Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, I of course agree wholeheartedly with my two fellow Members. As you know, the eruption of the Nyiragongo volcano in Goma, in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, is believed to be the most serious in central Africa for 25 years. I would firstly like to pay tribute to the people – numbering between 300 000 and 500 000 – who initially fled Goma, but who are now returning because they are committed to their hometown. We must bear in mind that this is a humanitarian and ecological disaster, which has occurred at a time when 80% of the farm workers had finished sowing their wheat and corn. We must bear in mind that it is the most fertile agricultural land that has been buried beneath lava, which has flattened houses and destroyed public buildings, particularly those housing NGOs. What is more, this tragedy has happened in a climate – as the previous speakers said – of violence and conflict in the Great Lakes region. As well as this tragedy, I think that we must now fear, because of the lack of clean drinking water, a spate of epidemics, cholera and dysentery in particular. We already know what this type of epidemic can lead to, particularly after the so-called ‘tropical’ genocide in which 50 000 people were killed in the same region of Goma. There has even been an explosion – we have seen pictures of it – in a petrol station. We have seen people looting and others leaving with jerry cans on their heads, going in search of petrol. I think that all this is also contributing to the climate of insecurity, which we must tackle. Although we can now welcome the fact that, as Mrs Maes said, the European Union has been quick to play a very active role on the ground, and that humanitarian aid has finally reached Goma, certain questions have, nevertheless, been raised and I think that we must try, along with the Commissioner, to provide an answer. First of all, in 1977, the same volcano began to erupt. It is deeply regrettable that houses were rebuilt on a volcano, whose embers were still so active. This was one of the questions raised in Goma, but I am raising it here because of all the other similar situations throughout the world. Houses are rebuilt in areas where similar disasters have already happened. Furthermore, I think that this tragedy must encourage everyone to respect the requirements drawn up for the ‘ten-year action against natural risks’ and that the European Union must play a greater role in this. Finally, we must seize this opportunity to compel all political forces, and particularly those that are at conflict, to guarantee that help is provided to displaced people and refugees. The Commission and the Member States must play a more active part in the international ten-year action that I mentioned. Lastly, since cooperation between the European Union and the Democratic Republic of Congo is now being resumed, I think that we must push our partners to bring an end to conflict and to establish a fair and lasting peace. I think that, at the very least, these conditions are necessary if we want to stop the same conflict from happening again. We must bear in mind – and this is my final point – that other disasters can happen; we know, for example, that Lake Kivu contains huge methane resources and that the lava which is flowing into these waters risks is causing many other problems as well. I thank the European Union for having taken swift action, but I would like to stress that we must step up our work and, through this, we can establish a fair and lasting peace.

Political group: GUE-NGL