Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-12-12-Speech-3-282"
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"en.20011212.9.3-282"2
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Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the sinking of the Erika reminded the world of the general risks involved in the sea transport of certain types of pollutants, especially oil and oil-based products. It also highlighted the inadequacy of safety controls and the lack of transparency in sea transport practices, as well as the profound discontent of the populations affected, owing to the slowness of compensation. As the rapporteur, Mr Ortuondo, has quite rightly pointed out, the victims of this accident have yet to receive their money.
I would like to end my speech by thanking Parliament and the three rapporteurs, who have worked brilliantly, for their support to the Commission. I would also like to ask them to cooperate with the other parliamentarians so that the Erika II package may pass through this House as soon as possible and that it may enter into force without delay. I would also like to publicly thank the services of the Commission, whose efforts have been wonderful. For your information, I am going to give you a piece of information on the subject of governance: the services relating to the maritime sector in the Directorate-General for Transport – including secretaries – comprise no more than 40 people, and they are the human team behind all these initiatives, as well as a series of other tasks and functions relating to the maritime, port and other sectors. This may give you an idea of the workload and the efforts made throughout this time.
This time the European Union has demonstrated that we have taken the fight against marine pollution seriously.
I would like to end by saying that, two years after the Erika tragedy, the satisfaction and success represented by the approval of the Erika I package today really must be a homage to all the citizens whose lives have been affected as a result of the sinking of the Erika two years ago. It must be a homage to all Europeans, who, over recent years, have seen the systematic repetition of huge disasters involving pollutants without any suitable or tangible measures, with sufficient rigour and sufficient demands, being taken, and also those of us who are genuine lovers of the sea and of the environment, who are thinking not just of today but of future generations. Thank you very much to all of you for your cooperation.
It was also a test of the European Union’s capacity to react quickly and to offer its citizens a suitable response to their concerns. I must say that, despite the fact that all has not gone perfectly, that perhaps we could have adopted it on first reading – as I would have liked –, that perhaps both Parliament and the Council could have shown greater flexibility, the reality is that, despite everything, within one and a half years of the Commission presenting its initiative, today, two years after the accident, we are finally approving the Erika I package.
In this respect, we must remember that there was a serious disaster off the same coast ten years ago and initiatives were presented by the Commission, but they did not overcome the hurdle of the Council. I would therefore like to point out that the considerable success of approving this Erika I package today would certainly not have been achieved had it not been for the insistence and firmness of this Parliament, which has maintained systematic pressure on the Council throughout the negotiation process.
I would like to expressly thank Mr Watts, Mr Hatzidakis and Mr Ortuondo Larrea for their work and tenacity over these two years. Their determination, which I welcome, has allowed us to persuade the Council to approve texts which initially enjoyed only a very small majority yet have been able, at the end of the day, to overcome any reservations.
We have considerably strengthened the European Union’s legislative arsenal. Furthermore, the texts approved will have significant specific consequences, whose effects will be immediately noticeable. The Member States must recruit a large number of inspectors in order to deal with greater obligations in controlling ships in ports. Furthermore, shipowners, charterers, flag States and classification societies who are complacent or negligent in their operation or monitoring of ships will henceforth be liable to severe penalties such as the prohibition of ships not meeting minimum requirements from entering European ports, the publication of the names of negligent charterers or the withdrawal of the authorisation of classification societies in the event of poor performance.
Finally, I believe it is important to highlight another point of fundamental importance: Europe has once and for all made its mark as an indispensable partner in the international arena in the field of safety and all aspects relating to the maritime sector. In this regard, on the delicate issue of double hull ships, the States of the Union have not only reached an agreement so that, from 2015, no single hull oil tanker will be able to stop in any Community port, but also, and above all, the Union has persuaded the International Maritime Organisation to approve these requirements for all the oil tankers in the world.
I believe it is also important to point out that the Erika II package which completes the whole initiative has made considerable progress recently. Last Friday the Transport Council approved a common position, pending final and formal approval next week, with regard to the Community system for monitoring traffic and the European Maritime Safety Agency.
With regard to the proposed regulation on the Community fund for compensating damages resulting from accidental pollution, it is true that we are once again waiting for things to move ahead within the International Maritime Organisation. But I would like to say that it is already a great success that the Community initiative has led the current international debate – specifically within the IMO – towards the creation of an international fund which takes up the principles of the Commission’s proposal. Of course, we must ensure that the final result in the IMO conforms to our demands and ambitions. We are working on this and, just as we have ensured that things move ahead in the Union – thanks to Mr Watts’ insistence – in relation to black boxes, we also hope that the same will happen on this issue within the IMO.
I would like to clarify certain matters. Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to say publicly that Malta and Cyprus are making a considerable effort to update their ship’s registers and to exclude and expel those that do not conform to the requirements of the Union."@en1
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