Dita Charanzová, on behalf of the ALDE Group. – Mr President, in application of Rule 59, paragraph 3, of our Rules of Procedure I would like to request on behalf of the ALDE Group to vote on the amendments before the vote on the provisional agreement. The plenary has never had the opportunity to take a position on this important text, as it was negotiated directly by the Committee. Therefore I ask all my colleagues to vote in favour of this request, which will simply allow all Members to express their opinion.
Vicky Ford, rapporteur. – Mr President, as I understand it, this is a request to vote on the amendments before we vote on the substantive vote, and I am aware of the amendments that have been tabled by colleagues for today’s votes. The issues they raise are not new. These amendments are the same as those that have been debated in committee, discussed with the Council and ultimately rejected by the Member States, and there is no reason to believe that the Member States have changed their minds. If we adopt these amendments, we will destabilise the entire agreement. It will overturn the first reading position that this Parliament has fought for, and the hard work that we have done to secure practical solutions to allow sport shooters, hunters, collectors, reservists and other legal owners to continue with their sports. If these amendments go through, it will move into a second reading, where, under the process of this Parliament, Parliament has far less say, and the voice of legal owners will therefore not be heard. If you vote through those amendments, we lose all the hard work that has been done and the success that Parliament has had in improving the text. The Commission’s original proposal was not acceptable, but that is not what we are voting on today. If you pass these amendments, you destabilise the whole negotiation and the benefits that we have brought in place for the legal owners.
(Applause)
(Il Parlamento respinge la richiesta dell'onorevole Charanzová)