EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION ON UK FLOODS - FIONA DEMANDS EU ACTION (Fiona Hall MEP)

Fiona Hall MEP <info@fionahall.org.uk>

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION ON UK FLOODS - FIONA DEMANDS EU ACTION

September 5, 2007 12:00 AM

North East Liberal Democrat MEP, Fiona Hall has come out in support of a European Parliament resolution for stronger measures to prevent natural disasters.

Fiona is backing plans for the sharing of best practice in flood management among EU countries, in the light of the recent severe flooding that hit the UK.

The European Parliament's resolution criticises the lack of coordination in disaster relief between Member States and calls on the European Commission to reform the EU's Solidarity Fund to ensure the threshold for applying for emergency aid is reduced and that applications for emergency money are processed quickly.

Fiona said: "This summer has been one of the worst in memory, with extreme weather causing misery for millions of people across the European Union, including the effects of flooding here in North East England, in Chester le Street and Darlington.

"The message from the European Parliament is clear; the UK must be better prepared, we must share best practice and research with other EU Member States and above all the UK must put money and research into flood defences, in the light of increasingly extreme climate events.

"The EU must now consider seriously a European force that can immediately react to emergencies in any Member State and ensure that when funds and other support are needed they are available.

"The floods of this summer are also a timely reminder that climate change is affecting North East England as well as hotter parts of the world. It is a wake-up call for faster action on energy saving in order to cut carbon emissions."

Fiona warned that the UK Government failed to listen to climate change warnings:

"The budget for flood defence was cut by £14 million last summer in order to ease a DEFRA deficit caused by the badly implemented Single Farm Payment scheme. "

At the party's conference in Brighton, starting a week on Saturday, Fiona will join Liberal Democrats colleagues in calling urgently for a flood defence budget to ensure adequate maintenance of existing defences and construction of new ones.