11. Asks the Commission and the Member States not only to invest more in dams and other flood prevention measures, but also to ensure that flood risk management measures focus on the prevention of damage through changes in land use and through giving rivers more space where possible; considers that such measures, which work with nature and not against it, would protect people, property and the environment and help achieve environmentally sustainable water management and land use planning, as well as the EU objective for biodiversity ...[+++]and the EU climate change adaptation strategy;

As a social democrat, I voted for this report because the EUR 11.8 million allocated through the budget adjustment supports Romania in its effort to adapt to climate change in order to eliminate the effects of the floods by carrying out local protection work (protecting populated settlements, river basin planning through works for improving streams and increasing forested areas) and, last but not least, by involving the population and educating them about appropriate behaviour before, during and after the floods.

R. whereas in the course of the current parliamentary term the Committee on Petitions, acting in response to the very large number of petitions received, has conducted detailed investigations, has reported three times on the extent of the abuse of the legitimate rights of EU citizens to their legally acquired property in Spain, and has also detailed its concerns in relation to the undermining of sustainable development, environmental protection, water quality and provision, procedures concerning public procurement with regard to urbanisation contracts and insufficient control of urbanisation procedures by many local and regional authori ...[+++]ties in Spain ,which matters are currently the subject of legal proceedings both in Spain and before the Court of Justice,

The Helsinki Commission on the Protection on the Baltic Sea, the Oslo and Paris Conventions on the protection of the Northeast Atlantic and the Barcelona Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea have recently taken important steps to integrate maritime spatial planning considerations into their existing or planned activities. This will constitute an essential building block for the further work on maritime spatial planning in the context of the proposed Marine Strategy Directive.

Stresses the importance of introducing an irrigation-water pricing policy progressively, transparently and in a way which is suited to local needs; considers that the implementation of such a policy must be accompanied by a suitable policy for informing and actively involving irrigation farmers which will enable them to acquire a knowledge of and accept the economic and environmental incentives based on the savings to be derived from the correct application of pricing; considers furthermore that these measures must be supplemented by the optimisation of irrigation infrastructure and techniques, improvements to rural planning practices and an environm ...[+++]ent which encourages cooperation amongst irrigation farmers with a view to efficient water management.

18. Stresses the importance of introducing an irrigation-water pricing policy progressively, transparently and in a way which is suited to local needs; considers that the implementation of such a policy must be accompanied by a suitable policy for informing and actively involving irrigation farmers which will enable them to acquire a knowledge of and accept the economic and environmental incentives based on the savings to be derived from the correct application of pricing; considers furthermore that these measures must be supplemented by the optimisation of irrigation infrastructure and techniques, improvements to rural planning practices and an environm ...[+++]ent which encourages cooperation amongst irrigation farmers with a view to efficient water management;