Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-03-02-Speech-4-014"
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"en.20000302.2.4-014"2
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"Mr President, the reason why it is important to return to the subject of the oil slick, two and a half months after the wreck of the
is because the extent of the economic, social and ecological disaster affecting our Atlantic coastline is, in fact, far greater than the first assessments gave us to understand.
This time, we must not let inertia win the day. A basis for maritime safety must be drawn up speedily, respecting the principle of subsidiarity, and we must at long last put an end to this downward spiral of widespread irresponsibility.
Cakes of tar are still washing in along 500 km of the Atlantic coastline on a daily basis. Curiously, the exact composition of the cargo has still not been clarified. The ecological disaster is a major one, possibly unprecedented in scale. Large-scale degassing proliferates and the 16 000 tonnes of tar remaining in the wreck at a depth of 120 m present a major risk of fresh pollution. All workers in the fishing, fish farming and aquaculture sectors have already been hit hard. The chief victims today are the shellfish farmers who were once the most successful producers in Europe. The frontline victims are the producers or freight forwarders banned in the Vendée and Loire-Atlantique regions. Some of them have already lost several years’ worth of harvests, but the 50% to 80% slump in sales is affecting all the harbours on the Atlantic coastline, and even those in the Channel and North Sea.
As regards fishing proper, passive gear fishing is currently the hardest hit. After shellfish, the slump is now affecting crustacean sales. The many fishing days lost affect the entire industry and, above all, the future of fishery products, an area in which prices had seen something of a turnaround in very recent years, now hangs entirely on consumer reaction and we are starting to see signs, unfortunately, of initial disenchantment. The two principle resources of the Atlantic shore, fishing and tourism, both closely interrelated, have both been seriously affected. There is a danger that the season will be lost, resulting in an extremely serious crisis by the end of the year. The fact that Parliament is presenting a new resolution, one to which our Group has made a significant contribution, is therefore perfectly justifiable. It emphasises a number of points deemed crucial at grass roots level.
The first point is that the polluter must accept his liability in full. Our resolution calls for two principles to be applied: the first is the ‘polluter cleans’ principle, since it is unacceptable that the cleaning of coasts polluted by hydrocarbon cargoes should be borne by the local authorities, i.e. the taxpayers, i.e. the victims, and not the cargo owner.
The second principle is the ‘polluter pays’ principle. According to our resolution, the polluter’s liability must extend to fishing, fish farming and aquaculture industries and businesses. This is essential. It means that the polluter cannot claim to limit the amount of compensation for victims in line with the ceiling set by FIPOL, which is to say, by the goodwill of the major oil companies.
If the FIPOL ceiling is insufficient, and it has clearly been underestimated, then it must be raised. Our resolution calls for this. If the increase is not enough then the polluter should pay the balance. It would be particularly unfair to have an oil company, whose profits this year amount to FRF 10 billion, refusing to give 100% compensation to its own victims, the great majority of whom are small businesses and employees.
Commissioner, the stricken people await tangible expressions of solidarity at European level. Our resolution calls upon the Commission to take the necessary steps to assist in repairing the damage caused in the fishing industry affected by the consequences of the disaster. Maritime Europe and the CFP must today demonstrate that, in addition to imposing constraints on fishermen, it is not unfamiliar with the concept of solidarity. The European Union must also participate in the restoration of the wetland and coastal environments affected, whose biological value is important to the Union as a whole.
Mr Fischler has just told us that he would welcome France’s requests. I am pleased to hear it.
We must act as a catalyst in this crucial issue of maritime pollution. Twenty years after the
disaster laxness and irresponsibility still reign supreme in Europe in matters of maritime safety, resulting in yet more oil slicks."@en1
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