B4-1258 and 1292/95

Resolution on the heavy storms in Liguria

The European Parliament,

A.having regard to the disastrous floods that have struck various parts of northern Italy, in particular Liguria and the city of Genoa, over the last few years,

B.whereas the region of Liguria, in particular the area around Savona, in the west of the region, was badly hit by the heavy storms which struck on Monday, 25 September 1995, causing many injuries and damaging the environment and infrastructures,

C.whereas the storms caused most damage to the industrial triangle formed by the valley of Vado Ligure, Quiliano and Valleggia, causing rivers and streams to overflow, thereby flooding roads and many businesses, houses, warehouses, shops and cellars,

D.whereas many people were also cut off by the flooding, leaving workers unable to work and farmers unable to harvest their crops; whereas stretches of motorway were buried under thousands of metres of soil from landslips and the historic city centre of Savona was flooded (some parts being under 50 cm of water), leading to billions of lire worth of damage,

E.whereas these are the fourth floods in four years (the last being only a few weeks ago); whereas they have been an overall disaster, causing deaths and also serious damage to the environment, the economy and communications systems,

F.whereas these cannot be said to be isolated incidents, as they are recurring at ever-frequent intervals, and whereas these disasters are due not only to the particular nature of the territory concerned but also to human blunders,

1.Expresses its sympathy for the inhabitants of the areas in question;

2.Urges the Commission to implement an emergency action plan as soon as possible, as part of a new regional planning policy, so as to activate all the specific aid initiatives required;

3.Calls on the Commission to implement an effective strategy for preventing and combating such disasters in accordance with Article 130r of the EC Treaty, which stipulates that action should be taken to prevent the causes of environmental damage rather than dealing solely with the consequences of such damage;

4.Calls on the Commission to use all the means at its disposal (including financial) to support local and regional government bodies and the Italian Government in undertaking the necessary regional planning reorganization projects and in relaunching productive and commercial activity and repairing housing in the region concerned;

5.Urges the Commission to assist those who have suffered material damage in order that they receive compensation as swiftly as possible;

6.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.