B4-0211, 0249, 0250, 0251, 0254, 0260, 0261 and 0320/95

Resolution on the floods in Europe

The European Parliament,

A. whereas for the second year running a number of major European rivers have recently burst their banks and whereas drastic measures have had be taken to prevent this where possible,

B. whereas these disasters have caused considerable material damage as well as mental anguish to a large number of citizens, particularly in Germany, France, Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands, as well as in Ireland, Italy and the United Kingdom,

C. whereas measures taken in one Member State, for example in the field of water management or regional planning, clearly have an effect on the situation in other Member States,

D. whereas it is widely acknowledged that the floods which occurred in North- West Europe this winter as well as in Southern Europe last autumn were the result not only of heavy rainfall, but also of man-made changes to the river basins, such as:

- the straightening and canalization of rivers and streams, as well as the hardening of river beds with concrete, as happened for instance in parts of the Rhine;

- deforestation, which causes earth and water to be carried away much quicker;

- drainage and pumping of water out of agricultural fields;

- the sealing of the earth with houses, roads and infrastructure, even on the river forelands,

E. recalling that the Commission promised to carry out a study on water management following an earlier topical and urgent debate on 20 January 1994,

F. noting the declaration of the ACP-EU Joint Assembly of 1 February 1995 on the flooding in Europe, particularly the Netherlands,

G. having regard to the emergency aid promised on 1 February 1995 by the Commission to the victims of the flooding in the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Germany in the context of a European flood-prevention strategy, and having regard to the EIB's willingness to contribute to the funding of repair and infrastructure work in these countries, as it did following the October 1994 floods in Italy,

H. having regard to the declaration by the environment ministers of France, Germany and the Benelux states on the prevention of flooding by the Rhine and Meuse,

The European Parliament,

1. Expresses its solidarity with the victims of the flooding and all those who have undergone material loss and mental suffering as a result of the intensive preventive measures which were taken;

2. Congratulates the local, regional and provincial authorities, the volunteers, private organizations, fire brigades, Red Cross and so many others for the sensitive way in which people were evacuated without serious problems;

3. Calls on the Commission to consider how the public and businesses in the different Member States can be compensated for the losses they have suffered, for example by insurance as in France;

4. Stresses the need to work out as soon as possible a complex of special preventive measures in the field of civil protection, in the context of monitoring and coordination work between Member States under the auspices of the Commission;

5. Underlines the need for the interservices group provided for by the Commission to be appointed together with the governments and the regions to guarantee close coordination and to be assisted by a delegation of European Parliament observers prepared to go to the zones affected to gain direct information as to the extent of the disaster;

6. Calls on the Member States to strengthen environmental inspection structures, providing them with real powers to carry out investigations, to monitor compliance with Community rules and to report on breaches of these rules in a uniform manner throughout the Union;

7. Calls, consequently, on the Commission to draw up a genuine water-management policy overseen by a specialized service which would gather together experts from the fields of regional policy, agriculture, the environment, civil protection and planning, and whose task would be to establish as a matter of priority a map of the most dangerous flood areas, in which all building would be prohibited;

8. Calls on the Commission to use the structural funds, particularly those earmarked for the agricultural section, to finance projects to improve the management of the waters of the rivers most at risk of flooding in the Member States of the European Union;

9. Requests the Commission to seek the incorporation of water and river management into the Treaty, and to assign water and river policy to one Commissioner's portfolio, in order to ensure:

- the coordination and improvement of European cooperation in meteorology and water-flow science, including the use and development of advanced techniques that permit timely and reliable predictions of extreme water levels in rivers;

- the restoration of the buffer capacity of the basins of the European rivers, in a sustainable way, with due regard to the requirements of nature and the landscape, which will involve returning land to the rivers;

- quicker progress in improving the quality of river water and river beds;

10. Will examine whether it is possible, within the context of the proposal for a directive amending the directive on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment ((OJ C 130, 12.5.1994, p. 8.)), to submit agricultural projects and town-planning projects in regions where there are rivers to a compulsory assessment of safety and water management along the entire course of the rivers;

11. Calls on the Member States to include in their legislative procedures and decisions on the strengthening of dykes a provision on the environmental effects so that account is taken above all of safety, but also of conservation of the countryside, nature, the environment and farming;

12. Calls on the Member States to include in their legislative procedures and decisions on the strengthening of dykes, a provision on the environmental effects of human behaviour on water management which must be applied not only to the EU, but notably also to the States of Central and Eastern Europe;

13. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council and the parliaments of the Member States.