More EU action needed for prevention of natural disasters

Parliament opened the plenary session with a minute's silence in memory of the victims of this summer's natural disasters. After a formal statement by European Parliament President Josep Borrell on the summer 2005 forest fires in Portugal, France and Spain, and floods in Austria, Germany, Bulgaria, Romania and Switzerland - MEPs devoted their first debate on the 8 September 2005 to the subject. They adopted, by a large majority, a resolution making a series of recommendations so the EU can prepare better for extreme weather conditions and take better coordinated action when they occur.