeks ago, and the support it receives from political parties and groups of similar stripes both inside and outside Hungary.
This is not only a growing threat but also a challenge, which fundamentally affects not just all people with democratic views in Hungary and neighbouring countries, but Europe as a whole. Displays of aggressive nationalism, racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism or neo-fascism do not have, and must not have, a place in democratic Europe. These phenomena cannot be seen as relative and marginal events, nor can they be justified in any way.
This is why I am calling on the European institutions to start dealing with this matter in earnest.
Ewa Tomaszewska
(PL) The Erasmus Mundus programme, which is intended to spread intercultural understanding and promote the European Union through its very good results in education, is not accessible to young people in Belarus.
Belarus is a country with no respect for human rights, a country where national minorities and trade unions are discriminated against and displaying a civic attitude results in persecution. Young people in particular are punished for their convictions by being deprived of opportunities for education.
We must find a way to enable young people in Belarus who are suffering discrimination in terms of access to knowledge in their own country to gain access to the benefits of the Erasmus Mundus programme. Warsaw University and other educational institutions have admitted students who have been expelled from educational institutions in Belarus for taking part in demonstrations.
I hope that the European Union will find a suitable formula to resolve this problem.
Caroline Lucas
Mr President, this coming weekend the second phase of the largest commercial seal hunt in the world is about to begin off the coast of Atlantic Canada. The Canadian Government has given its assurance that this hunt will be conducted humanely and, as a condition of their licences, sealers are now required to stun seals and check they are unconscious and then bleed them out before they are skinned.
Yet, according to independent observers, there is little evidence of this happening. That is, of course, when they have actually been permitted to observe sealing activities. The Department of Fisheries' systematic attempts to block the observation of this year's hunt have been almost as alarming as the blatant violations of the sealing regulations that have thus far been recorded. If the Canadian authorities are so very confident that these regulations are being adhered to, then why are they doing their utmost to prevent animal welfare specialists and journalists from witnessing it?
Moreover, we should not forget that no such animal welfare guarantees have ever been made for the commercial seal hunts elsewhere in the world, such as Russia and Namibia. With the current legislature coming to an end, it is vital that the Commission take swift action, in response to Written Declaration 38, by publishing a proposal to ban the import and export of and trade in seal products. Such a ban would not affect subsistence farming, but it would demonstrate a commitment to protect animal welfare.
Ilda Figueiredo
(PT) Mr President, in Portugal at the moment more multinationals are threatening to relocate a part of their production, as is the case with Yasaki Saltano and Delphi. In both cases these multinationals, producers of car parts, received millions of euros of Community funding for setting up their factories and for vocational training of their workers. Now, claiming that the car industry is experiencing problems, Yasaki Saltano wants to make more than 400 workers redundant in Vila Nova de Gaia. Approximately 70% are women, many of them with health problems such as tendinitis caused by their work for the company. Two questions arise in this connection: what is the position with regard to the social responsibility of those companies and when will measures be taken to prevent such relocation in defence of workers' rights and production in our countries?
László Tőkés
(HU) First Kosovo, now Tibet. In both cases, violent colonialist policy pursued by nationalist-communist police states has resulted in bloodshed. In both cases, the refusal to honour a people's right to self-determination has triggered a crisis that threatens world peace as a whole. The Nobel peace laureate, the Dalai Lama has exposed the cultural genocide and demographic aggression inflicted on the people of Tibet.
In formerly Communist Romania too, these were familiar methods. Ceauşescu too considered oppression of minorities to be a Romanian domestic issue, just as China has asserted in the case of Tibet.
May the European Parliament stand alongside Pope Benedict XVI in taking action against injustice, hatred and violence; may it, too, take up the fight to secure territorial autonomy for Tibet. Let us look forward to the Dalai Lama and the Roman Catholic Pope telling the world here in Europe's Parliament that there is no peace without justice.
Zita Pleštinská
(SK) The hottest topic at the 10th meeting of the EU-Ukraine Parliamentary Cooperation Committee held in the European Parliament in February was improving visa processing.
Following the enlargement of the Schengen area in the end of last year, the conditions under which Ukrainian citizens are granted visas for EU countries have become stricter; the fees and waiting time have increased. A new Berlin Wall must not be erected at the EU's external borders just at a time when Ukraine is deciding on its future.
That is why I welcome the agreement between Slovakia and Ukraine on local border traffic. It will make it easier to make frequent crossings of the Slovak-Ukrainian state border in border regions for social, cultural, economic or family reasons. A speedy solution to the visa regime issues would help to convince Ukrainian citizens of the benefits of EU membership.
Genowefa Grabowska
(PL) Mr President, one positive outcome of the latest enlargement of the Schengen area has been the elimination of controls at internal EU borders. Poland has of course removed all control points and consequently in my province alone we have shut down as many as 55 border crossings. Their closure has, however, presented the local authorities with a need to manage the remaining infrastructure. This comprises a number of buildings, towers, hangars, warehouses and parking areas along with adjacent land, excellently positioned, often beside important international communication routes. The local government districts in which these facilities are located are interested in managing them, but they do not have the funds to do so. There is consequently a high degree of likelihood that all these facilities will be used for commercial purposes.
I am therefore appealing to the European Commission to set up a special fund that will help districts in border areas to manage this infrastructure for public utility purposes, including trans-border purposes, thus promoting cultural integration.
Ryszard Czarnecki
(PL) Mr President, I would like to take this opportunity to express my respect for the brave mountain people of Tibet who are fighting for national independence. What I have to say is not a demonstration against the Chinese. On the contrary. I have respect for the Chinese people, who also fought for national freedom against the Japanese occupation, and for freedom and civil liberties inside China itself - an example of this being the Boxer Rebellion in the 19th century. This is all the more reason why the Chinese, with this tradition in mind, should not refuse the people of Tibet the right to self-determination.
As Members of the European Parliament we must make our solidarity with Tibet evident, not only in words, but also through deeds. European politicians should not lend credibility to the Beijing Games by attending them. We should stay away from Beijing at this time. I say this as a keen fan and observer of the Athens Olympics. For our part this is the least we can do.
Jim Allister
Mr President, tomorrow is the 10th anniversary of the Belfast Agreement. Some find much to celebrate; I do not. Why? Because it is the Belfast Agreement which rewarded 30 years of terrorism in Northern Ireland by undermining both justice and democracy: justice, by granting an early-release amnesty to all duly convicted terrorist prisoners; and democracy, by prescribing that unrepentant terrorists must be included in the government of the region they ravaged for decades. That is to be achieved by the iniquity of mandatory coalition.
The region which I represent is the only region in all of the European Union where citizens are denied the fundamental, democratic right to vote a party out of office. Why? Because the Belfast Agreement by law stipulates that all parties must be in government if there is to be a government. That is the Belfast Agreement and that is wrong. It is something to be denounced, not celebrated.
Petya Stavreva
(BG) Mr. President, distinguished colleagues, one of the greatest challenges faced by my country, Bulgaria, during the first years of its membership in the Community has been to ensure transparency and prevent any misuse of resources absorbed from the European funds.
In support of anticorruption efforts, I have initiated the establishment of a Public Council for citizens' monitoring of the absorption of EU funds in Bulgarian agriculture. This will not be a formal institution but a civil society formation to pool the efforts of all who want to make sure that this opportunity to boost Bulgaria's development would not be squandered away due to corruption, misuse and mismanagement.
The great goal is to set up mechanisms for public control and general access to information on how funds are spent in agriculture, information on project implementation and dissemination of best practices in the sector. Let us remember that promoting active citizen involvement in socio-political processes is a key priority on the Community's agenda.
Monica Maria Iacob-Ridzi
(RO) More than one year after Romania and Bulgaria joined the EU and almost nine years after the beginning of the Bologna process, eight European countries do not acknowledge the university degrees and other qualifications obtained in these two Member States.
Many times, Romanian citizens are discriminated when they wish to become employed or continue their education abroad.
The non-recognition of diplomas also contributes to low participation in European student mobility programmes, especially as regards postgraduate diplomas.
For instance, a Romanian student could not participate in a master degree programme financed by Erasmus-Mundus in a university centre from any of the eight Member States that will not acknowledge the student's basic university degree.
This is discrimination against the citizens of a Member State and its result is the limitation of their chances to obtain European funds for academic mobility.
The European Commission has recently condemned this conduct. I believe the European Parliament should have the same firm attitude in this respect.
Cătălin-Ioan Nechifor
(RO) On the background of climate change and in the context of primary natural resources, especially energy resources, becoming ever fewer and more expensive, a common agricultural policy could represent an efficient instrument for achieving the European Union objectives.
On the other hand, non-compliance with the Community rules in the field of agricultural expenses currently leads to the recovery of no less than 83 million euros by the European Commission from eleven Member States. It is not a very large amount; but since the common agricultural policy is financed from public funds, I believe a more sustained involvement from the European Commission in assisting the Member States is necessary, especially in assisting the newly-integrated states, so that such irregularities would be considerably diminished and food security and safety would truly be an achievable objective in the European Union.
Silvia-Adriana Ţicău
(RO) The Commission will soon propose a new amendment to the Directive on charging heavy vehicles for access to the transport infrastructure.
By 2008, the Commission has to present, after examining all options, including the costs related to environmental protection, noise, traffic congestion and health, a generally applicable, transparent and comprehensive model for the assessment of all external costs, which would define and serve as a basis for the subsequent calculation of the charges for using infrastructures.
Any revenue collected in this manner should be reinvested in the related infrastructures. Road carriers need specially equipped parking areas where drivers can rest under conditions of complete safety, as well as their vehicles and carried goods.
I believe the Member States should be financially supported and, at the same time, forced to invest more in building safe parking areas, improving and developing the transport infrastructure.
Marianne Mikko
(ET) Ladies and gentlemen, European Union Member States from Estonia to Poland lost millions and millions of their most talented and enterprising citizens to Nazi aggression and the decades-long Soviet terror. The European Parliament report 'Citizens for Europe' established the action entitled 'Active European Remembrance'. It was aimed equally at preventing Nazism and Stalinism and at commemorating the victims of the Nazi and Stalinist regimes.
Now, 70 years on from Stalin and Hitler's secret pact, there is still a lack of awareness in Europe of the outrages of Stalin's apparatus of coercion. The Member States should establish a standing inter-governmental working group with the task of carrying out an impartial examination of the crimes of the Bolsheviks and the KGB and assessing them using European values.
Today, however, the date 23 August should be designated European Day of Remembrance for the victims of Stalinism and Nazism. On 23 August 1939 the Nazis and the Bolsheviks carved Europe into two spheres of influence. In so doing they inflicted a terrible wound on Europe which has not totally healed to this day.
Cristian Silviu Buşoi
(RO) I would like to use this opportunity to speak in the European Parliament plenum about the history of the NATO Summit hosted by Bucharest, the capital of Romania, on 2 - 4 April.
We all know the importance of NATO, both for the security of the Euro-Atlantic area and for the democratization and welfare of the newly-integrated countries. This happened to Romania in 2004 and we hope the same will happen to Croatia and Albania, the countries invited to join NATO in Bucharest.
I am convinced that the crisis regarding the name of Macedonia will also be solved by the dialogue with Greece, so that another reliable partner of the European Union, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, would be invited to join NATO.
We also know that accession to NATO is an important step for integration into the European Union.
As a member of the ALDE Group in the European Parliament, I welcome NATO's openness to Ukraine and Georgia, as a decisive signal for including these countries on the European path.
I am confident that we, the European Union, in general, and the European Parliament in particular, will also have the openness to encourage Ukraine and Georgia to undertake the correct path, the European path.
Zdzisław Zbigniew Podkański
(PL) Mr President, the process of ratification of the EU Reform Treaty is continuing. Following in the footsteps of the French, Romanian, Slovenian and Hungarian parliaments, among others, the Polish Parliament has also taken decisions on ratification. There would perhaps not be anything untoward about this, but for the fact that MPs ratified the Treaty in a great hurry and often failed to get to grips with its content. In view of this situation, the numerous initiatives to ratify the Treaty through national referendums are entirely justified. In a democracy, after all, the citizen is sovereign, not the MP, and the most important form of expression is a referendum, not votes that compromise MPs and parliaments. Citizens have a right not to recognise ratification of the Treaty without it having been read.
These facts already constitute a basis for future political and national conflicts, and everything was in fact supposed to take place in accordance with human rights and the will of free states and peoples in the name of the common good.
Sylwester Chruszcz
(PL) Mr President, in my speech I would like to raise the issue of respect for rights of ownership, the rights of peoples and the rights of religious minorities in Ukraine, which has declared a wish to accede to the European Union. In 1962 the Soviet authorities closed the Catholic church of St Magdalena in Lwów and turned it into an organ recital hall, destroying many valuable relics in the process. Since 1991 the inhabitants of Lwów have been struggling to reclaim their church dedicated to St Magdalena, so far without success.
Bearing in mind the reconciliation between the Polish and Ukrainian peoples, I would like to appeal, through the forum of the European Parliament, to the authorities of the city of Lwów for the return of the church to the church authorities, in order to deepen the friendship between our peoples, Polish and Ukrainian, and also in order for this church to become a symbol of reconciliation, which is so important in view of the approaching Euro 2012 Championship.
Marian Zlotea
(RO) I would like to raise the issue of the people suffering from leukaemia, who die every day in Romania or in other Member States, without being able to do anything because certain countries are not included in the international register of non-family donors.
This register exists in Europe but, unfortunately, not all the Member States have access to this register. In Romania, this register does not function. This shortcoming has led to a much higher mortality rate in Romania than in the other Member States. Hundreds of young people die every day for the simple reason that they don't have access to this register. Nevertheless, this problem is not a priority for the current government in Romania.
I would like the Member States to have equal access to this register. This would lead to the decrease in illicit trade in organs and would offer people suffering from leukaemia a chance for life, no matter what their financial situation. I also believe that ill people should benefit from bone marrow transplants according to the seriousness of their condition and not their nationality.
Taking into consideration that today we have voted in favour of investing Commissioner Vassiliou, I request Madame Commissioner to find a solution to this problem. All European institutions, including the Parliament, should support an information campaign.
Roberta Alma Anastase
(RO) Last week, Romania had the honor to host the Bucharest NATO Summit. As Rapporteur on regional cooperation in the Black Sea area, I would like to welcome the organization of this crucial event in the Black Sea region but, in particular, the explicit acknowledgement of the strategic importance of this area.
I hope this acknowledgement will mean consolidated and concrete efforts at the level of the European Union and NATO in order to transform the Black Sea into an area of stability and prosperity and ensure the security of the entire European continent.
No less important is the acknowledgement of Georgia's and Ukraine's transatlantic aspirations. These two countries' path to joining NATO should be irreversible, and the years 2008-2009 should become significant in recording progress in this direction, both from the two countries and from NATO.
In conclusion, I welcome the fact that the member states of the Alliance have proved flexibility and long-term vision, thus transforming the Bucharest Summit into an important benchmark for NATO enlargement and for the subsequent development of the security system.
Yannick Vaugrenard
(FR) Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, once again in the last few days, in Saint-Nazaire in France, some workers - this time Greek - employed by a German subcontractor to another subcontractor in the shipbuilding industry, have gone unpaid.
European Court of Justice jurisprudence has reaffirmed the employment rights of workers seconded within the EU, but how effective are these rights if Europe is not equipped with the necessary legislation to compensate for the failings of subcontractors?
We are no longer talking about isolated cases. Throughout the European Union, order-givers are increasingly using tiers of subcontractors from other Member States, and cases of seconded workers not being paid are becoming more common. Three men, three Greek employees, finally obtained payment of their wages, but only after three weeks of hunger strike.
We cannot make grandiloquent speeches about Europe and do nothing. It is essential that, as soon as possible, we come up with the necessary legal arsenal for order-givers to be held responsible for the failings of subcontractors.
Toomas Savi
Mr President, I would like to draw your attention to the parallel between the Olympic Games in Beijing and in Moscow 28 years ago. Granting the right to hold the Olympic Games in Moscow in 1980 was probably an artful plan designed by Jimmy Carter's administration and his national security adviser, Zbigniew Brzezinski, to open the Soviet Union, at least for a short period, to the West and its democratic influence.
Our goal is to trigger democratisation in China and therefore we should appreciate the chance for such an international presence in a country that is otherwise rather isolated. Also, in boycotting the Beijing Olympics, we deprive the Chinese authorities of their triumph. We also lose the opportunity to introduce democratic values to the Chinese people at grassroots level. Our presence at the Olympic Games in Beijing should not be viewed as an acceptance of the Chinese authorities but as an effort to make the Chinese people see the need for the transition to a new regime.
Marco Cappato
(IT) Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to thank the 25 fellow Members who signed a letter to the Cambodian Prime Minister and dictator Hun Sen, bringing up the case of Saumura Tioulong, one of the leaders of the Sam Rainsy Party. I would also like to bring this case to the attention of the Commission. We have information that there is a real risk that Saumura Tioulong, who is also a member of the non-violent radical party, will be arrested in Cambodia. So far it has not happened, and I hope this is partly due to the intervention of my fellow Members, but it is a situation that needs to be monitored very closely.
I would also like to use this time to let the President and all my fellow Members know that the Chinese embassy sent us all a letter which speaks of the separatist nature of the Dalai Lama's 'gang' which, according to this letter, would by nature be violent. It seems to me that this is one of the statements and ideas we need to help the Chinese regime to overcome in order to bring democracy to China, Tibet and elsewhere.
Dimitar Stoyanov
(BG) In the past 48 hours, there have been three contract killings in Sofia, Bulgaria. Since Roumen Petkov, the current Minister of Interior, took office, a total of 22 contract killings of business people, mafia bosses and politicians have been carried out in Bulgaria. Not a single one has been solved, not a single person has been convicted. On Monday, in the bright of day, writer Georgi Stoev was murdered. He authored several books of investigations into organised crime. In the meantime it has emerged that Minister Petkov had been in communication with criminal elements on a regular basis and even met with such individuals. These facts are a clear indication of the complete merging of government and mafia. What I am saying is that Bulgaria's Interior Minister is a mafia guy.
During the pre-accession period, the Bulgarian people were told that the Union would be a safeguard to ensure success against banditism and killings, a guardian of stability and security, for a life free of crime. Today, when anyone of us could become the next victim, the Union needs to act in order to clear away this shameful sore. Not only off Bulgaria but off itself.
Slavi Binev
(BG) Mister President, colleagues, the occasion that makes me take the floor is yet another tragic incident in Bulgaria a few days ago which forces us to break our silence. On Monday, in the centre of Bulgaria's capital, Sofia, writer Georgi Stoev was shot dead in a demonstrative assassination. In a series of ten or so books he dared shed light on the whole truth about organised crime in our country and its close ties with the political elite and the judiciary.
This contract killing, one of many, has shown with ruthless clarity that the prosecution office, the judicial system and the Ministry of Interior in our country either do not have the might to deal with crime or, which even more scary, lack the will to do so. Through their inaction, they are turning into accomplices in crimes and are being used solely for political racketeering of nonconformists. It is not by chance that Mr. Barroso, the President of the European Commission himself said so directly during his recent visit to Bulgaria. The bitter truth is that in Bulgaria no one feels safe for their lives anymore and we have to admit that without help from Europe, statehood in our country is at stake.
Tunne Kelam
Mr President, the European Court of Human Rights has passed 24 rulings on appeals originating from inhabitants of Chechnya - 200 more are pending. The Court has found Russia responsible for shocking human rights abuses in Chechnya that include murder, torture and illegal detention. These abuses are continuing. In addition, up to 5 000 people have 'disappeared' - mostly murdered - at the hands of the state security services. Incredibly, not a single official has been held responsible for these acts.
I call on the EU, the Commission and the Council to make it clear to President Medvedev that Russia's full compliance with the rulings of the Strasbourg Court will be a high-priority EU expectation with a view to resuming further partnership.
Colm Burke
Mr President, I undertook a week-long mission to Chad in an effort to raise public awareness about the humanitarian crisis, particularly in the east of the country. I also wanted to assess what possible positive impact the EU peacekeeping mission led by Ireland could have in this present stage of its ongoing deployment in Chad.
Approximately 250 000 Sudanese refugees have crossed over the border since 2003, almost all of whom are located in 12 camps in the east of the country. There are also about 180 000 IDPs in eastern Chad who have moved and continue to move, fleeing inter-ethnic violence.
The World Food Programme in eastern Chad is now faced with the daunting challenge of pre-positioning six months of food supplies before the rainy season for these refugees and IDPs. Donor contributions are urgently required to ensure that purchases are completed in the coming months and that the food reaches Chad on time.
Regarding EUFOR, which is to provide protection for refugees, some of the members of the French military mission are now forming part of EUFOR. It is important that EUFOR is not seen as an extension of the French operations in Chad.
Marios Matsakis
Mr President, in the six weeks since the election of Mr Christofias as the new President of Cyprus, more progress has been made towards trying to find a lasting solution on the island than in the previous four years. The atmosphere in Cyprus is full of renewed hope, but one thing is threatening to destroy the euphoric climate. This is the continued interference of the Turkish Army.
A week ago the Chief of Staff of the Turkish Army paid a sudden visit to Cyprus and made a number of inflammatory statements that almost stopped the peace process in its tracks. Today, the commander of the Turkish land forces was due to go to Cyprus and his presence is expected to create more problems for the peace negotiations.
I urge the President of this House and all my colleagues to use any diplomatic means at their disposal to strongly point out to the Turkish generals in Ankara that they should stop trying to destroy the peace dialogue in Cyprus and leave the Cypriots free to get on with the job of finding a solution to their island's intercommunal problems.
Thank you, and may I also say, Mr President, how grateful we all are for your generosity in allowing so many people to speak this afternoon.
Iuliu Winkler
Mr President, the European Union is the largest exporter in the world today. This position is also due to the economic diversity of its Member States, some of which rely mostly on services and others on manufacturing.
In order to sustain the leading position of European exporters, we have to make sure that they compete in a fair global trade environment. The Community trade defence instruments that are meant to provide assurances for European economic operators in international trade need to be reformed. The use of the trade defence instruments has to be more accessible, more efficient and more transparent. The reformed Community trade defence instruments need to be equally accessible and efficient for stakeholders from both service-based economies and economies that have strong manufacturing sectors. They need to be equally accessible to the new and old Member States. The temptation of protectionism has to be strongly discouraged.
Anna Záborská
(FR) Mr President, Commissioner, on 5 April, the Christian orthodox priest Youssef Adel was assassinated by unknown assailants in the centre of Baghdad. The Chaldean archbishop of Mosul, Monsignor Rahho, was kidnapped at the end of February. Parliament did not react and his body was found in mid-March. If the international community turns a blind eye, peace will never come to this region. The financial resources provided by the European Union will be wasted if the European Union does not protect the local population.
I am asking the Commission to look into the possibility of managing the European funds committed to Iraq for as long as Iraqi Christians remain targets of violence, kidnapping, murder and bomb attacks. I ask our President to make a joint declaration with the Council on our behalf stating that it strongly condemns the persecution of civilian, humanitarian, health and religious personnel in Iraq.
Czesław Adam Siekierski
(PL) We are approaching the fourth anniversary of the most important enlargement of the Union - an enlargement which incorporated 10 new Member States. For the most part these are countries that require considerable expenditure and considerable support funds for modernising and transforming the economy. Then Bulgaria and Romania joined too. These enlargements were very cheap for the European Union's budget. The benefits from enlargement were felt by both the old and the new Member States.
We are in the process of ratifying the Treaty of Lisbon. This is a major success, but at the same time, during discussion of the future of the Union, there is talk of a diminution of the budget for the years 2014-2020. How do we think we are going to respond to these new challenges, new challenges for an enlarged Europe, if we are going to devote less money to matters of such importance for Europe, for the world, and for the European Union?
President
That concludes the one-minute speeches.


Coordination of humanitarian aid and reconstruction in Haiti (debate)
President
The next item is the Commission statement on coordination of humanitarian aid and reconstruction in Haiti.
Kristalina Georgieva
Member of the Commission. - Mr President, I would like to express to all the honourable Members in this Chamber great appreciation for the attention this Parliament continues to pay to Haiti.
Before passing the floor to Andris Piebalgs, who will inform you about the reconstruction and development of Haiti, let me outline the four main humanitarian challenges for the months to come and how the European Commission is addressing them.
The first is the continuation of humanitarian assistance and, in particular, shelter, sanitation and health services. The relocation of the 1.3 million homeless in Port-au-Prince in temporary housing is a very complex undertaking because of practical issues such as land ownership, rubble removal, urban planning and security. Today, the priority concern are some 10 000 to 30 000 people living in makeshift camps in flood-prone areas. With the approach of the hurricane season, they have to be urgently relocated. This is a priority in our programme, as is strengthening camp management skills. We are paying very close attention to the pre-positioning of relief stocks. Most of them were completely depleted after the earthquake. We are now replenishing them and building the capacity of the Haitian civil protection service, which has actually become stronger as a result of the crisis, so that they can make use of them.
Secondly, we have adopted a 'follow the needs' approach and are providing assistance where people are, in order to prevent further mass movements. We have made sure that our help reaches the whole of the country and not just Port-au-Prince. In this way, we have contributed to reducing the pressures in the capital. Following the same logic, we are also applying a 'whole-of-island' approach, whether it relates to the issue of Haitian refugees or to the logistics of the delivery of aid, or pre-positioning of relief stocks for the hurricane season. The Dominican Republic matters also and is not forgotten in our recovery programme.
Thirdly, we are making sure that donor coordination results in building on each other's comparative advantage. With many actors in Haiti, this is no trivial challenge, but we have consistently been a very strong voice for UN-led humanitarian coordination. When I was in Haiti, my impression was that we have actually done quite well - in terms both of the civil protection teams from individual countries and in our own work.
Fourthly, we must ensure the transition from humanitarian relief to recovery and reconstruction. We are working very closely with Andris Piebalgs to facilitate this transition whenever possible. I will give you two specific examples. Firstly, in the food sector, we are encouraging local purchasing of food. We are asking our partners - even if it is a bit more expensive - to reach out to local farmers to create demand and help them to recover. That, of course, leads to work on reconstruction. Secondly, we are also supporting cash-for-work programmes so, again, we can build a transition from relief to recovery.
Last but not least, we are very focused on results. Europe is number one in terms of volume of aid and it has to be number one in terms of results.
Andris Piebalgs
Member of the Commission. - Mr President, at the New York International donors' conference, the European Union pledged EUR 1.235 billion. We are the largest donor to Haiti's reconstruction so, in this way, we will also be the largest contributor to the government of Haiti's action plan for reconstruction. I am also proud about the manner in which we did it because it was an EU common pledge, which consisted of support from many EU countries, like Spain, France and the wider Community. But I am also proud that even my country, which has not had too many relations with Haiti, pledged additional funding, not just the funding channelled through the Community budget.
The New York conference took place in a very good spirit. There was a very strong financial outcome, there was very clear ownership of Haiti's Government and there were many stakeholders. Some Members of the European Parliament could see that NGOs, including European NGOs, had a voice there. EU businesses have also been involved and also interim mechanisms for coordination, proposed under the leadership of Prime Minister Bellerive and Bill Clinton. As all the stakeholders are included in this mechanism, it gives a guarantee that money will not be wasted or used for other purposes.
It is very important now that we concentrate our aid as quickly as possible. The Commission and Member States are already preparing a new country strategy paper and a national indicative programme for Haiti. To support our joint efforts, we will speed up our efforts to set up an EU House in Haiti, which would give greater visibility but will also help involve non-resident donors.
I shall be going to Haiti this week to deliver first-hand concrete support to long-term reconstruction in the areas of infrastructure and governance. This week, I will sign five financial agreements for a total amount of more than EUR 200 million and I will also inaugurate some of the work we have already done like the rehabilitation of the road between Port-au-Prince and Cape Haitian, which is fully in line with the plan of action of the government and which also supports the 'whole-of-the-island' approach.
To reinforce the government capacities, I will also inaugurate the reconstruction of the Ministry of the Interior, financed with EU contributions. I will also inaugurate a school in Mirabelais. Our particular focus is on education, as President Préval has requested, and we will also announce more budget support delivery. Delivering budget support is not blind support. We have taken many precautionary measures and undertaken many visits, so I can guarantee that your money will be used for its purpose.
I will also commit to regulatory monitors for the construction process through regular visits and to speed up aid delivery. I will keep the European Parliament constantly informed of the progress made on Haiti reconstruction.
I would also like to emphasise that it is not only me but the whole college: Kristalina Georgieva, the High Representative, Baroness Ashton, and also some of my other colleagues who will help oversee the reconstruction, such as Michel Barnier, who will go to Haiti in a couple of months. It is the ownership not only of the responsible commissioner, but of the whole College.
We also need to discuss with the authorities a couple of issues on how to better deliver our assistance. Long-term commitment from the international community will not prevail if Haiti quickly slips back to a 'business as usual' approach. To prevent this scenario, we must strive to be effective and we have already mentioned some of the ways in which we can achieve this. But equally, there is great responsibility resting with the authorities and the people of Haiti to build in a better way.
Two aspects stand out, in particular. On the social front, the government should be encouraged to enter into very close contact with the opposition and also with the whole civil society. That will build genuine national consensus around the development plan and promote the stability necessary for its implementation. On the economic side, the macro-economic framework presented in New York must be more rigorous and combined with a clear path towards employment and growth, which will break the cycle of poverty and inequality.
Gay Mitchell
on behalf of the PPE Group. - Mr President, I would like to thank both Commissioners. There are three points I want to raise. The first is the method and measures to be used for measuring the reconstruction needs of Haiti. The second is to ensure that the commitments we are making will be met, and the third is to talk about property rights and the vulnerability of people living, for example, in shacks built on property they do not own.
First of all, in relation to the reconstruction works, let me say that I recently conducted the launch for the World Bank of a document explaining, in a very well-designed handbook, exactly how reconstruction should take place. Are we going to use this handbook, or are we going to use similar measures, to ensure that the reconstruction effort in Haiti is professionally carried out? The World Bank has done excellent work on this. The Haitian Ambassador attended when I launched that particular book.
Secondly, in relation to commitments we are making, I am very glad to hear what the Commissioner had to say about the EUR 200 million which he is forwarding almost immediately. But will we be back here in a year, or in five years, or are we are last going to deliver on donor commitments to a poor country that simply cannot be left on its knees any longer?
The third point I want to make is this. The extent of the destruction in Haiti was such that we really have to look not just at the damage done, but at why that damage was so extensive. People who did not own property were living in ravines and on the sides of mountains, in shacks and in any thing they could put together, because they did not own the property in which they were living. If people have property rights, they will invest in building and constructing properties that have some chance of resisting future damage of this kind. So I ask that this point be given active consideration as part of the approach to dealing with this problem.
Again, I thank both Commissioners for their presentation.
Corina Creţu
The situation in Haiti is far from being stabilised, as both commissioners, Mrs Georgieva, who was in Haiti at the end of March, and Mr Piebalgs have emphasised. The same statement is also made by the humanitarian workers who are in situ distributing aid and helping with the reconstruction process. Although the situation in the capital seems to be returning to normal, at least in terms of people's everyday lives, I believe that efforts now need to be focused on rural areas, which are continuing to experience major problems.
These matters are all the more urgent and even more of a cause of concern as the rainy season is approaching and the state of the transport infrastructures may result in the interruption of the flow of aid intended to meet the population's daily needs. The reconstruction efforts are only just getting under way, as you told us. It is obvious that other problems are going to continue to crop up as well, linked to infrastructures, providing decent living conditions for the population and ensuring that a minimum level of public services, education and health care is operating. Problems will also crop up associated with having the necessary workforce and the extent of their training.
Another major problem is dealing with children who have been orphaned or separated temporarily from their families, and who are in one of the most vulnerable and dangerous situations for their future. I believe that we must focus greater attention on this aspect of the humanitarian crisis in Haiti because of the ongoing problems involving the trafficking of children and illegal adoptions. Last but not least, I would like to say that I am pleased that the task of managing Haiti's problems remains a priority for the Commission. I can assure you that the same thing also applies to all the members of the Committee on Development.
Charles Goerens
Mr President, the approach of the hurricane season in Haiti means that it is vital to maintain the humanitarian efforts and that other emergency measures are likely to be required.
First things first, it is important to provide for sufficiently robust shelters, in sufficient quantities. This measure is relevant given, first, that rebuilding the destroyed homes takes time and, second, that Haiti's direct exposure to hurricanes makes one fear the worst, as the recent experience has shown.
Seeking to pull out of the humanitarian effort now would be quite simply irresponsible. Delaying the reconstruction effort would be equally irresponsible. In other words, everything must coincide: the humanitarian effort, so that there are no more needless deaths; the reconstruction effort, to restore as quickly as possible something resembling a normal life; the recovery of the economy, which is essential in order to generate resources in the long term; the strengthening of Haiti's budget capacity in the very short term; and the firm commitment to decentralisation.
The donors' conference, which was held at the United Nations on 31 March, was a success. What will remain of that conference when everything has been forgotten? Humanitarian interventions aside, let us first remember the need for a swift revival of the economy, something for which the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund is hoping and praying, since he is counting on an 8% annual growth capacity over the next five years.
Second, in a similar vein, the revival of the agricultural sector becomes the economic priority. Today, Haiti needs 80% of its export earnings to pay for its imported agricultural produce. Let us remember that, in the past, there were times when Haiti met its own food needs.
Third, Haiti's development will have to be assessed on the basis of criteria of relevance, effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability.
Fourth, if development is to continue over time, it is absolutely essential for the people of Haiti to take responsibility for it themselves.
Fifth, the earthquake in Haiti once again demonstrates - if proof were needed - the importance of implementing without delay a rapid humanitarian aid system aimed at pooling both the material and the human capabilities of all the Member States of the European Union.
What is stopping the proposals in Mr Barnier's report from being turned into a reality?
Lastly, Europe's significant efforts to help solve the Haitian problem will have been decisive. My thanks to the High Representative, to Commissioners Piebalgs and Georgieva, and to their Directorates-General, who deserve our gratitude.
Ryszard Czarnecki
(PL) Mr President, I am speaking on behalf of my political group, and also on behalf of our group's coordinator, Mr Deva. I would like to stress the extremely important fact that international aid to Haiti at the moment is actually almost three times higher than the Haitian Government and the UN had hoped. This aid is to total EUR 11.5 billion, and it is worth underlining that the Haitian Government had been hoping for a sum of just under EUR 4 billion over the next two years. An absolutely fundamental matter is to concentrate on building infrastructure, which, by the way, my colleague Mr Deva emphasised during the last debate.
I would also like to stress an important matter - supervision of this aid. The government in Haiti is very weak, and distribution of aid is largely in the hands of a diversified and very strange elite, and it is very important that international organisations and the European Union know to whom the money is really going.
Patrick Le Hyaric
Mr President, Commissioners, we must ensure that the promises of donations made at the donors' conference henceforth materialise as actual funds, and also actually reach their intended recipients. Of course, I do not believe that this is enough to rebuild Haiti in a lasting way, even though we owe the people of Haiti so much.
The people of Europe themselves have been very generous when it comes to showing solidarity but, unfortunately, there is a great risk of people forgetting or being made to forget the tragedy that our Haitian brothers are suffering. Yet, as you said, there is a sense of urgency: urgency, because other cyclones may occur and would make people's living conditions even worse; urgency, in terms of rebuilding houses and buildings, such as schools and hospitals, at a time when the Haitian Government is beginning to evacuate certain camps; urgency, in terms of coordinating and distributing food aid and care more effectively; and urgency, too, in terms of developing a new sustainable agricultural and rural project to ensure Haiti's food security.
All aid, and the coordination of international aid, must be aimed at ensuring that the people of Haiti have access to fundamental rights. For example, why not stipulate that all public reconstruction contracts should be dependent on these rights and should contain clauses on employment, housing, education and health? One cannot coordinate aid and reconstruction properly without relying on the population itself and on its trade union organisations, non-governmental organisations and farmers' organisations.
We should encourage the creation of a new project for Haiti aimed at eradicating exclusion, poverty, dependence, and economic and political domination.
Let us never forget that the terrible destitution of the Haitians is not due solely to a terrible earthquake. It is also the result of the domination and pillaging of Haiti by many countries. We owe the country a duty of effective solidarity at the same time as respect for its economic and political sovereignty: the economic and political sovereignty of the people of Haiti.
Bastiaan Belder
Mr President, shortly after the disaster, an assessment was carried out in order to establish aid priorities. However, I hear from a reliable source, namely a Dutch NGO, that very little, if any, local expertise was drawn upon. To me, that seems to be the first prerequisite if we are to gain the support of the local population. It is therefore imperative that Haitian organisations and authorities are involved in the reconstruction effort. European NGOs could be of particular service here, thanks to their good local contacts, and I was pleased to hear from both members of the Commission that they are also thinking along these lines. In other words, we need to mobilise support in Haiti itself.
Another point that I would like to make is that, while the provision of food aid by the US and other countries might seem like a welcome initiative, it has decimated Haiti's agriculture and food security. This situation has resulted in Haiti becoming more than 50% dependent on food imports and in there being no demand for 35% of the local harvest. We need to make a significant investment in local agriculture if we are to guarantee food security. Here, too, from the positions of both members of the Commission, I infer that the Commission is thinking along similar lines and that makes me very optimistic. Only today I read a whole-page article in Frankfurter Allgemeine about the current situation in Haiti. It was truly heartbreaking. I understand that housing and education are the priorities of the European Commission. Keep working towards that goal. I wish you every success and, above all, God's help.
Mario Mauro
(IT) Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, thank you also to the Commissioners for the common sense they have shown. A great deal has certainly already been done, but I think I can say, also, that we cannot leave it at that: a very long-term programme - almost a permanent programme, I would say - is more necessary than ever given the apocalyptic conditions in which the country finds itself.
The critical period is probably still not over. Just as on the first day, people are dying of hunger, thirst and poverty, and more than a million people on the island are still homeless and will shortly have to cope with the rainy and hurricane season.
What should be done, then? As the Commissioner has already said, coordination should be increased between the institutions and it should be linked to a more productive relationship with non-governmental organisations, especially those which, by operating on the ground, can get the best out of Haiti's citizens, can empower them.
We must all be aware that being the point of reference for Haiti and its people in a way means making them understand that we want to see the value and the dignity of every single person restored and, for them, this means seeing their hopes of happiness restored amid the huge suffering caused by the earthquake.
Enrique Guerrero Salom
(ES) Mr President, commissioners, I would first like to express my condolences and thanks to the families and colleagues of the four Spanish soldiers who died last week in Haiti.
They were specialist officers from the Spanish army, but they went there as simple soldiers as part of the international aid effort and were doing aid work when their helicopter crashed.
Their example shows that in the majority of cases, there is no contradiction between security and humanitarian action. Moreover, without security, it is difficult to maintain independence and neutrality in humanitarian work. This is an acknowledgement we have to give to the armed forces of many European countries, including Spain.
Mr President, commissioners, Haiti has demonstrated that poverty severely aggravates the damage done by natural disasters, and also that a lack of governability hinders the possibility of an effective response.
Normally, poverty and a lack of governability go hand in hand, and this was and is the case in Haiti, which means that, as well as supporting the reconstruction process, we need to support governability in Haiti, because it is the only way that we will be able to achieve the objective that we set ourselves in New York: that Haiti itself should lead its reconstruction and that its civil society should participate in this.
Louis Michel
(FR) Mr President, I should first of all like to congratulate the two Commissioners responsible for these matters on their speeches and on their constant concern to be extremely responsive. So, congratulations!
The earthquake in Haiti has resulted in a surge of solidarity and fraternity on an exceptional and very justified scale. I also applaud the courage and the efforts of the Haitian people, of the Haitian authorities, of civil society, of NGOs, of the Haitian diaspora and, of course, of the donors throughout the world.
The structural and institutional weaknesses in Haiti are well known, and this disaster has obviously revealed the tragic extent of those weaknesses. In New York, on 31 March, the donors made it clear that their financial aid would contribute to the Haitian reconstruction and development plan. The principle of appropriation is thus established so that the people of Haiti can once again have confidence in their institutions, which is an urgent requirement.
The donors' assistance must clearly be well coordinated and of a high quality. As President Préval says, reconstruction must be carried out more effectively. This must be done, it seems, by creating, among other things, an interim commission for the reconstruction of Haiti and by establishing a multi-donor trust fund to oversee the donors' generous contributions.
More effective reconstruction also means stronger governance and institutions based on the rule of law, and decentralisation, which are key elements of the redevelopment and reconstruction plan. I hope, Commissioners, that you will, of course, take account of this approach, and needless to say, I am sure that you will.
Michèle Striffler
(FR) Mr President, Commissioners, at this very moment, hundreds of thousands of people are still living in emergency camps and, with the rainy season and the hurricane season approaching, the situation really is urgent.
Faced with the countless humanitarian actors on the ground and in the absence of state capacity, every possible resource must be employed to improve the coordination of aid under the auspices of the United Nations, and to deliver aid consistently and effectively.
I travelled to New York for the international donors' conference on 31 March, and I welcome the European Union's contribution of EUR 1.3 billion towards Haiti's reconstruction over the next three years. For the first time, the European Union spoke with one voice through Baroness Ashton.
True, a substantial aid package has been pledged by the international community, but the difficulties now relate to the proper use of these funds and to decisions in relation to the methods of implementing the aid and the bodies involved, given that the main actors in this reconstruction process must be the people of Haiti.
The agricultural sector has to be a priority, and we must strengthen the country's agricultural production capacities. The European Parliament will monitor the reconstruction process and the use of these funds very closely, and I would point out how important it is to consider, at last, the creation of the civil protection force, for which we have been waiting so long.
Kriton Arsenis
(EL) Mr President, Commissioners, the humanitarian crisis in Haiti highlighted and, unfortunately, continues to highlight the problems with the European mechanisms for responding to international humanitarian crises. We need to create fixed funding mechanisms. In essence, we still do not have fixed headings in the European budget for financial assistance to third countries and the aid for Haiti was mainly given by European countries at bilateral level. Aid needs to arrive immediately and, in the case of the people hit by the earthquake in Haiti, the aid had still not arrived a week later. European resources need to be used efficiently. We need to have specialist staff who can design and implement humanitarian aid programmes quickly and efficiently.
Obviously, an earthquake caused the disaster in Haiti. However, similar humanitarian crises may well be caused by other weather phenomena, such as typhoons, tropical storms, floods and droughts, phenomena which will increase considerably in frequency and intensity in the wake of climate change.
We all know that climate change is a phenomenon which we, the developed countries, have caused; unfortunately, however, it is often the poor countries that feel the impact. We have a climate debt towards vulnerable countries and we must learn from our mistakes in dealing with the crisis in Haiti so that we can respond to our increasing global obligations in future.
Ria Oomen-Ruijten
(NL) Mr President, Commissioners Georgieva and Piebalgs, after the enormous tragedy in Haiti, we need to look to the future, as you have both noted. The donor conference in New York a fortnight ago raised EUR 7 billion or, at least, that was the amount which was pledged. On the basis of the Haitian Government's action plan, the EU has pledged EUR 1.6 billion. My question to you both now is: how will this now translate into lasting and stable reconstruction of the island? This will be a long process, in my view.
My second question to you both is: what is your assessment of the Haitian Government's action plan and can you ensure that the significant funds that have been pledged will be used effectively? After all, the Haitians do not just have short-term needs, but long-term needs as well. How can we further intensify support efforts for the 1.3 billion homeless and ensure that the infrastructure can be rebuilt in the medium term? This is important, not just for the population that has been affected, but also for the political stability of this island, whose government is incredibly fragile at the moment. You have confirmed that yourselves. It is the people's perception that the aid is not reaching the places where it is needed. How can we ensure that the political situation in this country and the approach of its government improve?
I would like to ask you how you see the input, in terms of both human beings and financial means, to this Interim Haiti Recovery Commission chaired by Bill Clinton?
Filip Kaczmarek
(PL) Mr President, I would like to thank Mrs Striffler for raising this matter at today's sitting, and Mrs Georgieva and Mr Piebalgs for their statements. I think many of the measures proposed in the resolution on Haiti which we adopted in February are a step in the right direction and can be the basis for rebuilding a country struck by disaster. These measures have two basic stages, and we are talking about these two stages today. The first phase is about short- and medium-term crisis relief to help people with the most urgent needs, and Mrs Georgieva spoke about this. The second phase concerns permanent reconstruction, which needs to be coordinated, and assessment of the needs of this reconstruction, while, at the same time, never losing sight of the fact that the owner of the process must be the people and the government of Haiti. Thank you very much, Mr Piebalgs, for seeing that responsibility must also be borne by the Haitians.
The third stage is something only for us. I mean the conclusions which should be drawn so that our aid is better coordinated, and I am glad that the Commission is working on this.
Philippe Juvin
(FR) Mr President, Europe has contributed millions of euro, tents, food, soldiers and doctors. That is all well and good, but actually I would like to quote Jean-Yves Jason, mayor of Port-au-Prince, who, in February, used the word 'disaster', not to refer to the consequences of the earthquake, but to describe the complete and utter disorganisation of the humanitarian work that followed.
We should be asking ourselves the following question: how can we prevent a repeat of this disorganisation, which has cost Haiti dear? There is one answer to that question, Mr President, Commissioners, and it is one that we all know, that has been said here: by creating a European civil protection force.
I shall ask you again: when will the Commission finally decide to propose to Parliament the creation, specifically, of a force of this kind, one single force having the same rules of engagement, and identical command, transport and communication systems? It is possible. It can be set up quickly before the next disaster. I call on you now to stop talking about coordination and to act.
Sergio Paolo Francesco Silvestris
(IT) Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I am satisfied with the outcome of the meeting of the donor countries because the large sums made available are an excellent result. Even more important, however, was the guiding principle behind the use of the funds, namely not just to build back, but to build back better.
Haiti must emerge from this crisis stronger and with public buildings and private dwellings that are more advanced than the ones that existed before the earthquake wiped them out. We must not think that the reconstruction will spell the return of the shantytowns or of socio-economic conditions such as those that existed before.
As such, money is certainly needed, but the substantial resources made available by the national and European institutions being only a first step, there is also a need for a long-term plan and for strong, authoritative coordination.
To this end, having also criticised in this House certain initial delays whereby Europe, in the context of its foreign policy representation, displayed neither exceptional efficiency nor exceptional spontaneity, today, we welcome instead the excellent work that our institutions are doing in the area of coordination, and hope that, on the basis of this position and of this commitment, the efforts will continue with a long-term plan that can be brought to fruition through the authoritative presence of our institutions.
Anna Záborská
(SK) The earthquake in Haiti was immediately followed by international humanitarian assistance. In addition to the American and Canadian military, I must also applaud the rapid and efficient deployment of groups from Slovakia and the international Military Order of Malta. Not many countries provided rapid and effective aid.
Today, following the initial assessments of Professor MUDr. Krčmér, an expert and a doctor who understands humanitarian assistance, it must be stated that many people and significant financial resources arrived from Europe but without the necessary equipment, machinery, food, water and fuel needed for effective intervention when rescuing victims from beneath fallen trees. Not even the experience of several rescue groups was sufficient. Good intentions also require a practical side in order to be effective.
I therefore call on the competent national and European institutions to put in place as quickly as possible a joint humanitarian assistance service, as we requested in the resolution on Haiti. In addition to this, I consider it very important to support training in humanitarian assistance, and to have the necessary materials and equipment prepared in the eventuality of a natural disaster.
Franziska Keller
Mr President, I thank the Commissioners for their presentation and for all the effort they are putting into the Haiti case. I also agree that it will be good to focus on the whole island. Even if I am very critical about the whole of the Union approach, I might very well agree with your 'whole-of-the-island' approach.
I also urge you not to forget the future commitments that we need to make. We need to stick to the pledges we are making now. If we see that the Member States are not so strict in keeping their 0.7% pledges, you really have to be strong on this and make sure they come forward with their plans. We also have to make sure that we do not make obsolete the progress that we are now making in Haiti by having other EU policies in place which will actually prevent progress from happening in Haiti and elsewhere. We really have to stick to policy coherence so that we do not have success in Haiti only to have all our progress ruined because of other harmful policies.
Anneli Jäätteenmäki
(FI) Mr President, the EU has helped Haiti, which is a good thing, but this disaster has clearly shown, in my opinion, that the EU must have rapid reaction groups for humanitarian action, and that we must develop civilian crisis management.
It is not enough to give money; the EU should also be able to take rapid action in this kind of catastrophic situation, to provide assistance and send people over there. People must receive concrete help, and not just after a long period of time. While this help is certainly important, the EU is currently lacking the capacity for local help and rapid help.
I hope that people will focus their attention on this matter and that rapid action groups will be established.
Kristalina Georgieva
Member of the Commission. - Mr President, with your permission, I shall leave a bit of time for Mr Piebalgs to take on some of the long-term reconstruction questions.
This has been very useful and very encouraging for us. Before I turn to the questions, let me join Mr Guerrero Salom in expressing sympathy to the families of the four Spanish soldiers who died, and also all those who lost their lives during the disaster and now in the recovery efforts in Haiti.
I would like to start with the bigger policy issue, on the EU improving its response capabilities. I was very pleased to see my colleague, Commissioner Barnier, in the room because of the effort he has put into this topic. On 26 April, we will have a chance in the Development Committee to discuss in more detail the work programme, which includes, for 2010, strengthening the response capacity and a communication on this topic.
I can assure you that this is a very high priority for our team. We will work very closely with Member States and with Parliament to come up with a solution that improves our capacity to respond to disasters, and there is a very simple logic behind it. At a time when the intensity and frequency of disasters are increasing and the budgets of our countries are going to be tight for years to come, there is no other way but to strengthen European coordination and to build an asset base that can be deployed effectively in terms of impact, cost and results. I can tell you that tomorrow, we are going to our first country visit on this topic. This is going to be a very high priority for our team in the coming months.
Let me turn to four questions that have been posed.
The first is on the question of combining a response to immediate priorities with long-term reconstruction and our staying power. This is really important because if we move too quickly to reconstruction, away from support for people in need, we risk a very serious tragedy. We had to deal with this in the issue of food delivery where the government of Haiti suggested that we shift away from food provision to only cash-for-work and food-for-work, which is highly desirable but cannot be done everywhere at the same time. This is something we are watching very closely.
Broadly, on the issue of food security, our new policy in the European Union is very progressive because it emphasises all other things equally, encouraging local purchase of food for humanitarian aid whenever it is possible to get it locally. We have made this topic subject to a discussion in a morning session in New York where we invited NGOs, Haitian as well as international NGOs, and I was very proud that it was the European NGOs that put these issues of agricultural security for Haiti and high agricultural return in productivity for the discussion in Haiti.
I want to address the issue of shelter. It is not at all a trivial issue because people actually do not want to move from where they are now. They do not want to move for a variety of reasons. One, even if their houses are safe, they are afraid to go back because of the trauma they experienced. Two, because they moved as whole neighbourhoods and they are scared of losing the social fabric that keeps them together, so it is not just bad policy or lack of desire; it is also the social phenomenon that follows a disaster of this nature that makes it not so easy to get people to move from flood-prone areas to safer ground. But we are addressing this as a priority.
Let me finish with the question of long-term sustainability. It is governance sustainability, it is also ecological sustainability. I had the dubious privilege to fly over Haiti and Chile, within a couple of weeks of each other. In Haiti, an ecologically destroyed island, of course it had implications for the scale of this destruction. In Chile, the government has implemented for decades a reafforestation programme stabilising the soil and, as a result, creating a better environment, which is obviously very helpful for people. We are thinking in the long term when we think of Chile.
This is not in my area but I have to pick it up as a former World Bank employee. I certainly agree with you that what the World Bank is proposing about this coordination in the multi-donor trust fund, but also as an institutional project management approach, is something that we need to take to heart and follow.
Andris Piebalgs
Member of the Commission. - Mr President, as usual, if I had just one wish in my political life, it would be to have more time in Parliament to answer the questions I am asked. I will not be able to answer all the questions put today, but I will go through some of them.
The support of Parliament is very important for the Commission, because Haiti is not a case to which only the Commission is devoting attention. It felt that the whole of European society wished that the European Community make reconstruction a major effort.
It is like a textbook: an assessment was made at international level, the governments made plans, these were discussed with NGOs, there were various endorsements and there is an interim commission coordinating the whole process. We are definitely not creating anything parallel. We are working on the same bases and on well-prepared ground.
Regarding the commitment on the EU side, we have made a political commitment and we will deliver. I believe that the same is also very true for other participants. We are working on property rights. That is one of the risk elements. We have a land cadastre and we will work on it, but there could be risks.
The risks could definitely come from ownership of the political process. The reconstruction effort can be sustained if there is a political process supporting the long-term development of Haiti and if people believe in it. This is where the big challenge comes, and all we can do is to support the Haitian people and Haiti's political society in this. I believe that this can be put in place and could be successful.
Regarding the transparency of the process, the whole international donor structure has been established in a very clear and streamlined way with a lot of transparency. All the EU processes are definitely transparent and will give a full assurance that money will be spent not only for the purpose, but also well and efficiently.
Lastly, I believe that we should not underestimate the people working on the ground - from the Member States, the Community, and also the broader international community. I would also like to express my condolences to the families of those people who have died helping Haiti reconstruct. There are many more people still working and trying to do their best. They are the guarantee that, if the process is well organised, it will be successful.
President
The debate is closed.
(The sitting was suspended at 13.10 and resumed at 15.05)
Written statements (Rule 149)
Franz Obermayr
It is now time for us to carry out an interim review of the aid effort in Haiti. The main questions that we need to ask ourselves are as follows: How quickly and effectively was and is the aid being provided? Does the aid support sustainable development in Haiti? How was the entire aid effort coordinated? How was the EU represented in foreign policy terms? I am particularly interested in the last two questions, because the devastating earthquake was the first test faced by the High Representative Baroness Ashton. The purpose of the office of High Representative is to strengthen the EU's role as a global player. However, Baroness Ashton did not think it was worth travelling to Haiti shortly after the earthquake to provide symbolic support, nor was she able to ensure that the aid provided to Haiti was coordinated effectively. Some Member States launched individual aid campaigns and others acted jointly. Baroness Ashton should have been responsible for ensuring better coordination. In addition, the government of Haiti has not been sufficiently involved. The High Representative should now at last be realising what her job is all about. She should be making constructive proposals for structuring humanitarian and financial aid following major disasters. There is a great deal of development work to be done over the next few months and this also applies to Baroness Ashton.
Jarosław Leszek Wałęsa
Ladies and gentlemen, we have gathered here today to discuss European coordination of aid for Haiti. Meanwhile, international commentators are criticising our uncoordinated action. Three months have already passed since the tragic earthquake, and it would appear we are still unable to work out a common position on support for Haiti. In January, we listened to many speeches about the role of the Union in the international scene, but it is a disgrace to see how weakly and indecisively the Union has acted up till now. The allocation by the European Union of EUR 1.2 billion for aid to Haiti is worthy of praise. World donors have declared that they will give USD 5.3 billion for the reconstruction of Haiti over two years. In the longer term, the value of their aid is to rise to USD 9.9 billion. These are very optimistic sums. The cataclysm in Haiti has, however, made me stop and think about a country which, actually, collapsed a long time ago. The earthquake was a natural disaster, but the present extent of poverty in Haiti is the result of economic, political and social collapse. The collapse and violence in Haiti in recent years are the result of brutal relations with the outside world - with certain states and international concerns - which go back for hundreds of years. International society has let Haiti down. Let us do more to make up for this now.