15-12-2008 EN Debates of the European Parliament 1 MONDAY, 15 DECEMBER 2008 IN THE CHAIR: MR PÖTTERING President (The sitting was opened at 5.05 p.m.) 1. Resumption of the session President. – I declare resumed the session of the European Parliament adjourned on Thursday 4 December 2008. 2. Approval of the minutes of the previous sitting: see Minutes 3. Composition of Parliament: see Minutes 4. Signature of acts adopted under codecision: see Minutes 5. Corrigendum (Rule 204a): see Minutes 6. Calendar of part-sessions: see Minutes 7. Documents received: see Minutes 8. Oral questions and written declarations (submission): see Minutes 9. Lapsed written declarations: see Minutes 10. Petitions: see Minutes 11. Decisions concerning certain documents: see Minutes 12. Order of business: see Minutes 13. One-minute speeches on matters of political importance President. – The next item is the one-minute speeches on matters of political importance. Maria Petre (PPE-DE). – (RO) Thank you, Mr President, ladies and gentlemen. On behalf of all the women in Romania, I would like to thank you today for the exceptional honour we have already enjoyed on two occasions in winning the prize from the International Association for the Promotion of Women of Europe. I would like to give a special note of thanks to Mrs Kratsa-Tsagaropolou, Vice-President of the European Parliament. The first prizewinner from Romania was Maia Morgenstern, one of our great actresses, who won the award in 2004. The second Romanian woman is this year’s winner, Monica Macovei, Romania's former independent justice minister. Monica Macovei fully deserves this recognition for the extraordinary efforts she has made to ensure that Romania is on a European journey of no-return, without facing obstacles such as safeguard clauses. The second matter relates to the Republic of Moldova. An independent TV station has had its licence extension refused. This is PRO TV. This action is one in a series of many other actions aimed at restricting the freedom of expression in this country. 2 EN Debates of the European Parliament 15-12-2008 For this reason, I am calling on both the European Commission and Parliament to stand firm this time and for us to ask the authorities in Chişinău specifically and urgently to put an end to these abuses. Thank you. Gyula Hegyi (PSE). – (HU) For the moment, we cannot say anything specific about the future of the climate package, since the decision will be made in a few days or a few weeks. But I would like to emphasise one thing: long-distance heating has been given an exemption from the so called climate tax. I consider this very important. The initiative for this to be done came from Hungarian MEPs, myself among them. We feel that residents in apartments with long-distance heating are mainly low-income people who would not be able to afford the extra charges. Besides, we should be aware that long-distance heating is environmentally friendly, and since individual heating is in any case exempt from all climate taxes, I think the funds created should go towards updating the long-distance heating systems. If we modernise long-distance heating in Central and East European countries with EU financing, then similar exemptions will of course no longer be warranted after 2020. Jules Maaten (ALDE). – (NL) Mr President, a number of weeks ago, legal proceedings instituted by the junta in Burma in a bid to put scores, at least one hundred, of members of the opposition, including the comedian Zarganar and the monk Ashin Gambira, behind bars following shady trials, were being wound up. Draconian penalties were being meted out, while there is no sign of the human rights situation in Burma improving. In 2010, elections will be held in that country, and the opposition, quite justifiably, has quite a few misgivings about these elections, not least following the referendum on the Constitution in May 2008. Unfortunately, though, sanctions and isolation of the regime have in recent years not really done anything to help bring about change. I think it is now time for a change of tack. The regime has no clue as to what other countries mean or expect, and new generations of leaders and military do not gain any new insights as they are not in contact with other countries. I take the view that this Parliament should consider paying Burma a visit, formally or informally, to establish contact with the opposition there, and should probably bring fresh and more pressure to bear on the junta, something which will not happen, unfortunately, simply on the strength of sanctions. László Tőkés (Verts/ALE). – (HU) This very day in December 1989 saw the beginning in Temesvár (Timişoara) of the movement which within one week led to the phenomenally quick downfall of the infamous nationalist, communist and atheist Ceauşescu dictatorship. On the morning of 15 December, Hungarian members of the Reformed Church stood up with astounding courage in defence of their church and their pastor, chasing away the henchmen of the Securitate and the militia, and proceeded to form a human chain around the church. Within hours, hundreds of Romanians, Hungarians, Germans, Serbs, Catholics, Baptists, Lutherans, Orthodox Christians and Jews joined the resistance. By evening, the peaceful movement had turned into a demonstration against communism and the regime. In 1989, the Transylvanian city of Temesvár (Timişoara) became Romania’s first free city. By God’s grace, faith in action attained freedom. Blessed be the memory of the heroes, martyrs and victims! We must carry on with regime change! The road from Romania to Europe runs through Temesvár (Timişoara). Giovanni Robusti (UEN). – (IT) Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I have learnt that in Italy alone, every day, 4 million kilograms of food that is still safe to eat is destroyed, with a value of at least EUR 4 million – roughly half what Italy spends on international aid – and that the situation in many other countries of the Union is very similar. We are concerned here with food that is within its expiry date, but is destroyed or removed from the market due to marketing regulations, overly strict European legislation and company image issues. This matter has already been raised by the Italian government minister Luca Zaia at the last Council of Agricultural Ministers: better defining Community legislation and adequately supporting projects such as the food bank or the last minute market could not only help that proportion of the population suffering from the economic crisis, a percentage that now stands at double figures, but would also eliminate what is in any case an abominable waste. I therefore call on the competent parliamentary committees to begin to examine this issue without delay, so that we might seek a solution to it. Věra Flasarová (GUE/NGL). – (CS) Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to talk about the visit of a delegation from the European Parliament to Prague Castle on 5 December. I would prefer to ascribe the lack of mutual understanding that occurred there to the nervousness and impatience that clearly prevailed on both sides of the negotiating table and not to ill will, which is a sentiment that can no 15-12-2008 EN Debates of the European Parliament 3 longer be justified in the Europe of today. I would like, however, to mention one concern. The Czech public was informed about the talks in the Castle through the media and from various players on the political scene, who added commentaries for their own purpose. Some attacked the President of the Republic because it suited them to do this and others called for a change in the European Union out of a desire to boost their public ratings in any way possible. I would therefore like to make an appeal for good manners and for greater sensitivity towards each other. There are still many unhealed wounds in Central and Eastern Europe that can be exploited for the wrong reasons. This affair may bring unpleasant consequences in six months time in the elections to the European Parliament. President. − To prevent the situation from escalating I wish to refrain from commenting, other than to say that the Conference of Presidents has taken the matter in hand. Gerard Batten (IND/DEM). - Mr President, as the world faces an economic downturn of unknown proportions, the value of the pound sterling is falling against the dollar and the euro. But the ability of the pound to adjust itself against other currencies is a benefit not enjoyed by members of the European single currency. Civil unrest and rioting has broken out in Greece. The Greek writer, Mimis Androulakis, has said: ‘There is a deep dissatisfaction among young people today against the structure of Europe. We cannot reduce the price of the euro to give us an advantage in exports’. Membership of the EU and the euro has led to increased living costs in Greece, and the younger generation fear that their future is one of poverty. The European Union is an ideological project being forced upon European peoples who would rather live in democratic nation states. The price of political ideology is always human misery. Sergej Kozlík (NI). – (SK) In almost all European countries there are tough legal measures against holocaust denial and the promotion of fascism. In order to properly combat displays of neo-Nazism and other forms of extremism in Hungary there is a need to amend not only laws but also the constitution. However, Hungary has lacked the political will for such a step for a relatively long time now. The FIDES party, a member of the grouping of European people’s parties, has refused to toughen up laws intended to combat nationalism and radicalism more effectively.