Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-09-22-Speech-1-078"
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"en.20030922.5.1-078"2
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"Mr President, I wish to express my thanks to my colleague, Mr Dirk Sterckx, for the thorough work he has done. The
accident that happened 10 months ago brought about an ecological and economic disaster of exceptional proportions. This is just the sort of approach we need to ensure that something like this never happens again. It is vitally important to analyse the causes of the accident and draw the relevant political conclusions. It has to be said, actually, that most of the necessary legislation to promote safety at sea already exists. The measures laid down in the two Erika packages could have prevented the
disaster.
Safety at sea can be improved if existing international rules are complied with. The first requirement is for Member States to make the Erika legislation that has been adopted part of national law as quickly as possible and monitor its application strictly. Monitoring for compliance with international legislation will also be of primary importance. The Commission should propose an amendment to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, for which Parliament would have much to propose.
According to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, a coastal state has no authority over vessels transiting along its coastline flying the flag of another state and outside its territorial waters. The Convention does not reflect present maritime reality. The Commission must, as a matter of urgency, obtain a negotiating mandate from the Council. A coastal state is in the best position to monitor ships off its coast and should be given certain powers to take action in exceptional cases. Only in that way can we include third countries and ships not registered in any country in the same objective. We likewise have to develop our assessment of cross-border environmental impact. That will be an important tool, particularly in the protection of the seas.
Every accident involving petroleum products is a catastrophe we cannot afford. It also has to be said that the European Union has certain particularly vulnerable sea areas, such as the Baltic, where, if an accident were to occur, it would be an utter calamity. I myself have proposed that the EU should join the Arctic Council. EU membership of the Arctic Council would strengthen Euro-Atlantic understanding in the area of the environment and the EU would have an important forum in which to address issues such as the protection of sea wildlife in the north."@en1
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