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Verbatim report of proceedings
Wednesday, 25 October 2000 - Strasbourg OJ edition

Anti-personnel mines
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  Souladakis (PSE).(EL) Mr President, what we are basically doing in today's debate on the Bonino report, an excellent report, is codifying measures to deal with an extremely serious international problem. The Titley report, which we voted on a few days ago, basically represents a second step forward on questions of common foreign, defence and security policy which will, I believe, slowly but surely build up into a global policy for the European Union with flesh on its bones in the form of uniform terms and uniform rules. I think that time will prove that those who took the initiative were right and we will stop seeing charity workers alongside children with their legs blown off, given that the policy should work as a policy of prevention rather than repression. It is no coincidence that most mines are to be found in crisis areas, i.e. in areas where a different sort of initiative could have been taken in order to resolve the crisis.

Now to a question which was touched on in connection with my country, Greece. I am certain that the Greek Government will not delay in ratifying the convention in question, given that it has already signed it as a country. However, we must bear in mind that it will do so despite the fact that ‘neighbouring Turkey’ does not have the best of intentions vis-à-vis Greece. This is, unfortunately, a fact of life and was brought home to us again recently, last week in fact, during NATO exercises, which were seen as an opportunity for a different kind of policy in the form of a show of intransigence. But let us hope that the future will bring a solution to these problems.

Be that as it may, I believe that the majority vote which this report will receive here in Parliament will strengthen it to the point at which even those who do not have eyes to see or ears to listen will see and will listen.

 
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