B4-1149 and 1162/95

Resolution on the floods which have affected numerous regions of Italy

The European Parliament,

A.whereas the regions of Lombardy, Piedmont, Liguria, Tuscany and Lazio have suffered immense damage because of the floods caused by non-stop rain and downpours between 12 and 16 September 1995 that seriously affected persons, the environment and structures,

B.whereas many regions of southern Italy have also been devastated by violent storms during the summer of 1995,

C.whereas both industrial and agricultural areas have been equally hard hit, and whereas, in Lombardy, these areas lie in the belt between Varese and Milan (Cavaria, Cassano Magnago, Cairate and Olgiata), the Como area and the border areas of Porto Ceresio and Ponte Tresa,

D.whereas Cavaria and the entire Valle Olona had already been lashed by serious storms in 1992 and 1994; whereas Piedmont, where the harvest has been interrupted, was also devastated by floods last autumn,

E.whereas the main cause of this natural disaster was the exceptionally high rainfall and subsequent flooding and landslides, which led to roads, motorways, railway lines and some border passes being blocked,

F.whereas persons, homes, factories, small firms, farms and tourist facilities throughout the regions affected have been hit by violent and exceptional weather, and the ecosystem has in many cases been compromised,

G.whereas these repeated disasters, which are also due to climatic changes, are occurring more frequently in almost all the Member States, with devastating effects in human, social and economic terms,

H.whereas the Commission gave an undertaking on 1 February 1995 as regards the granting of aid to flood victims in the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Germany as part of a European strategy to prevent floods,

1.Expresses its solidarity with the people of the regions affected and the homeless;

2.Calls on the Commission immediately to implement the emergency programme proposed as part of a new regional planning policy to set in motion all the requisite practical solidarity measures;

3.Calls on the Commission to involve the competent national authorities in assisting the regions affected by means of an effective strategy to prevent and combat floods, within the meaning of Article 130r of the EC Treaty, the aim being to prevent the causes of environmental damage instead of taking action only in the aftermath;

4.Urges the Commission to ensure that the people who have suffered material damage are compensated as quickly as possible;

5.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments of the Member States and the regional and local authorities concerned.