MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION
24 October 2000
pursuant to Rule 37(2) of the Rules of Procedure
by Luciano Emilio Caveri, Paolo Costa, Antonio Di Pietro, Marco Formentini, Pietro-Paolo Mennea, Giovanni Procacci, Luciana Sbarbati, Christopher Huhne, Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne, Nicholas Clegg and Graham R. Watson
on flooding in Italy
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B5-0807/2000
B5‑0821/2000
European Parliament resolution on flooding in Italy
The European Parliament,
– having regard to the exceptional weather conditions, particularly in Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, and the unusually violent storms which recently swept across various parts of Europe,
– having regard to the particularly difficult situation which affected thousands of homes which, due to flooding, were without electricity, telephones and heating, were cut off from roads and basic infrastructure and had no access to public services,
A. whereas flooding is becoming an ever greater phenomenon in valleys and low lying regions due to climatic changes especially in the Alps where a monsoon type regime seems to be developing; whereas the melting icecap, depopulation in mountain regions and hydro-ecological imbalances all contribute to the worsening situation;
B. whereas it is to be feared that, as a result of emerging climate change, natural disasters on this scale are likely to re-occur,
1. Expresses its sympathy to and heartfelt solidarity with the families of those killed and those who have suffered damage;
2. Calls for particular attention to be paid to the mountainous regions which account for almost 30% of the EU surface area;
3. Calls on the Commission and on those Member States not affected by the bad weather to plan practical measures to demonstrate Community solidarity, as soon as possible, by mobilising professional and technical resources under the five-year plan establishing a Community action programme in the field of civil protection which was adopted by the Council on 9 December 1999 (Decision 1999/847/EC);
4. Considers that the creation of an EU civil protection intervention corps composed of national/regional civil protection bodies and intervening within or outside the Union could bring an added value to civil protection;
5. Calls on the Commission to apply Article 87 of the Treaty with a view to granting appropriate financial aid to all the sectors affected;
6. Asks the Commission and the Member States to promote cooperation on spatial planning in the framework of the INTERREG III Community initiative, giving priority to flood prevention by using natural and soft engineering in the most affected eligible regions;
7. Calls on the Commission to take all the requisite steps to ensure that those affected are informed promptly about any available EU funding and that such assistance is granted speedily; calls on the Commission to submit practical proposals to the European Parliament and the Council if it finds that the funding available for such assistance is inadequate;
8. Notes that these events show the clear need for the European Union to implement measures linked to an overall strategy of combating the greenhouse effect;
9. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the parliaments of the Member States.