mr president i would like to thank the commissioners and rapporteurs
i was the shadow on solvit and that is what i would like to concentrate on on behalf of my group the socialist group
solvit is a great concept and i think commissioner dalli summed it up by saying it is all about people
it is citizen-centred and it tries to help those who come up against barriers and problems created by the eu and to solve the problem in ten weeks
i know that some people would shirk from the idea that i am from the government and i am here to help but solvit is in essence a network across twenty-seven member states which is there to do exactly that help
i would like to put on record and pay tribute to all those who work in member state solvit centres
just last year i met with the small-staffed team who run the solvit centre in the united kingdom
the way the solvit centre works in the uk is a model of best practice because it tries and uses a solvit model going further in helping businesses and individuals who contact them with a problem
the team are integrated into the european regulatory division within the department for business and industry
one of my many amendments sought to make sure that centres are suitably staffed across the eu with no exceptions
commissioner barnier in december i raised the issue of solvit in the chamber when you were present and mentioned that in the autumn in committee we were told that in your own member state the person running the solvit centre was an intern
members of the committee were horrified
can i ask as i did in december whether that situation has changed
if you are not able to provide the house with that information can i ask you to clarify it
it is important that solvit centres are well staffed
the internal market is at the centre of what binds us
it is important that our legislation is clearer and easier for member states to interpret so that the internal market can operate in the smoothest fashion and consumers can reap the benefits of the best price and the highest quality
in conclusion why is there not a solvit day in the european parliament
why do we not have a poster in all our constituency office windows advertising solvit
what can we do to inform all national politicians and their political offices of the benefits of solvit
i hope we will continue to support solvit and help the people we are here to represent
