- Considering also the Commission’s upcoming ‘Blueprint to Safeguard Europe’s Water Resources’ and the report on the implementation of EU water legislation currently being discussed in Parliament, what are the main concrete actions proposed by the Commission to address the challenges that both Europe and the world, in particular developing countries, have to face in the 21st century, in order to safeguard water resources, guarantee water quality and availability worldwide, and improve the communication and implementation of water goals?

11. Underlines the unacceptable situation in many oil- and gas-producing States in terms of the lack of transparency as to how oil and gas resources are used and the lack of development benefits from such energy resource riches; calls therefore for bold initiatives by the EU to move good governance to the centre of energy security; calls for transparency in the management of extractive industries such as oil production on the part of both governments and companies, and demands that full disclosure of how oil and gas revenues are used be made a precondition for the importing of these resources into the EU; moreover, calls for clever sa ...[+++]nctions against corrupt practices in oil and gas producing States;

EC-Russia fisheries and conservation Agreement *

41. Draws attention to the new rural development regulation (programming period 2007-2013), which provides inter alia for financing Natura 2000, contains agri-environmental measures and measures to preserve genetic resources in agriculture and support sustainable forest management, and maintains payments for areas with natural handicaps;

We know only too well that oil stirs up conflicts, excites envy, enables people to buy weapons and also leads to standstills, particularly on the part of China - which has very important interests in that area – and of all those, and the superpowers in particular, that are now searching ever more feverishly for oil resources to which they can have easy access.

Forest-environment payments should be introduced for voluntary commitments to enhance biodiversity, preserve high-value forest ecosystems and reinforce the protective value of forests with respect to soil erosion, maintenance of water resources and water quality and to natural hazards.