Mr President, last year individual countries were able to decide which banks would undergo the stress test, but this year the newly-established European Banking Authority has been charged with ensuring equal criteria for every bank and for every Member State. This stress test will be a test, not only of the banks, but also of the credibility of the new supervision structure.

1. Takes note of the Commission communication on stress tests and their results, in the wake of the Fukushima accident; welcomes the efforts made by the Commission, especially through ENSREG, and by the national regulators to subject 145 reactors in the EU and 20 reactors outside the EU to a stress test procedure; emphasises the usefulness of this procedure and its character as an unprecedented exercise at world level; expects that the results of the stress tests will contribute to enhancing a nuclear safety culture in Europe, thus setting a leading example internationally; praises the efforts made to make the stress tests as transpa ...[+++]rent as possible;

13. Considers that there are different national approaches to assessing the effects of aircraft crashes on the safety of NPPs; notes that ‘aircraft crashes have not been considered explicitly as an initiating event in the safety assessments’, and that only their effects have been outlined in the stress test specifications; regrets, however, the fact that only four Member States have included such assessments in their stress test reports; notes, nonetheless, that the stress test specifications state that ’the assessment of consequences of loss of safety functions is relevant also if the situation is provoked by indirect initiating e ...[+++]vents for instance (...) airplane crash’; also notes that, given that this risk falls primarily within the area of Member States’ national security concerns and, therefore, sovereignty, an Ad Hoc Group on Nuclear Security (AHGNS) has been set up with the task of examining the issue in detail and publishing its conclusions; is aware that further exchanges between Member States are planned on that subject within appropriate forums such as the European Nuclear Security Regulators Association (ENSRA); asks all interested stakeholders, including Member States, the Commission, ENSREG, ENSRA and NPP operators, to work together in order to anticipate and agree a common approach to dealing with the risk of aircraft crashes, while recognising that this risk falls within the area of Member States’ national security concerns and sovereignty;

Although I categorically support the charter, we all know that there are issues that have become problematic from time to time where the intent of Parliament has had to withstand that particular litmus test.

If a proposed merger between a large bank and a large insurance company can meet these tests, I see no reason for it not to proceed.

As you can see, one of the changes introduced with this Bill C-35 is that exceptions on the basis of age will no longer be allowed, contrary to what had been the practice until just recently, for fear that it would not meet the test of the Charter in eventual court challenges, as the chairman of the human resources development committee can imagine, he who, as we know, is very concerned about these issues.