mr president firstly i would like to express my thanks and the thanks of the s d group to mr cancian for his hard work on what was indeed a very difficult and very complicated dossier
two questions spring to mind when you look at this particular agreement
the first is is it ideal
and the second is does it move us forward
in response to the first question from a parliamentary point of view i think we have to say that it is not ideal
by the very nature of it being a compromise there are things there that parliament has had to give up particularly on the scope where we would have liked to have seen a smaller distance before the regulation kicks in
but does it move us forward
well yes it does because we will now have in place a similar set of rights for buses and coaches to those that we currently have for other modes of transport
it also moves us forward in our commitment to improving access to bus and coach travel for those people with reduced mobility and indeed disabled people throughout the european union
i would just pick up on one issue which concerns asking for staff to be trained to help people with reduced mobility and disabilities so that they can have the same access to public transport as those of us who are able-bodied have
i know there is a derogation for member states to push this back for five years in this area and i hope they will not use that
finally i think it is important for us to support this final agreement so that the rights for all the modes of transport are now in place
i know we will go forward in future to look at them again and revise them again but i think we have made a step forward in this area and that parliament should support the agreement that mr cancian reached with the council in conciliation
