Volledig verslag van de vergaderingen

Dinsdag 27 september 2011 - Straatsburg

3. Europese respons bij rampen: de rol van civiele bescherming en humanitaire hulp (debat)

  Πρόεδρος. - Το πρώτο σημείο της ημερήσιας διάταξης είναι η έκθεση Gardini, εξ ονόματος της Επιτροπής Περιβάλλοντος, Δημόσιας Υγείας και Ασφάλειας των Τροφίμων, σχετικά με την ‘Ευρωπαϊκή αντιμετώπιση των καταστροφών: ο ρόλος της πολιτικής προστασίας και της ανθρωπιστικής βοήθειας’ (Α7-0283/2011)

  Elisabetta Gardini, relatrice. − Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, io devo davvero ringraziare tutte le persone che hanno contribuito in queste settimane e in questi mesi alla produzione di questo documento che oggi votiamo in Aula.

Abbiamo lavorato, devo dire, molto bene e si è sviluppato un dibattito davvero costruttivo. La proposta di risoluzione che votiamo quindi oggi raccoglie il frutto di un lavoro davvero comune, che è il frutto di un contributo di tutte le forze politiche e di tutto il Parlamento. Credo si sia sviluppata una sensibilità comune molto forte rispetto a questo tema, anche perché, lo dobbiamo ricordare, viviamo in un'epoca che è davvero caratterizzata da un aumento esponenziale delle catastrofi.

I numeri, se li guardiamo nella loro crudezza, sono molto eloquenti: il numero delle catastrofi nel mondo è quintuplicato; basti pensare che nel 1975 erano stati registrati 78 eventi catastrofici, mentre ci troviamo oggi ad avere quasi 400 eventi calamitosi all'anno. Negli ultimi venti anni purtroppo le vittime di queste catastrofi sono state 90 000 e più di 29 milioni di individui sono stati colpiti dalle catastrofi, mentre le perdite economiche ammontano a 211 miliardi di euro.

È evidente che ci troviamo di fronte a fenomeni di tali dimensioni che chiedono una risposta più forte, una risposta più efficace e un impegno da parte nostra davvero forte. Abbiamo tutti negli occhi le immagini del terremoto di Haiti, l'alluvione in Pakistan, quello che è accaduto in Giappone. L'Europa stessa vede sul proprio territorio ogni anno alluvioni improvvise, incendi, ricordiamo la nube di cenere seguita all'eruzione del vulcano islandese.

Non c'è bisogno di andare oltre per affermare quanto sia importante il lavoro che si sta facendo qui in Parlamento, seguendo due principi fondamentali che sono le nostre stelle polari: il principio di solidarietà che è rafforzato dalla clausola di solidarietà del trattato di Lisbona e il principio di sussidiarietà. Ci muoviamo su queste linee.

L'intervento dell'Unione europea è stato già in passato sempre generoso ed efficace – lo testimonia, credo, il lavoro indefesso del Commissario Georgieva – ma oggi noi abbiamo bisogno di fare un salto di qualità. Un salto di qualità che siamo pronti a fare per passare da una risposta ad hoc ad una risposta invece dove la reazione sia potenziata attraverso l'identificazione preventiva dei mezzi esistenti negli Stati membri messi a disposizione del meccanismo europeo di protezione civile.

È importante poi sottolineare anche – per questo salto di qualità e per passare dalla condivisione delle informazioni e dalla risposta all'emergenza al ruolo di pianificazione e monitoraggio e coordinamento che auspichiamo – il ruolo fondamentale di servizi come GMS, ed approfitto di quest'occasione per dire anche la preoccupazione che c'è per quello che accade rispetto al bilancio per queste nuove tecnologie che sono fondamentali.

Abbiamo inserito l'importanza della comunicazione ai cittadini, perché anche questo ce l'ha insegnato molto l'esperienza giapponese, non è mai sufficiente e mai bastevole. E aspettiamo dalla Commissione, alla quale chiediamo di presentare il prima possibile, la proposta relativa alla protezione civile in forma legislativa.

  Kristalina Georgieva, Member of the Commission. − Madam President, I am very grateful for the debate today and very grateful to Mrs Gardini for leading the preparation of the report. As she so clearly stated, we live in a world where the frequency and intensity of disasters is on the increase, and climate change, population growth and urbanisation, as well as terrorism, put us at a higher risk.

We have witnessed over the years the role that Parliament has played in creating a high level of ambition to make solidarity work for European citizens and for the citizens of the world. I would quote the initiatives taken on the EU Forest Fire Tactical Reserve, on creating multi-country pilot modules like the BaltFloodCombat module, as well as on bringing transportation capacity to bear. We saw how much it helped us during the Libya crisis.

Against that background of growing needs, the Commission has taken its responsibility very seriously, and has put forward the communication that is now to be turned into a legislative proposal, for which I very much count on Parliament’s help.

That communication is based on four very important principles. The first is to respect the primary role of Member States in securing the safety of their citizens. Therefore, what we have put forward is a ‘bottom-up’ approach where we bring the assets of Member States together for collective action when either a Member State or a third country is overwhelmed by a disaster.

Second, we recognise that we must be better in anticipating risks so that we can act decisively when they materialise. Therefore, we raise the role of the Commission in bringing Member States into scenario plannings.

Third, there is a very important move away from the ad hoc response we currently have to one that is pre-planned, pre-arranged and predictable.

Fourth, we are very mindful of the tough budgetary times in Europe, so we are looking at ways in which working together will create savings for Member States. In this sense, the proposal which we have designed is a very modest increase, at the level of the Commission, from EUR 25 million to EUR 65 million, but generates on that basis not only high impact but also savings for Member States.

Let me finish with one very crucial point. We are doing this for our citizens, and over 90% of them want us to act together in the face of disasters. We owe it to them to do exactly that.

  Michèle Striffler, rapporteur pour avis DEVE. – Madame le Président, Madame le Commissaire, chers collègues, la multiplication des catastrophes naturelles majeures et les pressions budgétaires actuelles ont pour conséquences que l'Union européenne doit vraiment renforcer sa capacité de réaction aux catastrophes et utiliser au mieux ses ressources limitées.

À la suite des nombreuses demandes de notre Parlement, il est temps, bien sûr, que la Commission européenne fasse des propositions législatives ambitieuses d'ici fin 2011 pour la création, enfin, d'une véritable force européenne de protection civile, qui consisterait en un engagement de certains États membres à mettre volontairement à disposition des modules de protection civile identifiés à l'avance et prêts à intervenir immédiatement pour des opérations de secours de l'Union européenne en cas de catastrophes majeures. Je me félicite de la récente communication de la Commission sur le cadre financier pluriannuel 2014-2020, qui prévoit un budget de 455 millions d'euros pour l'instrument de protection civile et qui accorde une large importance aux actions de préparation et de prévention.

Enfin, la Commission doit s'employer activement à assurer la visibilité des ressources et des capacités mises en œuvre sur le terrain, notamment par l'utilisation des symboles de l'Union européenne parallèlement aux badges nationaux.

  Γεώργιος Σταυρακάκης, Εισηγητής της γνωμοδότησης της Επιτροπής Περιφερειακής Ανάπτυξης. − Κυρία Πρόεδρε, κατ’ αρχήν θα ήθελα να συγχαρώ την εισηγήτρια για την εξαιρετική δουλειά που έχει κάνει και να εκφράσω την ικανοποίησή μου, τόσο για την ιδιαίτερη βαρύτητα που δίνεται στην πρόληψη και διαχείριση των πυρκαγιών, όσο και για το γεγονός ότι οι κύριες θέσεις της Επιτροπής Περιφερειακής Ανάπτυξης ενσωματώνονται στο τελικό κείμενο.

Ως Επιτροπή Περιφερειακής Ανάπτυξης, τονίζουμε κυρίως το γεγονός ότι η ρήτρα αλληλεγγύης που εισάγεται με το άρθρο 222 της Συνθήκης της Λισαβόνας μπορεί και πρέπει να αποτελέσει σημαντική βάση για περαιτέρω ενίσχυση και υποστήριξη, από πλευράς Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης, της δράσης των κρατών μελών στον τομέα της πολιτικής προστασίας.

Εξάλλου, υπενθυμίζουμε τον ρόλο και την ευθύνη των περιφερειακών και τοπικών αρχών, τον σημαντικό ρόλο του Ευρωπαϊκού Ταμείου Περιφερειακής Ανάπτυξης και την ανάγκη αξιοποίησης της πολύτιμης εμπειρίας που έχει αποκτηθεί σε επίπεδο περιφερειών μέσα από τα προγράμματα διαπεριφερειακής συνεργασίας και, τέλος, ότι οι παράκτιες, νησιωτικές και ορεινές περιοχές είναι εξαιρετικά ευάλωτες στις καταστροφές λόγω της γεωγραφικής τους θέσης.

Κλείνοντας, θα ήθελα να ζητήσω από την κυρία Επίτροπο να σχολιάσει το σημείο 7 της έκθεσης για τη συγκρότηση μιας δύναμης πολιτικής προστασίας της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης.

  Richard Seeber, im Namen der PPE-Fraktion. – Frau Präsidentin! Ich möchte mich bei der Berichterstatterin bedanken. Sie hat das Richtige gemacht, sie hat einen Initiativbericht schlank konstruiert und spricht nur die wesentlichen Dinge an, die das Parlament in dem Legislativvorschlag, den die Kommission jetzt im Herbst vorschlagen wird, drinnen haben will. Es wäre nicht richtig gewesen, den Bericht aufzublasen, sondern wir müssen jetzt nur die Grundsätze diskutieren.

Es ist uns allen klar, dass es jeden Mitgliedstaat erwischen kann. Es kann eine Naturkatastrophe oder eine technische Katastrophe über ihn hereinbrechen mit sehr großem menschlichem Leid und großen wirtschaftlichen Schäden. Das Ausmaß der Schäden wurde ja mehrfach angesprochen. Nun stellen wir fest, dass diese Schäden in den letzten Jahren massiv steigen und der Vernetzungsgrad und die Kompliziertheit unserer Gesellschaften steigen. Es ist eine logische Folge, dass wir von Europa her mit einer verstärkten Aktion kommen müssen. Deshalb sollte die Kommission in ihrem Vorschlag darauf Bedacht nehmen – wie von der Frau Kommissarin bereits angedeutet –, dass primär die Mitgliedstaaten in ihrer Verantwortung bleiben müssen – also bottom-up –, dass aber Europa eine sehr starke koordinierende Rolle spielen muss.

In diesem Zusammenhang auch gleich eine Frage an Sie, Frau Kommissarin. Es ist ja Ihre ureigenste Zuständigkeit, über die wir hier diskutieren. Trotzdem fordert der Ausschuss für Auswärtige Angelegenheiten, dass die Hohe Vertreterin eine sehr starke Rolle übernehmen soll. Ich habe Sorge, dass man bei den Zuständigkeitsstreitigkeiten in der Kommission nicht weiß, wer eigentlich zuständig und verantwortlich ist. Man sollte das gleich am Anfang klären, um hier nicht in Doppelgleisigkeiten hineinzukommen.

Wichtig ist auch, dass wir die Mittel konzentrieren, dass wir im Vorfeld überlegen und diese Vorbereitung verbessern, um dann wirklich schnell handeln zu können. Ich war selbst Berichterstatter für diese Hochwasser-Richtlinie, und hier hat man auch gesehen, wenn wir gut vorbereitet sind, können wir Menschenleben retten und auch wirtschaftlichen Schaden vermeiden. Ich hoffe, Frau Kommissarin, Sie kommen möglichst bald mit einem dementsprechenden Vorschlag.

  Jo Leinen, im Namen der S&D-Fraktion. – Frau Präsidentin! Frau Kommissarin, auch wir begrüßen Ihre Mitteilung über die Verbesserung des Katastrophenschutzes in der Europäischen Union. Die Bürger in Europa erwarten, dass wir uns bei Katastrophen schnell und effizient einbringen und uns vor allen Dingen gegenseitig helfen. In der Vergangenheit hat man manchmal etwas hilflos vor dem Fernseher gehockt, wenn in Südeuropa die Wälder gebrannt haben, und hat sich gefragt: Warum helfen denn die anderen nicht? Ihre Mitteilung ist jetzt der nächste Schritt zu einer europäischen Solidarität, zu einer Effizienz der Kapazitäten, die wir in Europa haben. Und wir haben alles, was wir brauchen. Wir haben in Europa wirklich alle Fazilitäten, um Katastrophen zu bewältigen. Insofern ist das jetzt ein guter Schritt nach vorne.

Es ist schon gesagt worden: Die nationalen Kapazitäten sollen nicht durch eine Zentralisierung auf EU-Ebene ersetzt werden, aber wir brauchen die Synergie. Wir brauchen wirklich das schnelle Agieren aller zusammen. Das ist jetzt auch dringend notwendig. Ich stimme auch zu, dass wir mehr und mehr präventiv denken müssen. Wir müssen mit den Informationen, die wir haben, richtig umgehen und dürfen nicht warten, bis die Katastrophe eingetreten ist. Da kann man viel tun bei möglichen Überschwemmungen, bei möglichen Trockenheiten, wo auch immer wieder Feuer ausbrechen. Ich freue mich, dass wir jetzt den Katastrophenschutz sowohl in der EU als auch außerhalb der EU aus einem Guss organisieren. Ich stimme dem Kollegen Seeber zu: Die Zuständigkeiten sollten klar sein. Sie sind verantwortlich. Sie sollten das machen und nicht einen Mix von Zuständigkeiten zulassen, wo man nachher nicht mehr weiß, wer verantwortlich ist.

Zu guter Letzt: Ich glaube, dass diese 24/7-Einsatzbereitschaft immer gegeben sein muss, auch an Weihnachten, auch an Neujahr, auch an Feiertagen, auch im Sommer. Das ist sehr wichtig. Ich danke Frau Gardini für den guten Bericht!

  Giommaria Uggias, a nome del gruppo ALDE. – Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, Commissario Georgieva, siamo soddisfatti, e per questo voglio ringraziare innanzitutto la relatrice Gardini e gli altri relatori ombra, per la proficua collaborazione su un dossier di grande attualità e di estrema importanza come questo.

Siamo soddisfatti, dicevo, per l'approccio equilibrato e razionale con cui è stato trattato il dossier, che contempla perfettamente il principio di sussidiarietà e l'idea di una clausola di solidarietà che dovrebbe ispirare le azioni degli Stati membri nella risposta alle catastrofi e nel ruolo di protezione civile. Nello specifico, ritengo necessario lo sviluppo di un sistema prevedibile e pianificato nell'ambito del meccanismo di protezione civile dell'Unione europea nel pieno rispetto del principio di sussidiarietà e dunque senza che ciò comporti la creazione di un corpo sovranazionale, che rischierebbe di duplicare costi e competenze senza garanzia di funzionamento efficiente.

Esprimo particolare apprezzamento per l'attenzione prestata alle aree estremamente vulnerabili, come le isole, che è bene espressa nel corpo di tutta la relazione, così come l'enfasi data al legame tra azione di preparazione, prevenzione e risposta ai disastri che costituiscono una triade inscindibile. Infine, credo che meriti attenzione, e mi compiaccio per la sensibilità mostrata anche dagli altri colleghi nell'affrontare il tema dei grandi rischi regionali e in particolare i molteplici riferimenti su azioni e strategie mirate alla lotta contro gli incendi.

  Ryszard Czarnecki, w imieniu grupy ECR. – Pani Przewodnicząca! Dobrze, że się tym zajmujemy, ponieważ liczba klęsk żywiołowych na świecie wzrosła o 500%. Jednocześnie chciałbym bardzo mocno podkreślić, że to nie tylko sprawa Pakistanu, Haiti, ale także sprawa Europy i Europejczyków, którzy giną w klęskach żywiołowych, którzy ponoszą znaczące straty materialne. Ta inicjatywa instytucji europejskich jest bardzo potrzebna, ponieważ - powiedzmy sobie szczerze - państwa narodowe nie zawsze dają sobie z tym problemem radę. Tak na przykład jest w moim kraju, w Polsce, gdzie rząd zawiódł oczekiwania ofiar ostatnich klęsk żywiołowych, huraganów - zarówno tych, którzy stracili dach nad głową, jak również przedsiębiorców.

Dlatego też ta inicjatywa na szczeblu Unii jest bezwzględnie potrzebna. Chodzi, proszę państwa, o realną pomoc i naprawdę ofiary oczekują nie symboli europejskich - jak usłyszeliśmy - stawianych tam, gdzie ta pomoc będzie udzielona, tylko realnej pomocy - i to będzie najlepsza reklama instytucji unijnych. Jest rzeczą bardzo ważną, że nie mówimy tutaj tylko o pomocy po katastrofach, ale również o prewencji, o zapobieganiu klęskom, na przykład pożarom lasów, ale też - co jest bardzo ważne w przypadku mojej ojczyzny, Polski, - zapobieganiu powodziom.

  Bairbre de Brún, thar ceann an Ghrúpa GUE/NGL. – A Uachtaráin, ba mhaith liom fáilte a chur roimh thuarascáil Elisabetta Gardini agus gabhaim buíochas le Bean Gardini as ucht na dea-oibre. Gabhaim buíochas léi ach go háirithe as an gcomhoibriú a rinne sí linne agus í ag glacadh moltaí agus leasuithe s’againne san áireamh.

Is páirt thábhachtach d’fhorbairt inbhuanaithe é laghdú tubaiste. Má phleanálaimid ár bhforbairt ar bhealach a laghdaíonn an riosca de thubaiste, is féidir líon mór beathaí a shábháil. Is féidir léirscrios sóisialta, eacnamaíochta agus comhshaoil, de dheasca guaiseanna nádúrtha, a laghdú agus, de réir a chéile, an léirscrios a bhaineann le tubaiste teicneolaíoch agus comhshaoil a laghdú lena chois.

Tosaíonn freagairt tubaiste le cosc agus go hullmhacht. Gríosaím an Coimisiún Eorpach agus na Ballstáit chun níos mó infheistíochta a dhéanamh i laghdú tubaiste agus chun éifeachtúlacht freagairt tubaiste a fheabhsú de mheon dlúthpháirtíochta.

Is iad soiléireacht, comhsheasmhacht agus comhleanúnachas na príomhcholúin ar a dtógtar córas freagartha tubaiste Eorpach atá oibritheach láidir.

Tá sé tábhachtach go mbeadh comhordú cuí ann le go dtig linn cúnamh éifeachtúil daonnúil a sholáthar. Ach caithfear cloí le prionsabail dhaonnúla thábhachtacha chomh maith – neamhchlaontacht, neodracht agus neamhspleáchas san áireamh. Caithfimid a chinntiú go gcuirtear i bhfeidhm an dlí daonnúil idirnáisiúnta.

Is gá dúinn a chinntiú nach dtéann cúrsaí polaitiúla agus straitéiseacha i bhfeidhm ar chinntí maidir le dáileadh cúnaimh. Caithfimid a chinntiú nach mbeidh fóirithint tubaiste choíche faoi réir leasanna straitéiseacha trádála ná polaitiúla an AE.

Ba chóir cúnamh daonnúil an AE a sholáthar beag beann ar gach machnamh polaitiúil agus ag an am céanna, cloí le prionsabail dhaonnúla aontaithe idirnáisiúnta.

  Oreste Rossi, a nome del gruppo EFD. – Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, anch'io mi unisco al ringraziamento alla relatrice Gardini perché è riuscita a fare un ottimo lavoro.

È chiaro, e tutti lo sappiamo, che in caso di catastrofi naturali e anche umane, la cosa migliore sarebbe prevenirle, ma non sempre è possibile. E comunque, quando queste succedono bisogna essere pronti ad intervenire nel modo migliore possibile e nei tempi più rapidi possibile.

Il trattato di Lisbona quindi permette all'Unione europea di operare anche in materia di protezione civile ed è quindi opportuno, in caso di calamità, essere in grado di creare centri di gestione delle emergenze che siano operativi 24 ore su 24, 7 giorni su 7. Bisogna evitare la sovrapposizione e duplicazione degli interventi sia a livello politico sia operativo e per questo è importante, nello spirito della solidarietà europea, sottolineare la necessità che tutti gli Stati membri contribuiscano alla realizzazione di questo progetto.

Nel momento in cui si è nel bisogno non ci devono essere barriere, ma bisogna riuscire ad intervenire in tempi rapidi e con la massima efficienza possibile. E poi, se si riescono anche a ridurre costi in momenti di crisi ovviamente non fa male.

  Franz Obermayr (NI). - Frau Präsidentin! Es wird wichtig, die Effizienz der Katastrophenabwehr in der EU zu steigern. Wir müssen aber auch aus den jüngsten Katastrophen lernen und auf besonders riskante Technologien wie Atomenergie und Tiefseebohrungen verzichten. Zudem müssen Richtlinien im Zusammenhang mit potenziellen Gefahren ordnungsgemäß umgesetzt werden. Das war z. B. beim Schlammunglück im ungarischen Kolontar nicht der Fall.

Eine ständige EU-Katastrophenschutztruppe halte ich nur bedingt für zweckmäßig. In manchen Bereichen schon, z. B. gemeinsame Flugzeuge für Brandbekämpfung, aber grundsätzlich bin ich der Ansicht, dass das Prinzip zur Selbsthilfe unbedingt eingehalten werden muss. Dabei ist auch darauf zu achten, dass die vorbeugende Gefahrenabwehr in den Mitgliedstaaten zwingend vorhanden sein muss. Gerade in Ländern wie Österreich, Deutschland oder in Südtirol ist dieser vorbeugende Katastrophenschutz vorbildlich und in freiwilliger Komponente vorhanden. Das gehört auch in der EU als vorbildhaft beachtet. Ich sage das als einer, der selbst seit dem 14. Lebensjahr Mitglied einer freiwilligen Feuerwehr ist.

  Μιχάλης Τρεμόπουλος, εξ ονόματος της ομάδας Verts/ALE. – Κυρία Πρόεδρε, θα ήθελα να ευχαριστήσω την εισηγήτρια και όλους τους συναδέλφους που συνέβαλαν στη σύνταξη αυτής της συναινετικής έκθεσης. Μιας έκθεσης που υπογραμμίζει τόσο την ανάγκη να αναβαθμιστούν οι ευρωπαϊκοί μηχανισμοί αντιμετώπισης των καταστροφών μέσω της βέλτιστης αξιοποίησης πόρων, όσο και τη διασφάλιση της ευρωπαϊκής αλληλεγγύης που τόση ανάγκη έχουμε αυτό τον καιρό.

Με τον ολοένα αυξανόμενο ρυθμό, αλλά και την ένταση των φυσικών και ανθρωπογενών καταστροφών, αυξάνει και η ανάγκη για μεγαλύτερη αποδοτικότητα σε όλα τα επίπεδα της ευρωπαϊκής διαχείρισης των καταστροφών, συμπεριλαμβανομένων και της πρόληψης, της ετοιμότητας αντιμετώπισης, καθώς και της αποκατάστασης.

Θα ήθελα να επικεντρωθώ στην πτυχή της πρόληψης: θα ήταν δυνατόν να γλυτώσουμε χρήματα και χρόνο αν επενδύσουμε περισσότερο στην πρόληψη παρά στην αντιμετώπιση και αποκατάσταση. Ο αυξανόμενος ρυθμός της αλλαγής του κλίματος και η εξάντληση των φυσικών πόρων θα αυξήσει περαιτέρω τις πιθανότητες για συχνότερες και πιο έντονες φυσικές καταστροφές. Η καταπολέμηση της κλιματικής αλλαγής και η ορθολογική διαχείριση των φυσικών πόρων είναι μια έξυπνη προληπτική επένδυση που θα σώσει, εκτός από ανθρώπινες ζωές, και πολύτιμους πόρους στην περίοδο της οικονομικής κρίσης.

Σε αυτό το πλαίσιο, οι τροπολογίες μας, που υιοθετήθηκαν στην Επιτροπή Περιβάλλοντος, τόνισαν ακριβώς αυτή τη διαπίστωση αλλά και την ανάγκη για πιο αποτελεσματικό σχεδιασμό απόκρισης έκτακτων περιστατικών που αφορούν πετρελαιοκηλίδες, πυρηνικά και άλλα επικίνδυνα υλικά. Τόνισαν επίσης την ανάγκη να εφαρμόσουμε πιο αποτελεσματικά την αρχή "ο ρυπαίνων πληρώνει" όσον αφορά την ευθύνη για την περιβαλλοντική ζημιά. Τα ατυχήματα που Κόλπου του Μεξικού και της Φουκουσίμα δεν πρέπει να σβηστούν ποτέ από τη συνείδησή μας.

  Horst Schnellhardt (PPE). - Frau Präsidentin! Erst einmal vielen Dank an die Berichterstatterin, Frau Gardini, die einen sehr kurzen und klaren Bericht erstellt hat, der unsere Aufgaben auch vereint. Wenn man den Bericht liest und feststellt, dass es 16 Verweise auf Rechtsgrundlagen gibt, die unsere bisherige Arbeit im Katastrophenschutz und im Bereich humanitäre Hilfe zeigen, müsste man eigentlich davon ausgehen, dass es reicht. Auch die letzten Ergebnisse im Katastrophenschutz haben doch gezeigt, dass wir gut reagiert haben. Aber wir haben auch eine neue Situation in Europa. Wir haben mehr Katastrophen im Umweltbereich, wir haben Terrorangriffe, die schnelles Reagieren verlangen, und ich denke, dass es deshalb richtig ist, dass die Kommission hier einen Legislativvorschlag vorlegen wird.

Aber wir müssen eines bedenken, es wurde schon mehrmals gesagt: Die Mitgliedstaaten müssen im Mittelpunkt stehen. Aber wenn wir eine Katastrophenabwehreinheit aufstellen wollen, dann, Frau Kommissarin, kann sie nur aus der Substanz der Mitgliedstaaten entstehen. Aber bei der Koordinierung – das ist der wichtige Punkt, dass Sie wissen, wo liegen die Einheiten, was können sie leisten, und diese dann koordinieren –, da ist die Kommission sehr gut aufgehoben, hier müssen wir ansetzen. Die finanziellen Mittel sind zwar erhöht worden, aber für viel wichtiger halte ich die Stärkung der Effizienz. Die ist nötig, und deswegen können wir auch auf finanzielle Mittel verzichten.

Noch einige Überlegungen zum Katastrophenfonds: Hier wurde auch wieder gefordert, er solle erweitert werden. Ich bin dagegen. Dann haben wir so viele Varianten und Möglichkeiten, wo der Katastrophenfonds eingesetzt wird. Wir sollten ihn so belassen, wie er jetzt ist. Er ist dafür da, dass unvorhergesehene Katastrophen gemildert werden können, und das soll auch so bleiben.

  Edite Estrela (S&D). - Senhora Presidente, as catástrofes são um tema recorrente no nosso debate parlamentar, o que é natural, tendo em conta que elas são cada vez mais frequentes e devastadoras. E por isso gostaria de saudar a iniciativa da Sra. Comissária Georgieva, porque me parece muito pertinente, e também felicitar a relatora, a Sra. Gardini. Nós, no Grupo S&D, concordamos com a análise dos efeitos das alterações climáticas no aumento do número e gravidade das catástrofes e damos prioridade às políticas de prevenção.

O Tratado de Lisboa introduz disposições que permitem reforçar a capacidade de resposta às catástrofes, torná-la mais abrangente, coordenada e eficiente. Saudamos, por isso, a proposta de criação de uma capacidade europeia de resposta a situações de emergência, bem como a proposta de desenvolvimento de um centro europeu de resposta a situações de emergência.

Parece-nos também da maior importância o objectivo de manter um centro operacional permanente, 24 horas por dia, funcionando em articulação com os Estados-Membros através de pontos focais, também permanentes.

Gostaria de saudar as propostas da relatora, designadamente em relação aos projectos-piloto. De sublinhar, por exemplo, a importância do projecto-piloto de uma reserva de meios aéreos para combate a incêndios florestais, cujo sucesso justifica a sua continuidade e consolidação.

O Tratado de Lisboa introduziu também uma cláusula de solidariedade, e penso que a solidariedade é uma dimensão da resposta a catástrofes que era importante reforçar neste relatório. E por isso apresentámos propostas de alteração nesse sentido de reforçar, de facto, esta dimensão da solidariedade.

  Vladko Todorov Panayotov (ALDE). - Madam President, we know that if a catastrophe is well handled with a good reaction capacity many lives can be saved and colossal damage can be avoided. Nevertheless, prevention is the best solution of all. In particular, with regard to man-made disasters such as Fukushima or the oil spill in Mexico, we have to enhance the benefits of ensuring our safety by anticipation. Paying particular attention to climate change and developing a greener economy will surely be a way to reduce considerably both man-made and natural disasters.

Finally, I would like to thank our rapporteur for the work done on a very important, but also an extremely complex, issue. As a matter of fact, it is difficult to find a common guideline to these phenomena, which are all different and which all need a very prompt and accurate reaction.

  Godfrey Bloom (EFD). - Madam President, I rise with some humility as representing a country which managed to elect a Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer, a Scotsman, the only Scotsman in the world who actually does not care how much money he spends: it is an interesting phenomenon! So as I say, I rise with some humility. However, I look forward with the great British sense of humour which is one thing nobody can take away from us in this place which gave us an energy policy, an employment policy, a fisheries policy, an agricultural policy that have been – as almost everything that this place has done has been – a complete and total disaster. We are now contemplating a response to disasters, most of which of course we create for ourselves in this place. So I can say I look forward to seeing how this develops, how it goes forward in the future, and I am just interested to see what kind of pig’s breakfast you are going to make of this one!

  Françoise Grossetête (PPE). - Madame la Présidente, notre collègue, Mme Gardini, a bien expliqué dans son préambule qu'il était question ici de solidarité, de subsidiarité, et je rajouterai d'efficacité. Parce que – on l'a dit –, les catastrophes sont, c'est vrai, de plus en plus nombreuses sur le territoire de l'Union européenne, il est important de pouvoir rassembler nos efforts, les mettre en commun.

Ceci, finalement, s'inspire complètement de l'excellent rapport produit par Michel Barnier en 2006, dans lequel il demandait que l'Union européenne, qui dispose d'un certain nombre de moyens, puisse les mettre en commun afin de créer une sorte d'unité européenne de protection civile permettant de rassembler ces moyens et de réagir plus vite et plus efficacement. Ceci nous permet d'utiliser nos meilleures technologies. Nous avons le programme Galileo, nous avons le programme GMES, nous avons aussi les télécommunications, qui nous permettent d'avoir rapidement l'information nécessaire, toujours de manière à intervenir le plus vite possible.

J'en profite pour rappeler, à propos des télécommunications, l'intérêt du numéro européen d'urgence que nous avons voulu, le 112, qui a le pouvoir de sauver la vie de milliers d'Européens au quotidien. Il est vital de mieux communiquer auprès de nos concitoyens afin qu'ils connaissent les moyens qui sont à leur disposition.

Donc, le rapport de Mme Gardini prouve que nous pouvons changer radicalement le cours des choses sans bouleverser les structures existantes, en veillant bien entendu à respecter la subsidiarité, mais en mutualisant les moyens, et ceci, sans créer de structures inadéquates et coûteuses. Nous demandons à la Commission européenne d'assurer une bonne coordination de ces moyens-là. Madame la Commissaire, vous nous avez dit que vous attendiez de l'aide de la part de notre Parlement, vous pouvez compter sur nous.

  Κρίτων Αρσένης (S&D). - Κυρία Πρόεδρε, κατ’ αρχάς, επιθυμώ να συγχαρώ τους συναδέλφους που εργάστηκαν εντατικά γι’ αυτή την έκθεση. Πρόκειται για μια έκθεση που, απ’ ό,τι φαίνεται και από τις ομιλίες των συναδέλφων, έτυχε μεγάλης και ευρείας συναίνεσης. Συγχαρητήρια λοιπόν στην εισηγήτρια, την κ. Gardini, αλλά και στον κ. Σταυρακάκη από την Επιτροπή Περιφερειακής Ανάπτυξης. Είναι η δεύτερη έκθεση που θα ψηφίσουμε εδώ στο Ευρωπαϊκό Κοινοβούλιο μέσα σε μικρό χρονικό διάστημα από την έκθεση για τη δασική προστασία που μας καλεί να λάβουμε μέτρα για την προστασία των ευρωπαϊκών δασών.

Τα ευρωπαϊκά δάση, που είναι απαραίτητα για να αντιμετωπίσουμε την κλιματική αλλαγή, είναι και απαραίτητα για να προσαρμόσουμε, να προετοιμάσουμε τις κοινωνίες μας για την αντιμετώπιση της κλιματικής αλλαγής. Λόγω της υπερθέρμανσης του πλανήτη, τα δάση απειλούνται από πυρκαγιές, πλημμύρες και πολλά άλλα ακραία φαινόμενα, όπως άλλωστε απειλείται και ολόκληρη η Ευρώπη από αυτά τα φαινόμενα τα οποία, λόγω του διασυνοριακού τους χαρακτήρα, μας επιβάλλουν να λάβουμε μέτρα.

Πρέπει οπωσδήποτε να ενεργήσει αναλόγως η Επιτροπή και περιμένουμε την απάντησή της για το αν θα προχωρήσει στη Λευκή Βίβλο για τη δασική προστασία, αν θα έχουμε τελικά νομοθεσία για την προσαρμογή των δασών μας στην κλιματική αλλαγή. Με την παρούσα έκθεση, το Κοινοβούλιο ζητά για δεύτερη φορά νομοθεσία για την πρόληψη των δασικών πυρκαγιών, ένα μέτρο που συμβάλλει στην εξοικονόμηση πόρων και που κρίνεται απαραίτητο σ’ αυτή την οικονομική συγκυρία. Όταν σημειώνονται πυρκαγιές και άλλα ακραία φαινόμενα απαιτείται να υπάρχει ένας ευέλικτος μηχανισμός αλληλεγγύης προσαρμοσμένος στις τοπικές ανάγκες που να μπορεί, με κοινή ευρωπαϊκή απάντηση, να ανταποκρίνεται σε αυτές.

  Charles Goerens (ALDE). - Madame la Présidente, il n'y a pas trente-six façons d'améliorer la capacité de réaction de l'Union européenne en cas de catastrophes. Prévention, coordination, mutualisation sont les maîtres mots de la politique en la matière. La prévention, par une politique axée davantage sur le développement durable, la coordination et l'échange permanent d'informations pour éviter le double emploi, la mutualisation des moyens dont disposent les États membres de l'Union européenne, par souci d'efficacité, d'une part, et de bonne gestion des deniers publics, d'autre part.

Madame la Commissaire pourrait-elle m'indiquer les principaux obstacles qui s'opposeraient encore à l'intégration de ces principes dans la politique de l'Union européenne? Pourriez-vous, Madame Georgieva, nous faire part des principales difficultés que vous rencontrez encore au niveau des États membres pour ce qui est du respect de ces principes, ou de la réalisation des objectifs auxquels nous invite d'ailleurs le traité de Lisbonne?

  Cristina Gutiérrez-Cortines (PPE). - Señora Presidenta, me parece muy bien el informe de la señora Gardini: hay un gran esfuerzo. Sin embargo, a mí me gustaría que, además de la prevención, se hubiera estudiado el día después.

Uno de los gravísimos problemas que tenemos en Haití, en Lorca, por ejemplo, en el reciente terremoto, y en L'Aquila es precisamente que, en el momento en que ya se han salvado las vidas, ya se ha vuelto a la vida normal, hay que reconstruir las ciudades, ciudades que tardaron años y miles de años en construirse, de pronto hay que elevarlas de nuevo. Y hay que elevarlas y hay una ciencia y una tecnología para ayudarlas.

No se puede construir después de un terremoto en todos los suelos. Habrá que ver qué suelos son los más adecuados. ¿Dónde está la unidad en la Unión Europea que se dedique a coordinar todo ese conocimiento que hay en todas las secciones? Se dice que las nuevas ciudades tienen que ser energéticas, tienen que ser smart cities, pero ¿cómo damos el paso de una ciudad destruida a una smart city?

Europa, en ese caso, tiene abandonados a sus ciudadanos. No ha tomado medidas de coordinación. Y es preciso, señora Comisaria, coordinar la reconstrucción y la auténtica prevención en el caso de las inundaciones (floods). Es preciso ver cómo se pueden regular los ríos. Otros países, como España, lo han conseguido en su mayor parte.

No se puede dejar de hablar de un desastre el día siguiente. Por eso me preocupa mucho más el día después, y en esto creo que Europa tiene que empezar a trabajar.

  Jolanta Emilia Hibner (PPE). - Pani Przewodnicząca! Dziękuję w imieniu naszej grupy koleżance Gardini, która przygotowała bardzo dobre sprawozdanie zawierające wszystkie priorytety.

Europejska zdolność reagowania na katastrofy przyczyni się do wzrostu poczucia bezpieczeństwa obywateli Unii Europejskiej, ale też ma wielkie zadanie na polu międzynarodowym, na arenie międzynarodowej, w aspekcie prowadzenia również działań ratowniczych i humanitarnych w krajach, które w przyszłości mogą być dotknięte katastrofami. Propozycja utworzenia europejskich zasobów reagowania na zagrożenia jest bardzo ważnym elementem. Mam jednak nadzieję, że tutaj państwa członkowskie zachowają pełną autonomię dysponowania zasobami ratowniczymi i będą miały pełne prawo do użytkowania tych zasobów w dowolnym czasie, a ich udostępnianie będzie na drodze dobrowolności, ale też i solidarności europejskiej. Istnieje konieczność powołania takiego całodobowego centrum reagowania (wiele krajów już takie centrum posiada, więc można te doświadczenia przenieść), które będzie łącznikiem międzynarodowych działań, w połączeniu z tymi działaniami, które już w tej chwili mamy. Istnieje też konieczność opracowania scenariuszy w przypadku różnych klęsk w zależności od ich rodzajów, zarówno w Unii Europejskiej, jak i poza jej granicami.

Idea wykorzystania centrum reagowania kryzysowego w celu usprawnienia przepływu informacji między Unią a innymi krajami jest niezbędna.

  Christine De Veyrac (PPE). - Madame la Présidente, ces dernières années – chacun l'a dit –, l'Union européenne a été frappée par des catastrophes sans précédent et les citer ici prendrait tout le temps du débat. Je citerai quand même l'explosion d'AZF, dont nous avons commémoré les dix ans il y a moins d'une semaine à Toulouse.

Une réaction renforcée au niveau européen, telle que proposée dans le rapport de Mme Gardini, représente une réelle occasion de manifester la solidarité entre nos populations. Depuis plusieurs années déjà, l'Union tente de rendre opérationnelle cette mutualisation de nos efforts et il est désormais temps d'agir ensemble et de ne plus attendre qu'une nouvelle catastrophe frappe nos territoires pour en tirer les leçons.

Aujourd'hui, il s'agit de mettre à la disposition de chacun nos capacités matérielles, humaines et financières, afin d'empêcher que de nouveaux drames se produisent. Madame la Commissaire, tout à l'heure, vous avez dit qu'il fallait anticiper les risques. Il est vraiment regrettable que, dans ce contexte, la Commission européenne envisage de se retirer du financement du programme d'observation satellitaire GMES, qui est reconnu par tous comme un instrument essentiel de la prévention et de la coordination des réponses aux catastrophes. J'appelle instamment la Commission à revoir cette position et à soutenir ces programmes phares qui donnent à l'Europe une plus-value incontestable.

Je voudrais remercier Madame Gardini pour son très bon rapport. J'espère que nous allons l'adopter; il ouvrira ainsi la voie à une solidarité européenne au service du citoyen.

  Marco Scurria (PPE). - Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, nel minuto che ho a disposizione volevo ringraziare sicuramente la collega Gardini per l'ottima relazione svolta, anche perché scaturisce dal confronto con le istituzioni preposte e le associazioni impegnate in questo settore.

Abbiamo però bisogno di più, dobbiamo avere una risoluzione legislativa che possa fare un passo avanti ed organizzare la protezione civile a livello europeo senza più mancanze e senza più sovrapposizioni. In un momento in cui si discute il ruolo dell'Unione europea, questo è l'ambito in cui si ha l'esigenza di più Europa per dare vita ad un'azione unitaria e coordinata di tutta la nostra Unione, soprattutto perché la protezione civile vive di solidarietà e di volontariato, che ben si inserisce nelle finalità del trattato di Lisbona e dell'attuale Anno europeo del volontariato.

Ed in più, ovviamente, serve un investimento finanziario per il quale ringrazio il Commissario per aver evidenziato quest'aspetto e chiesto un incremento di bilancio.

  Vasilica Viorica Dăncilă (S&D). - Fondul de solidaritate al Uniunii Europene funcţionează în general bine, dar experienţa dobândită în cursul primilor ani de punere în aplicare arată că exisă limitări şi puncte slabe importante în funcţionarea fondului. Acestea sunt legate de lipsa de rapiditate cu care este pusă la dispoziţie finanţarea din partea fondului, de gradul de transparenţă a criteriilor pentru mobilizarea fondului în cazul catastrofelor regionale şi delimitările la catastrofele de origine naturală.

Ţin să amintesc că mai multe state membre au fost sprijinite financiar de Uniunea Europeană pentru proiectele din zonele calamitate de diferite dezastre, dar deblocarea fondurilor s-a realizat cu întârziere faţă de momentul în care ar fi avut eficienţă maximă. În acest scop, consider că posibilitatea de a se acorda asistenţă sub forma unui sistem de plăţi în avans bazat pe estimarea iniţială a pagubelor unei ţări afectate de o catastrofă, la cererea acesteia, ar fi o facilitate care ar fi foarte apreciată de zonele afectate imediat după producerea unei catastrofe.

  João Ferreira (GUE/NGL). - Senhora Presidente, Senhora Comissária, há precisamente um ano, em Setembro de 2010, uma ampla maioria aprovava neste Parlamento um relatório, de que fui relator, sobre uma abordagem comunitária à prevenção de catástrofes naturais e provocadas pelo Homem.

Ali se referia que a prevenção, enquanto primeira e decisiva fase do ciclo de gestão das catástrofes, deveria adquirir uma maior relevância. A prevenção pode evitar a ocorrência de muitas catástrofes e diminuir significativamente os efeitos de outras.

Eram exemplos das medidas que propúnhamos nesse relatório a criação de um quadro financeiro apropriado à prevenção, acções nos domínios do ordenamento florestal, da prevenção de fogos, da protecção e defesa da orla costeira, da recuperação e protecção de bacias hidrográficas, a criação de um seguro público agrícola e a instituição de um sistema de compensação mínima aos agricultores afectados por catástrofes, o reforço dos sistemas de alerta precoce, a revisão do regulamento do Fundo de Solidariedade.

Um ano depois, é fácil verificar que é quase tudo o que está por fazer. Quando se discutem agora as demais fases do ciclo de gestão – a preparação, a resposta, a recuperação – seria bom ter este facto presente.

  Jaroslav Paška (EFD). - V mojej krajine máme príslovie, ktoré hovorí, že nešťastie nechodí po horách, ale po ľuďoch. Zemetrasenia, rozsiahle povodne, požiare a iné katastrofy sa nevyhýbajú ani našim európskym krajinám a záchranné tímy postihnutých štátov často nie sú schopné, najmä v počiatočných fázach katastrof, pokrývať nevyhnutnú pomoc pri rozsiahlych katastrofách a medzinárodná pomoc sa často stáva nevyhnutnosťou.

Preto treba uvítať rozhodnutie Komisie zlúčiť monitorovacie a informačné centrum s krízovým centrom Echo a vytvoriť jedno samostatné centrum pre núdzové reakcie, ktoré bude v nepretržitej prevádzke pripravené kedykoľvek koordinovať operácie krízovej humanitárnej pomoci Európskej únie. Vybudovanie tejto inštitúcie ako centrálneho miesta pre rýchlu koordináciu európskej materiálnej a finančnej pomoci by zmysluplnosť tejto inštitúcie ešte viac zvýraznilo. Som presvedčený, že dobrou pripravenosťou mechanizmov, tímov krízovej a humanitárnej pomoci môžme v núdzových situáciách účinne zachraňovať životy a zdravie našich ľudí.

  Iosif Matula (PPE). - Uniunea Europeană şi cetăţenii ei se confruntă cu o creştere alarmantă a numărului dezastrelor şi o accentuare a gravităţii acestora. Calamităţile răspândite în toate statele lumii dovedesc necesitatea consolidării unei forţe europene de reacţie rapidă în situaţii de urgenţă. Evenimentele care generează dezastre nu pot fi evitate, însă acestea pot fi gestionate, iar efectele reduse. Diminuarea riscului asociat fenomenelor naturale necesită o serie de măsuri şi acţiuni concretizate în politici de prevenire a impactului dezastrelor.

Ajutorul financiar de peste 2 miliarde de euro acordat în perioada 2002-2010 prin Fondul de solidaritate confirmă rolul primordial al UE în sprijinirea statelor afectate de dezastre. Banii alocaţi ajung, totuşi, greu la persoanele afectate, fiind necesară crearea unui mecanism eficient de mobilizare imediată a sumelor alocate din Fondul de solidaritate, care să-şi găsească un corespondent la fel de prompt în fiecare dintre statele membre. Mulţumesc şi felicitări doamnei Gardini.

  Csaba Sándor Tabajdi (S&D). - Elnök Asszony! Magyarország egy évvel ezelőtt élte át a vörösiszap tragédiáját, ezt az ipari katasztrófát. Mi pontosan érzékeltük, és ezúttal is szeretném megköszönni, mit jelent az uniós segítség. Az önkéntes segítség rengeteget segített Magyarországnak, ugyanakkor érzékeltük ennek esetlegességét is. Ezért kiváló ennek a jelentésnek a célkitűzése, hogy hozzuk létre az európai vészhelyzet reagálási központot.

Ezúton szeretném Georgieva biztos asszonynak is megköszönni a segítséget, és egyben szeretném kérni a Házat, hogy ilyen kiváló munkát végző biztos asszony esetében tanuljuk meg helyesen ejteni a nevét: Georgieva.

Szeretném felhívni arra is a figyelmet, hogy a katasztrófát követően a vállalatot a hatóság hatszoros mértékű kártérítésre kényszerítette, mint amekkora a saját vagyona, tehát hatszorosát kell fizetnie. Kötelezővé kell tenni az ipari üzemek felelősségbiztosítását.

  Elżbieta Katarzyna Łukacijewska (PPE). - Pani Przewodnicząca! W obliczu coraz częstszych klęsk i katastrof bardzo ważna jest szybka i skoordynowana reakcja, a także umiejętność maksymalnego zaangażowania wszystkich dostępnych środków, bo tylko takie działania pozwolą ograniczyć tragedie ludzkie i straty materialne.

Cieszę się bardzo, że w sprawozdaniu podkreślona została rola władz lokalnych i regionalnych, które znajdują się na pierwszej linii w razie wystąpienia katastrofy. Wszyscy wiemy, że pełnią one bardzo istotną rolę, zarówno jeżeli chodzi o prewencję, jak i niwelowanie skutków klęsk żywiołowych. Cieszę się również, że poruszono kwestię uelastycznienia funduszu solidarności, bo – proszę państwa – nie może być tak, że osoby dotknięte tragedią czekają miesiącami czy latami na to, aby została im udzielona pomoc finansowa. Gratulując i dziękując pani sprawozdawczyni, mam nadzieję, że uda nam się zrealizować wszystkie zawarte w sprawozdaniu postulaty, poprawić koordynację, komunikację i szybkość reagowania na wszystkich szczeblach.

  Ioan Mircea Paşcu (S&D). - Madam President, the multiplication of natural disasters and human-produced disasters is a fact. At the same time, there is more and more strain on the national means available for response, not least because the rest of the world expects the EU to respond to their disasters, too.

Until now that response has been ad hoc and too bureaucratic. Therefore, a complete overhaul of the entire system is indispensable, and this very detailed report provides the necessary orientation. In essence, we have to eliminate redundancies and increase the efficiency of what we want to keep. In that respect, we need to shift the emphasis from reaction to prevention, stressing monitoring, scenario preparation and education. We need to create a permanent pool of the national means placed at our disposal for such purposes and increase the flexibility of our procedures to make the entire system more operative.

The main conditionality would be subsidiarity, then availability of means – both material and financial. Finally, let us not forget that civil protection is entirely in line with the EU philosophy of intervention, and let us stress the civilian element over the military which, even if not entirely eliminated, will not be central.

  Silvia Costa (S&D). - Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, nel complimentarmi con la relatrice Gardini e con il Commissario dico che condivido le esigenze di una legislazione europea, di un approccio "bottom-up" e di un centro di coordinamento che valorizzi le migliori esperienze e i modelli di intervento della protezione civile nei vari Stati membri, integrando competenze e volontariato, coordinamenti nazionali ed enti locali.

Per quanto attiene a due punti, al rafforzamento del 112 come numero unico per le chiamate delle emergenze in Europa, chiedo alla Commissione di fare un'attiva verifica considerando che, per esempio, nel mio paese si sta andando invece verso un'ulteriore frammentazione dei numeri e delle strutture di risposta alle chiamate di emergenza, addirittura due numeri per gli incendi. In secondo luogo va approfondito il ruolo delle nuove tecnologie nel campo del pre-warning e del warning, sostenendo per esempio l'applicazione di prototipi che l'UE finanzia, ma che poi non sono adottati dagli Stati membri.

Ultimo punto: nell'organizzazione della protezione civile credo sia importante anche sottolineare le modificazioni sociali che sono intervenute nella popolazione europea che è sempre più anziana, straniera, concentrata in periferia e con poche infrastrutture e quindi vanno salvaguardata l'accessibilità e la possibilità di essere sostenuti anche di questa parte più fragile della popolazione.

  Kristalina Georgieva, Member of the Commission. − Madam President, thank you very much for the excellent comments and suggestions for the legislative proposal. I shall try to group my answers, starting with what this proposal would do in bringing together a true European capacity.

Madam Striffler brought up this question first. We also had a question from Madam Grossetête on how this relates to the Barnier report. What we are proposing is to integrate the capabilities of Member States and in this sense it is more lexis than substance: where the Barnier report was leading us on to and where we are going to be. In the Barnier report, from which we have adopted a total of 12 proposals, the idea is to integrate the capabilities of Member States but there the approach was more top-down, whereas what we are coming with is bottom-up. I can say with confidence that we have support from Member States for this proposal, especially from Member States where the national requirements are such that the delegation is not even at the level of federal or central government but goes down to regional authorities.

So we will have an integrated capacity, we can call it a force, of Member States’ assets. I want to stress that we are not waiting for the legislative proposal to advance. We have already made significant advancements in integrating the capabilities of Member States. When I took office, we had less than 40 modules registered at European level. I can report today that we have 124 modules registered at European level, plus eight coordination teams. The advancements we have taken are in response to the needs. Just for information, in 2010 alone we activated our civil protection mechanism 28 times. For reference: in previous years it would be two, three, four or five times and this year we already have activated it 11 times and the probability is that there may be more activations.

Let me take a second point that was brought up by many MEPs – Mr Arsenis, Mr Czarnecki and Madam de Brún and, I am sure, others – on the importance of preparedness and prevention. We know that a euro invested in prevention brings four to seven euros in return. Yet, moving ahead with prevention has proven to be difficult in Europe and elsewhere in the world.

We recognise how critically important prevention is. I have just come back from Washington where, we in the Commission took the lead, together with the World Bank and the Government of Japan, in making this question of preparedness and of prevention a high global priority and we will continue with structured measures focusing on actions taken in prevention in order to boost this work.

We will come back with additional legislative proposals in this area as we advance in our operational thinking. Of course, forests are a big part in our prevention measures. They matter in floods, they matter in being ready for forest fires, they matter in the ecological system for cities and rural areas. So, Mr Arsenis, you will see forests becoming a big part of our preparedness and prevention work.

But preparedness is also training together, and this is where the Commission has already advanced our role. Just last Friday I was in Poland taking part in a five country preparedness exercise, Carpatex, and I can tell you that bringing our community of civil protection together is paramount in saving lives, and reducing property, and we in the Commission are dedicated to do more of it.

I was asked by Mr Leinen and Mr Seeber how we coordinate with the High Representative and I can give you a very positive report that on the basis of activations and practice in dealing with crises we have advanced significantly the institutional arrangements and we have much more clarity in who does what, when and where.

Clearly, inside Europe the High Representative has no role. Two-thirds of activations of the civil protection last year were inside Europe and there it is a matter of internal EU action. Outside Europe, we act as a first responder bringing civil protection humanitarian aid, whereas the High Representative has a role in political and defence coordination. Of course, in complex crises the High Representative takes the lead and there we bring our skills and capabilities – this is best practice in our Member States, where civil protection is coordinated. Member States have their own civil protection coordination centres and politics and defence are coordinated. Sometimes civil protection steps in and sometimes they have no role depending on the type of crisis. Those of you who watched President Obama of the United States responding to the floods recently, will have seen that he did it from the civil protection centre of the United States, but when you watch him, in the case of Bin Laden, he was in the situation room of the United States, in the White House.

So, we do have separate roles, we do of course have to coordinate in complex emergencies and depending on the emergencies we define exactly how this coordination takes place.

What obstacles do we face from Member States? The critical issue we face is to assure Member States that we are mindful of their legislative conditions, in other words, that we respect how civil protection is organised in each and every one of our Member States, and recognise that in national disasters where there is no role for the European Union and the country can cope on its own, of course we will not interfere in this response.

Member States in current fiscal conditions and the budgetary environment want to be sure that we will be mindful of cost efficiency. I can give you my word that I am very fiscally prudent and that, yes, we will make sure that every Euro of our taxpayers’ money is spent in the best possible and most effective manner. In other words, at Community level when it makes sense and at the country level when it is more appropriate.

I was also asked about how we deal with post-disasters. It is a very critical question to link relief to rehabilitation and development and to make sure that development assistance, including technical capabilities from the European Union, is made available to countries affected by disasters. We have taken some measures in that respect to improve the post-disaster risk assessment that is carried out and then make sure that the European contribution is in this context of internationally coordinated efforts in developing countries. I do agree that this is an area where more work needs to be done, and we have made it a priority with Commissioner Piebalgs for our cooperation.

I very much agree with Ms de Brún that we must respect the principles of neutrality, impartiality and independence when we provide humanitarian assistance, including civil protection in-kind assistance in developing countries, especially in areas that are affected not only by disasters, but also by conflicts. This must always be respected and I am grateful to Baroness Ashton for very much supporting this principle of neutrality and independence in humanitarian work.

Speakers including Ms Dăncilă – I apologise if I mispronounced the name – made a point on the solidarity fund. We work together with Commissioner Hahn to make a proposal for redefining the solidarity fund so that it can act immediately through a pre-funding arrangement in case a country is affected by disasters. Last year I faced a very uncomfortable situation when floods affected Moldova and Romania. In Moldova we can provide humanitarian assistance overnight, in Romania we cannot. I am therefore a very strong proponent of making sure that solidarity is expressed right at the time when people need it when a disaster hits.

On the question of GMES, this is a pilot project that is very much on the priority list of the working programme for the Commission. The pilot project is now completed but the Commission intends to support GMES financially to the extent possible in the next multi-year financial framework and of course we count on Parliament to support our proposal so that it can be done.

Last but not least on the forest fire-fighting reserve, this is a pilot project that unfortunately came to an end. We cannot extend it, but we are going to include it in the legislative proposal. Talking about where we have difficulty with Member States, some of our Member States are really not in favour of it so we would need your support in Parliament. It is the right thing to do, we have seen it in the years we have applied it, but we still have some work to do to convince Member States that this funding arrangement has to be continued once the legislative proposal is being done. I apologise for taking so long, but there were very many good questions and I did not want to skip any of them.

  Elisabetta Gardini, relatrice. − Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, grazie, avevo già calcolato di restituire quanto avevo rubato all'inizio in termini di tempo.

Non c'è molto da aggiungere del resto, perché mi sembra che l'Aula abbia riconfermato la grande possibilità che abbiamo in questo caso di essere veramente ambiziosi e di dare più Europa ai nostri cittadini, un'Europa che tante volte purtroppo è sentita lontana. E noi questa volta abbiamo invece uno strumento straordinario per far sentire la vicinanza dell'Europa anche con le cose piccole – al di là dei temi fondamentali che è inutile ripetere – come può sembrare un numero, il 112, che però è stato ricordato più volte, o l'articolo 23 del trattato dove si dice – e che bisogna far conoscere ai cittadini – che un cittadino europeo che si trovi in uno Stato terzo dove il suo Stato di nascita, di appartenenza, non è rappresentato viene tutelato da qualunque corpo diplomatico di un qualsiasi Stato dell'Unione europea.

Ecco, noi abbiamo bisogno di questa Europa.

VORSITZ: DAGMAR ROTH-BEHRENDT
Vizepräsidentin

  Die Präsidentin. − Die Aussprache ist geschlossen.

Die Abstimmung findet heute um 12.30 Uhr statt.

Schriftliche Erklärungen (Artikel 149)

  János Áder (PPE), írásban. – Tisztelt Elnök Úr! A katasztrófákra adott uniós válasz erősítéséről szóló vita jó alkalmat teremt arra, hogy tágabb összefüggésben vizsgáljuk az európai katasztrófavédelem rendszerét. Noha egyetértek a jelentés megállapításaival, véleményem szerint maradt még jó néhány kérdés, amelyet nem válaszoltunk meg: Van-e megfelelő pénzügyi eszköz az Unió kezében arra, hogy a természeti katasztrófák mellett a súlyos következményekkel járó ipari balesetek ellen is védekezhessen? Van-e olyan eszközünk, amely ipari katasztrófák esetén lehetővé teszi a gyors és hatékony kárelhárítást? Ha ezen kérdésekre nincs még válaszunk, mert szerintem nincs, akkor nem lenne-e időszerű egy új hatékony pénzügyi eszközrendszer kidolgozásához minél előbb hozzákezdeni? Meggyőződésem, hogy a megoldást egy olyan európai katasztrófabiztosítási rendszerben kell keresnünk, amely a kötelező felelősségbiztosítás elvére épülve a potenciális ipari szennyezők befizetéseiből megfelelő összegű uniós többletforrást biztosítana a gyors és hatékony beavatkozásra. A károsultak azonnal pénzhez jutnának, míg a szennyező esetleges nem fizetéséből eredő kockázatot uniós szinten szétteríthetnénk. Mindemellett a befizetők a rendszer haszonélvezői is lehetnének azáltal, hogy pályázatokon keresztül biztonsági és környezetvédelmi beruházásaikra támogatást igényelhetnének a fel nem használt forrásokból. Az érdemi vitát szerintem minél hamarabb meg kell kezdenünk, ne várjuk meg, hogy ennek szükségességére egy újabb katasztrófa figyelmeztessen bennünket.

  Daciana Octavia Sârbu (S&D), in writing. – The 2010 floods in Romania brought sudden disaster and tragic loss of life to many communities. Since then, we have seen many natural disasters unfold around the world, with significant human, environmental, and economic costs. The costs of both the immediate emergency response and long-term reconstruction are considerable. So I welcome this report’s emphasis on improving the flexibility and efficiency of the Solidarity Fund, which can provide valuable assistance to Member States and the assurance they need to release funds in the aftermath of a disaster. I also support the calls for a response capacity based on the European Civil Protection Mechanism, which pools capabilities and expertise from across the EU so as to provide the best and most efficient expert help during times of crises. Many disasters happen despite being entirely preventable. Last year, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling for a complete ban on the use of cyanide technology in mining projects, because of the potential for cross-border environmental catastrophe in the event of an accident. Yet despite this, the Romanian Government is about to approve such a mining project, which poses a grave threat to the environment and valuable cultural heritage of a whole region.

  Claudiu Ciprian Tănăsescu (S&D), în scris. – Trăim într-o lume interconectată, unde deteriorarea unui element poate avea consecinţe neaşteptate în altă parte. Lecţia învăţată din numeroasele dezastre arată rolul important pe care îl joacă informaţia şi schimbul acesteia între actori, nu numai pentru a preveni, dar şi pentru a reacţiona în mod eficient în situaţii critice.

Din acest motiv, consider imperativă şi susţin crearea unui centru european de răspuns pentru situaţii de urgenţă. Cum cooperarea ne-a permis să prosperăm la nivel de continent şi să avem un rol de lider economic pentru o perioada lungă de timp, este cazul să creăm o rezervă de mijloace, capacităţi şi resurse pentru intervenţiile Uniunii în situaţii de criză, dar şi pentru a acţiona uniţi pe scena mondială.

Trebuie să avem în vedere faptul că amprenta noastră ecologică asupra mediului se extinde mult dincolo de graniţele Uniunii şi, ca urmare, trebuie să fim solidari nu doar în împărţirea beneficiilor acţiunilor noastre, dar şi în împărţirea costurilor aferente.