Debates of the European Parliament 1
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12-11-2007 EN Debates of the European Parliament 1 MONDAY, 12 NOVEMBER 2007 IN THE CHAIR: MR POETTERING President (The sitting was opened at 5 p.m.) 1. Resumption of the session President. − I declare resumed the session adjourned on Thursday 25 October 2007. 2. Statements by the President President. − Ladies and gentlemen, it was with deep sadness that we heard of the tragic event in Finland, in which eight people – pupils and teachers – were killed. On behalf of the House, I should like to express our deepest sympathy to their families and the Finnish nation. The groups have requested me to make a statement regarding the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction (Ottawa Convention). The 10th anniversary of the signing of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction is coming up in just a few weeks. On 3 and 4 December 1997, 122 states signed this historic treaty in Ottawa. Anti-personnel mines make no distinction between civilian and military victims. They are directed against people, with the aim of killing or maiming them. Effecting their prohibition by means of the Ottawa Convention is a victory for humanity. The Convention is also a success for internationally linked civil society. In a process that had never been seen before, a coalition of non-governmental organisations, together with committed governments and parliaments outside the usual diplomatic forums, managed to get an international treaty signed. The International Campaign to Ban Landmines was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 to acknowledge this achievement. The European Parliament supported the campaign to outlaw landmines from the very beginning. After the signing of the Convention in Ottawa, the European Parliament campaigned using resolutions, hearings and opinions to ensure that it would be implemented effectively. Today it is clear that the international campaign has been extremely successful. More than three quarters of all states have ratified the Ottawa Convention. The use of anti-personnel mines has decreased drastically, as has the number of countries that produce landmines. Despite these successes, there are more than 69 countries that have not yet abolished landmines. It has become apparent that this goal cannot be reached everywhere unless additional financial assistance is provided. Europe has made an important contribution to implementation of the Ottawa Convention over recent years. From 1997 to 2004, the European Union invested more than a billion euros in the battle against landmines. The European Commission’s anti-mines strategy is numbered among the most successful elements in the development of European external relations. This is not only an expression of our humanitarian obligations, but also a worthwhile investment in sustainable development and human safety. The Council of the European Union is about to adopt a new joint action on landmines within the framework of the Common Foreign and Security Policy. We welcome the intention of working towards universal ratification of the Ottawa Convention and an effective Review Conference in 2009. We look forward to close cooperation with the Council and the Commission in implementing this joint action. I hope that we shall soon have an opportunity to discuss with the Council and the Commission their respective initiatives on the topic of landmines and how they are coordinating with each other. The final goal that we all have in common is a world without landmines; to achieve this, the European Union must have a coherent common policy. (Applause) 3. Approval of Minutes of previous sitting: see Minutes 2 EN Debates of the European Parliament 12-11-2007 4. Membership of Parliament: see Minutes 5. Membership of committees and delegations: see Minutes 6. Calendar of part-sessions: see Minutes 7. Signature of acts adopted under codecision: see Minutes 8. Corrigendum to a text adopted (Rule 204a): see Minutes 9. Documents received: see Minutes 10. Oral questions and written declarations (tabling): see Minutes 11. Lapsed written declarations: see Minutes 12. Texts of agreements forwarded by the Council: see Minutes 13. Action taken on Parliament's resolutions: see Minutes 14. Petitions: see Minutes 15. Order of business President. – The final draft of the agenda for this part-session, as laid down by the Conference of Presidents at its meeting of Thursday 8 November pursuant to Rules 130 and 131 of the Rules of Procedure, has been distributed to you. The following amendments have been requested to this draft agenda: Tuesday: The Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe has requested that a statement by the Council and the Commission on the shipping accidents in the Black Sea be placed on the agenda for Tuesday afternoon, after Mr Leinen’s report, with a corresponding extension of the afternoon sitting until 6.30 p.m. This would mean that questions to the Commission would not commence until 6.30 p.m. and would thus be half an hour shorter. Who would like to justify the motion? If there is nobody to speak for or against this motion, that is the end of the matter. (The motion lapsed) Wednesday: The Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance requests that a statement by the Council and the Commission on the situation in Georgia be included and dealt with in a joint debate with the report by Mr Obiols i Germà and Mr Tannock, and that the afternoon sitting therefore be extended to 6.30 p.m. and questions to the Council shortened by half an hour. They also request that the debate on Georgia be concluded with the tabling of motions for resolutions and that voting on the matter be carried out during the November part-session in Brussels. Who would like to justify the motion? Daniel Cohn-Bendit (Verts/ALE). – (DE) Mr President, there is not much for me to justify: it is obvious to all what is happening in Georgia, and it is clear that we should include Georgia when we are discussing neighbourhood policy. This should be laid down, so that the Council knows what is what. Then we should quietly proceed with preparing a resolution, for I believe it is important that the European Parliament 12-11-2007 EN Debates of the European Parliament 3 formulate a clear resolution on the events in Georgia. This should then be adopted in Brussels. That is the correct formal procedure and I hope that all Members will agree to it, so that we can proceed in this way. President. − That was the justification. Who is speaking in favour of the motion? Hannes Swoboda (PSE). – (DE) Mr President, we wish to support this for a very important reason. The Rose Revolution in Georgia brought many positive elements with it, especially after the Shevardnadze regime. Now there is a great danger that the undoubted successes will be destroyed if the opposition’s criticisms are not addressed. An initiative by the European Parliament could help President Saakashvili to get back on the right track; that is, to begin dialogue with the opposition. I should also like to ask you, Mr President, to maintain contact with the Speaker of Parliament, who is also very active there, and to try to convince her, too, to follow the path of dialogue. That is the point of this debate and also of the resolution, and I therefore support it wholeheartedly. (Parliament adopted the motion) Alfonso Andria (ALDE). – (IT) Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I must apologise. I asked to speak earlier and, despite the fact that I stood up and signalled several times, I was not given the opportunity to speak. I would just like to understand something. I intended, on behalf of the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, to request a statement from the Council and Commission on the Black Sea disaster. Without hearing who was in favour and who was against, I am not sure what was decided. As I said, this was my intention, and I signalled this request. It was my intention to direct this request to the President: that there should be a statement by the Council and the Commission on the Black Sea disaster. I am simply asking for clarification on what Parliament has decided to do. President. − Mr Andria, please bear with me. I called very clearly for Members who wanted to justify the motion. There was no response. Nor were those responsible for managing the procedure in the room at that point. I looked around very carefully, and there was no contribution to be heard at all, either to justify or to support the motion, and so the House agreed that it was not necessary for anyone to speak against it if it was not justified. Those of us up here agreed, as did the plenary, that this motion thus lapsed and is no longer on the agenda. Therefore I ask that we now proceed as has just been decided. Alfonso Andria (ALDE). – (IT) Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, please allow me to explain. I stood up and signalled, even verbally, but the President indicated that I should stop. I stood up several times. I would ask you to include this initiative on the agenda and to ensure that the Council and Commission issue a statement. In any case, at the start of the session, the President said that there was a request from the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe. I do not see why we cannot have a debate simply because a request was accidentally missed. I asked to speak, no one noticed, I even stood up.