Pex (PPE-DE).(NL) Mr President, as I stated during yesterday's debate, I have voted in favour of the Sterckx report because it is a sound one. It does, however, give the European people an unwarranted sense of security. Yesterday, I found out that the European Maritime Safety Agency’s plan of action cannot, for budgetary reasons, be implemented. This means that both in terms of quality and quantity, there is insufficient capacity to guarantee the safety of citizens along the European coasts.
Which means that all the work we have done has reached a disappointing conclusion, particularly because we know that Member States refuse to take part in introducing criminal sanctions. Consequently, what we have proposed here is lacking in substance, which is very regrettable, but it has not prevented me from voting in favour of the report. I do take the view, though, that it is necessary to clearly define responsibilities, and so this must be recorded in the Minutes of this House.