European Parliament resolution on natural disasters (fires, droughts and floods) - regional development aspects (2005/2193(INI))
Date: 2006-05-18
Institutions: Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, European Parliament
Subjects: damage, drought, environmental risk prevention, financial instrument, fire, flood, regional cooperation, regional development

7.12.2006

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P6_TA(2006)0223

Natural disasters — regional development aspects

European Parliament resolution on natural disasters (fires, droughts and floods) — regional develop-
ment aspects (2005/2193(INI))

The European Parliament,

— having regard to the Commission communication on reinforcing EU disaster and crisis response in third

countries (COM(2005)0153),

— having regard to its resolution of 16 November 2005 entitled ‘Winning the Battle Against Global

Climate Change’ (1),

— having regard to the Commission communication on improving the Community civil protection

mechanism (COM(2005)0137),

— having regard to the Commission proposal for a Council decision establishing a Community civil protec-

tion mechanism (recast), (COM(2006)0029),

— having regard to the Commission communication on flood risk management — flood prevention,

protection and mitigation (COM(2004)0472),

— having regard to the Commission proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council

on the assessment and management of floods (COM(2006)0015),

— having regard to the Commission proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the

Council establishing the European Union Solidarity Fund (COM(2005)0108),

— having regard to Articles 2 and 6 of the EC Treaty, according to which environmental protection require-
ments must be integrated into the other Community policies, with a view to promoting economic devel-
opment that is environmentally sustainable,

— having regard to the scientific report of the Institute for Environment and Sustainability of the Commis-

sion's Joint Research Centre on climate change and the European water dimension (2),

— having regard to the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change of

11 December 1997 and its ratification by the European Community on 25 April 2002,

— having regard to Regulation (EC) No 2152/2003 of the European Parliament and the Council of
17 November 2003 concerning monitoring of forests and environmental interactions in the Community
(Forest Focus) (3),

— having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005 of 20 September 2005 on support for rural

development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) (4),

— having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 of 21 June 1999 laying down general provi-

sions on the Structural Funds (5),

— having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1164/94 of 16 May 1994 establishing a Cohesion Fund (6),

as amended by Council Regulations (EC) No 1264/1999 (7) and (EC) No 1265/1999 (8),

— having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1784/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council of

12 July 1999 on the European Social Fund (9),

(1) Texts Adopted, P6_TA(2005)0433.
(2) http://ies.jrc.cec.eu.int/fileadmin/Documentation/Reports/Inland_and_Marine_Waters/Pubs/Climate_Change_-

and_the_European_Water_Dimension_2005.pdf.

(3) OJ L 324, 11.12.2003, p. 1.
(4) OJ L 277, 21.10.2005, p. 1.
(5) OJ L 161, 26.6.1999, p. 1.
(6) OJ L 130, 25.5.1994, p. 1.
(7) OJ L 161, 26.6.1999, p. 57.
(8) OJ L 161, 26.6.1999, p. 62.
(9) OJ L 213, 13.8.1999, p. 5.

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— having regard to the Commission communication on a European Union strategy for the forestry sector

(COM(1998)0649),

— having regard to the Commission proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the

Council concerning the financial instrument for the environment (LIFE +), (COM(2004)0621),

— having regard to its resolution of 8 September 2005 on the natural disasters (fires and floods) of the

summer of 2005 in Europe (1),

— having regard to Rule 45 of its Rules of Procedure,

— having regard to the report of the Committee on Regional Development (A6-0147/2006),

A. whereas natural disasters in the European Union have caused the deaths of 65 000 people since 1980

and have cost 124,2 billion Euro, according to UN figures,

B. whereas the torrential rain in August 2005 caused the most serious floods in Europe since 2002 and

caused the death of 70 people,

C. whereas fires once again destroyed thousands of hectares of forest in 2005 and, what is more serious,
cost the lives of more than 30 civilians and firemen, and the extraordinary drought has contributed and
continues to contribute to the worsening of this phenomenon, which has become an annual scourge for
the regions and countries affected,

D. whereas the fires have resulted in major personal tragedies involving in particular the destruction of

houses and agricultural property and the loss of hundreds of animals,

E. whereas the drought in 2005 was of exceptional intensity and duration, especially in the south and west
of Europe, and severely affected practically the whole of Portugal and wide areas of Spain, France and
Italy,

F. whereas natural disasters have catastrophic short and long-term effects on the economy of the regions,
especially in less prosperous areas concerned by the convergence objective or ones affected by natural
constraints, with damaging repercussions for infrastructure, economic potential, employment,
the
natural and cultural heritage, the environment and tourism, all of which has an adverse effect on social
and economic cohesion,

G. whereas droughts and persistent fires are speeding up the process of desertification of large areas of
southern Europe, especially in Mediterranean forested areas and in extensive woodlands comprising a
single, non-native species which is highly vulnerable to fire, seriously threatening the quality of life of
the populations affected, depriving them of the water required for basic survival needs and resulting in
the loss of all crops and hence in speculation in the price of animal feed,

H. whereas natural disasters occur when an extreme weather situation hits a vulnerable area and, therefore,
it is necessary to diminish the sensitivity of these regions, bearing in mind that extreme climatic
phenomena are becoming increasingly frequent,

I. whereas there must be perfect dovetailing between all the synergies created under the European Neigh-
bourhood Policy — in particular with the Euro-Med Partnership countries, which are in a similar situa-
tion,

J. whereas, because of their geographical position, the outermost regions are exposed to specific and
severe risks of natural disasters, in particular cyclones, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions or even tsunamis,

K. whereas certain factors linked to human activity may aggravate the impact of natural disasters, such as
intensive farming, involving the traditional use of fire as a farming tool, deforestation, the massive reduc-
tion in the natural flood retention capacity of river basins and intensive urbanisation in areas at risk and
also the invasion of mountain areas by city dwellers in pursuit of leisure activities,

(1) Texts Adopted, P6_TA(2005)0334.

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L. whereas droughts decisively contribute to the spread of fires, which is the main cause of the deteriora-

tion of Europe's forests,

M. whereas the common agricultural policy as successively reformed has promoted the concentration of
production which has contributed to the steady desertification of rural areas and the abandonment of
farming, thereby increasing the risk of forest fires and aggravating the consequences of drought,

N. whereas the phenomenon of forest fires is also aggravated by the progressive abandonment of the coun-
tryside and of farming and its traditional activities, inadequate forest maintenance, the existence of large
expanses of forest consisting of one single tree species, the planting of unsuitable tree varieties and the
absence of a proper prevention policy with adequate instruments and funding at Community level and
inadequately severe penalties in the case of fires started deliberately,

O. whereas the European Union needs to acknowledge the specific nature of natural disasters occurring in
the Mediterranean such as droughts and fires and to adapt its prevention, research, risk-management,
civil-defence and solidarity tools,

P. whereas Europe should step up measures to adjust to climate change, something which requires effort
on the part of local, regional, national and European authorities, but also on the part of the population
and of the industrial and transport sectors,

Q. whereas the European Union's prevention measures to tackle all types of natural disaster need to be
enhanced by establishing, where necessary,
joint strategic guidelines to ensure better coordination
between the Member States, as well as greater operability of and coordination between the various Com-
munity instruments (Structural Funds, the future European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF), the European
Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), the future financial instrument for the environment
(LIFE +) and the future rapid response and preparedness instrument for major emergencies),

R. whereas there are still shortcomings in the Community's involvement, which are aggravated by the diver-
sity and the differing levels of development found in the arrangements made by the individual Member
States for combating natural disasters,

S. whereas the Structural Funds should play a more substantial role in funding measures designed to
prevent disasters and to tackle their consequences, and whereas the Community instrument specifically
envisaged for this, the EUSF, has proved ineffective in practice, hence the proposed revision currently
under way,

T. whereas preventive measures reduce the material damage that floods cause to housing, infrastructure
and production activities, as was demonstrated in the Alpine regions, where the floods of 2005 caused
much less damage than those of 2002, despite being on a larger scale,

U. whereas, nevertheless, Community fire-prevention measures are limited almost exclusively to rural devel-
opment policy and have so far clearly proved to be inadequate, which demonstrates the need for a
specific, adequately funded Community forest protection programme designed to prevent and manage
the risk of forest fires and tailored to the specific nature of forests in the Member States,

V. whereas intensive information campaigns on the sustainable use of water may reduce water consump-

tion considerably and thus alleviate serious drought situations,

W. noting the lack of coordination between the competent public administrations and that prevention,
disaster management and assistance to the territories and direct victims are the three areas of action by
the European Union, in which it should play a more active and in particular a more preventive role,

X. whereas there is evident dissatisfaction among ordinary people, broad sections of society, NGOs and

representatives of civil society,

1. Considers that the Commission should submit a proposal to draw up a European strategy to combat
natural disasters, including comprehensive risk prevention, and devise a technical protocol setting out joint
action at Union level addressing suited to each type of disaster and each forest eco-system;

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2. Acknowledges the specific nature of the natural disasters which occur in various Member States, such
as droughts and forest fires in the Mediterranean, and urges the Commission to adapt Community preven-
tion, research, risk-management, civil-defence and solidarity tools with a view to improving the response to
such disasters;

3. Considers that in all the Member States an exhaustive list should be drawn up of the locations which
are most vulnerable to fires and to prolonged droughts and also of the resources available, with a view to
devising a preventive strategy and enabling genuinely effective action and coordination to be carried out at
local level;

4. Considers, furthermore, that this proposal should also include measures designed to ensure that water
is used rationally and efficiently by major water consumers, such as farmers, urban users and industry;
defends application of the ‘user pays’ and ‘polluter pays’ principles in order to ensure that water is managed
more rationally and that effluent is more extensively monitored and checked;

5. Considers that this strategy should devote particular attention to isolated regions, regions with low
population density or suffering from depopulation, mountainous areas and border regions, outlying and
extremely remote regions and the least favoured regions concerned by the convergence objective;

6.
Points out that local and regional authorities throughout the EU are becoming increasingly aware of the
issue of natural catastrophes and points to the unsubstitutable role of regional and local actors in prevention,
disaster management and alleviation of the impact of natural catastrophes upon individuals;

7.
Stresses the need to adjust the action of the Structural Funds in the prevention and management of
natural disasters as well as to coordinate them with the other existing Community instruments, in order to
tackle these disasters; urges that, in the forthcoming financial programming for 2007-2013, the necessary
flexibility should be ensured in the redistribution of resources available among the different funds, in order
to improve their operability in the event of disasters;

8. Urges the Commission to make available the resources needed for the purpose of relieving the suffering
and satisfying the material needs of all victims of natural disasters and their immediate families, by means of
the EUSF and other Community instruments;

9.
Points out that measures to prevent and combat fires and floods are eligible under the Structural Funds
for the new programming period, and thus calls on the Council to bear this in mind and to be consistent in
its common positions;

Stresses that restorative measures receiving financial assistance from the European Union should

10.
include measures aimed at preventing reoccurrences of disasters;

Believes that the Council should consider the most effective measures to prevent and respond effec-

11.
tively to the direct and inevitable needs which may result from a disastrous fire;

framework a Community forest-fire protection
12. Considers that within the 2007-2013 financial
programme must be designed to promote adequately funded forest-fire awareness-raising, prevention and
risk-management initiatives dovetailing with agricultural- and structural-policy measures;

Points out that the existence of an extensive network of small and medium-sized farms and of an agri-
13.
cultural policy which promotes more sustainable production methods (particularly in the use of water and
soil) could help reduce the effects of drought and forest fire;

14. Notes that, following the decision of the Brussels European Council of 15 and 16 December 2005 on
the financial perspective 2007-2013, the objective ‘Territorial Cooperation’ has been substantially reduced,
particularly as regards its transnational and interregional dimension; calls on the Commission to ensure that
the financial allocation is adequate in the current negotiations, in order not to hamper the implementation
of measures to prevent and combat the impact of natural disasters covered by the Interreg programme; also
stresses the importance of cooperation with neighbouring third countries on matters concerning floods and
fires;

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15. Considers that the Commission should submit a proposal for a directive for fire prevention and
management in the European Union, in order to make the best possible use of the existing Community and
national resources for tackling the phenomenon on the lines of the proposal for a directive on the assess-
ment and management of floods; also considers that a similar proposal should be drafted on drought-risk
prevention and management and asks it to look into the establishment of a European monitoring centre for
drought and desertification integrated into the activities of the seventh framework programme of the Euro-
pean Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007-2013) (COM
(2005)0119);

Suggests that Parliament should begin to monitor deficiencies in means and equipment and all rele-

16.
vant problems in the fight against natural disasters in the Member States;

17. Calls on the Commission to draft a communication forthwith on earthquake-risk prevention, manage-
ment and assessment in the same way as for other natural disasters (floods, fires, drought);

18. Calls on the Commission, in cooperation with Member States, regional and local authorities and other
interested institutions, to gather and disseminate good practice case studies of measures adopted to prevent
and effectively manage natural disasters;

19. Calls on the Council and the Member States to step up research into disaster prevention under the
seventh framework programme, which is in the process of being adopted, paying particular attention to the
improvement of early-warning systems and systems for the gathering and the real-time transmission of data;

20. Notes the launching of the pilot phase for the creation of the Global Monitoring for Environment and
Security (GMES) initiative, which should enable the European Union to improve the forecasting, monitoring
and assessment of natural disasters, and urges that the financial allocation for the initiative should be
increased and that the action programme should be extended to cover all natural disasters that might occur
within the Member States;

21. Calls for the launching of the GALILEO system, which should help to improve the European Union's
ability to anticipate, monitor and understand extreme meteorological weather situations and natural
phenomena; also calls for the use of other kinds of equipment and means so as to detect fire outbreaks and
effectively prevent fire bursts;

22. Deplores the fact that the Commission communication reporting on the implementation of the EU
Forestry Strategy (COM(2005)0084) does not devote special attention to the issue of fires, ignoring the fact
that they are the main cause of the deterioration of forests; therefore calls on the Member States to remedy
this deficiency and asks the Commission to include the necessary measures in the Forestry Action Plan
which it is to submit in the near future and which must contain provision for a possible European Fire Fund
or European Forest Fund which could be used to support action intended to conserve and restore the moun-
tain and forest areas included in the Natura 2000 network;

23.
Suggests that the Member States should include and be obliged to carry out measures to combat
drought and desertification and to prevent fires and flooding in the context of their rural development plans
by encouraging participation by farmers in the replanting of forests with suitable species, in clearing out
forests, in combating erosion and in making better use of water since farmers are the main guardians of the
countryside; consequently, calls for the aid established for the creation of fire-breaks in Council Regulation
(EC) No 1257/1999 of 17 May 1999 on support for rural development from the European Agricultural
Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) (1) to be maintained and for better support for measures designed to
increase the profitability of forests and to prevent the depopulation of less economically productive moun-
tain areas which may lie within the Mediterranean region (with particular attention to be paid to keeping
combined farming/forestry/grazing operations in business and to protecting meadows);

(1) OJ L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 80.

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24. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to devise information and education campaigns on
prevention and combating measures agreed on with the Member States in order to reduce the risks and
consequences of natural disasters, especially in the areas of highest risk, by making the public aware of the
need to care for the environment and conserve natural resources by avoiding, inter alia, agricultural practices
or leisure activities that entail risks; also calls on the Commission to promote training drills to minimise the
negative effects during the outbreak of a disaster;

25. Urges the Commission to promote (in connection with EU training programmes and programmes for
the exchange of sound working practices) a special programme for firefighters and firefighting specialists
with a view to enabling such individuals to undertake additional tasks relating to the protection, conserva-
tion, improvement and restoration of mountain areas, and thus to secure safe jobs and stable employment;
also urges the Commission to consider the possibility of proposing an EU evaluation and approval scheme
both for firefighting teams and for the training and skills of firefighters themselves;

26. Calls on the Commission to study and to propose to the Parliament and to the Council ways of imple-
menting coercive measures which will discourage negligence and deliberate action in the starting of fires
(legal remedies, police intervention, labelling of such action as an environmental offence and so on);

27. Deplores the fact that the fire prevention measures under the ‘Forest Focus’ programme do not form
part of the priority issues in the future ‘LIFE +’ instrument; calls on the Commission and the Council to
include those measures in the future instrument and to provide adequate funding;

28.
Since many areas have witnessed a very high rate of forest degradation over the last few years, calls on
the Commission to devise schemes which will enable the forests in such areas to be replanted with native
species, thereby ensuring that the objectives of ecosystem recovery and the prevention of further disasters
are adopted in the public interest and not just as a private initiative, and that the effect of disasters on
climate change is reduced;

29. Notes the Commission proposal for a decision establishing a Community civil protection mechanism
(COM(2006)0029), in particular the enhancement of the MIC (Monitoring and Information Centre), with
the possibility of Community funding for transport expenditure; calls on the Council to adopt this decision
as soon as possible and to consider strengthening the instrument, in particular measures on the ground, as
well as making the best use of the scant resources available;

30. Calls on the Member States and the Commission to work jointly on substantially improving the coor-
dination and communication of information on existing resources in the event of disasters, by devising
harmonised implementation methods for the purpose with a particular view to ensuring that the essential
emergency operations which are necessary if land-based and airborne forest-fire combat equipment is to be
made immediately available for a limited period of time can be carried out;

31. Recalls that, in its resolution of 4 September 2003 on the effects of the summer heatwave (1), it advo-
cated the establishment of a European Civil Protection Force; calls on the Commission to fully take into
account in this objective respect for the principle of subsidiarity; believes that such a European mechanism
should be alert during the summer season, when Europe and especially the Mediterranean countries are
always under the threat of fires, and that each Member State could contribute to this European mechanism
by providing equipment, means and personnel;

32. Calls on the Member States and regional and local authorities to remove administrative and spatial
barriers to civil protection and support greater flexibility and operability of rescue teams (fire brigades,
medical emergency, police, mountain, marine and mining rescue teams) in neighbouring regions;

(1) OJ C 76 E, 25.3.2004, p. 382.

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33.
Emphasises the importance of the EUSF as the main instrument that should enable the European
Union to react rapidly to major disasters, such as floods, fires and drought, as well as to cyclones, earth-
quakes, volcanic eruptions or even tsunamis; urges the Commission and the Council to adopt Parliament's
proposals for a review of that fund, with particular reference to extending the assistance provided to all
victims of natural disasters and their immediate family members;

34. Urges the Council to adapt the EUSF with particular reference to time limits and eligible actions in
order to enable it to deal with the kind of specific natural disasters which occur in the Member States, such
as fires, droughts and floods;

35. Considers that the EUSF should continue to enable action to be taken in the case of disasters which,
although significant, do not achieve the minimum level required and that assistance may also be provided in
special circumstances in cases where most of the population in a specific region has been affected by a
disaster which will have a serious, long-term effects on their living conditions;

36. Nevertheless, points to the need for the involvement of other existing instruments, such as State aid
for regional purposes or European Investment Bank loans, with the aim of preventing if possible natural
disasters from happening and remedying the damage caused by natural disasters;

37. Asks that the setting up of an agriculture disaster fund be looked into for the purpose of providing
compensation for any loss of income stemming from crop losses on the part of farmers affected by natural
disasters;

38.
Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, to the governments
and parliaments of the Member States having regions affected by natural disasters in 2005, to the regional
and local authorities of those areas, as well as to the Committee of the Regions.

P6_TA(2006)0224

Natural Disasters — environmental aspects

European Parliament resolution on Natural Disasters (fires, droughts and floods) — environmental
aspects (2005/2192(INI))

The European Parliament,

— having regard to its resolutions of 5 September 2002 on floods in Europe (1), 14 April 2005 on the
drought in Portugal (2), 12 May 2005 on the drought in Spain (3) and 8 September 2005 on the natural
disasters (fires and floods) in Europe that summer (4),

— having regard to the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change of

11 December 1997, and the ratification thereof by the European Community on 25 April 2002,

— having regard to its resolution of 16 November 2005 on ‘Winning the Battle against Global Climate

Change’ (5),

— having regard to its resolution of 18 January 2006 on Climate Change (6),

(1) OJ C 272 E, 13.11.2003, p. 471.
(2) OJ C 33 E, 9.2.2006, p. 599.
(3) OJ C 92 E, 20.4.2006, p. 414.
(4) Texts Adopted on that date, P6_TA(2005)0334.
(5) Texts Adopted on that date, P6_TA(2005)0433.
(6) Texts Adopted on that date, P6_TA(2006)0019.