Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-02-17-Speech-4-205"
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"en.20000217.9.4-205"2
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"Let me associate myself, not least as a former Environment Minister, completely and without any reservation whatsoever, with the expressions of concern by honourable Members.
An objective assessment of the facts is not easy at this stage. But early reports suggest that the poisoning of the Lepos, Tisza, Somes and Danube Rivers is a very serious environmental tragedy. It has destroyed an entire ecosystem in a matter of days. No living organisms, from microbes to otters, have been spared. Several Members have set out what seems to have happened. We have all seen some of the consequences on our television screens. Some environmental experts have put the environmental consequences of this disaster, at least so far as damage to the ecosystem is concerned, on a par with Chernobyl. It has affected the peoples of three countries – Romania, Hungary and Yugoslavia. It is the Tisza, Hungary’s second river, perhaps its most beautiful and most loved by its people, that has borne the brunt. As with all such disasters it is the long-term consequences that are the most pernicious. Some estimates suggest that it could take up to five years to restock the river. There is a continuing threat to other wildlife from eating toxic fish.
We plainly have a responsibility to do everything we can, as rapidly as we can, to help cope with this catastrophe. That is certainly the view of my colleague, Commissioner Wallström, who I know would have wished to respond to this resolution in person today. The reason she cannot do so is because, as some honourable Members have pointed out, she is in Hungary and Romania to see for herself the extent of the damage and how best we can help the Hungarian and Romanian authorities to tackle the crisis.
We stand ready to do so. We contacted the Romanian Government and the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River about the accident earlier this month to seek more information urgently. The Romanians have approached UNEF and OCHA, in Geneva, for an assessment of the damage in the Danube catchment area by an independent and international team of experts. We stand ready to assist in this assessment if there is a joint request from Hungary and Romania and if access to the sites for nationals of both countries can be guaranteed. That is obviously crucial. It is plainly essential to establish as rapidly as possible an accurate picture of the scope of the damage so that we can decide exactly how best to help tackle it. It is to that end that our efforts are now engaged.
There is also a need to clarify the legal responsibilities of the mining company and of the Romanian authorities. This is an important point, as several speakers have suggested. The polluter-pays principle is a cornerstone of European Union environmental policy. It is mirrored in the International Convention for the Protection and Sustainable Use of the Danube River and it should be applied in this case.
The European Union could not substitute itself for the mining company for any compensation payments due. The Union has mobilised some EUR 20 million over the past seven years to support protection of the Danube River basin. In the context of pre-accession aid to the region it may be possible to redirect some of the assistance we are giving under ISPAR and PHARE to tackle the most severe impact of this accident, as long as the polluter-pays principle is fully respected.
We will want, in the longer term, to see what lessons can be drawn from this disaster, above all to see how to prevent such disasters happening in the first place. The incident reinforces the case for a strengthening of European civil protection, along the lines suggested by President Prodi in his recent speech and as suggested by one or two Members today. But for now the priority is to cope with this crisis. As I have said, my colleague, Commissioner Wallström, is on the spot today. She will want to keep Parliament closely in touch with the action she proposes as a result of her visit.
This has been an appalling tragedy for Europe and Europe has to respond and do all it can to ensure that incidents as dreadful as this do not continue to blight our future."@en1
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