Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-09-04-Speech-1-117"
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"en.20060904.19.1-117"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, while we are debating the framework of the responsibilities and the funding of the European Maritime Safety Agency to prevent and combat cases of maritime pollution, a huge ecological disaster is unfolding in the southeast Mediterranean as a result of the criminal bombing of the Jiyyeh power plant in Lebanon by the Israelis.
According to information from the International Maritime Organisation and other competent agencies, tens of thousands of tonnes of oil leaked into the sea and have spread along the shores of the Mediterranean to a distance of over 170 kilometres. The murderous attacks by the Israelis caused the death of thousands of Lebanese and Palestinians and caused incalculable repercussions on the local environment in general. This is a crime against humanity.
The cost of the cleanup operation in the area, according to the most moderate estimates by International Maritime Organisation experts, runs to more than EUR 50 million, in other words one-third of seven-year budget for funding the European Maritime Safety Agency to combat maritime pollution.
I do not mention this in the sense that the cleanup operation will be covered from the Agency's reserves, but so that we have a better understanding of the real cost of this sort of pollution.
The much-vaunted European Union principle of 'the polluter pays' is proving to be false and hypocritical, given that, in this case too, the European Union has not made any reference to those responsible, to Israel, which caused this huge ecological disaster.
The European Maritime Safety Agency cannot and must not replace the International Maritime Organisation and its members, who bear chief responsibility for the safety protection of life at sea and the environment.
The European Agency needs to focus its action on improving maritime safety and combating pollution, concentrating its attention in particular on preventing pollution. The Agency must help with additional measures rather than replace the infrastructures and activities of the Member States; it must complement their action in dealing with disasters. The activities covered by financial assistance must include all forms of maritime pollution, especially pollution from hydrocarbons and dangerous liquid substances.
The take-up of EUR 136 million from total appropriations of EUR 154 million being given to the Agency to charter standby ships and the huge cost of satellite photographs, with 1 000 photographs costing EUR 1 million, mean that there is a huge risk of this Agency turning into a purely bureaucratic mechanism.
That is why great care is needed in order to secure financial assistance so that the Agency can perform its new duties."@en1
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