Strasbourg, 05/09/2002 (Agence Europe) - With the adoption by 475 votes to 2 and 6 abstentions, of a common resolution by all political groups except for the Europe of Democracies and Diversities, the European Parliament supports the various measures taken or being prepared to demonstrate European solidarity after the disastrous flooding that has hit Central Europe.
The Parliament mainly welcomes the immediate action taken in favour of farmers, the use of structural funds, the possibility of loans offered by the European Investment Bank, the mobilisation of the pre-accession structural instrument and the Phare programme to assist the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The Parliament insists on the need to provide emergency aid of one billion euros to be made available from the budgetary margin of the 2002 financial period (funding not used and given back to the Member States at the end of the financial year). It calls on the Commission to present a proposal with the view to creating, in the context of budgetary procedure, a disaster relief fund in Member States by establishing clear provisions and criteria with regards the way it is to be used, including the definition of what a natural disaster is. It also stresses that such a fund can only be used as a complement to national measures and insurance contributions. The Parliament also calls on the Commission, the Member States and candidate countries to develop a prevention policy that above all allows: (1) the management of waterways and water basins to be improved; (2) flood zones to be kept in their natural state and former flood plains to be re-established; (3) programmes for the modification of certain rivers to be revised (mainly those with large output for inland waterway navigation); and (4) everything possible to be done to ensure compliance with the Kyoto targets.
The only two MEPs who voted against the text are British ultra-nationalists (UKIP) Nigel Farage and Jeffrey Titford. The six abstentions come from French national Paul Coûteaux (EDD), British Liberal Democrat Elizabeth Lynne, Belgian Socialists Véronique De Keyser and Olga Zrihen, Portuguese national Luis Queiro (UEN) and British Green member Jean Lambert.