Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-04-21-Speech-1-237"
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"en.20080421.21.1-237"2
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"Mr President, the oral question that underlies this debate smacks to me of atavistic resentment of a constitutional nature. This House is at its worst if we allow such sentiment to stain our approach to the politics of the European Union.
I would ask the Commissioner to clarify three points for us, and I hope he will come back at the end of the debate and do that.
First, that the collision and sinking of the
happened not in the Bay of Gibraltar, which the Spanish call the Bay of Algeciras, but on the south-east side of the Rock of Gibraltar, off Europa Point in the Mediterranean Sea.
Second, that the
incident had nothing to do with the bunkering of oil, as the ship was carrying scrap metal.
Third, that there have not been seven oil spills, as claimed in the oral question, but one minor spill during a storm on 9-10 February. Seven hundred and eighty cubic metres of fuel were pumped off the vessel in the month following the incident, none of which was spilt. I would be grateful if the Commissioner would confirm that to the House. If there is oil on the coast, it is more likely to have come from the
which broke anchor in a storm earlier in the year, ran aground and leaked oil.
Perhaps the Commissioner would also comment on the cooperation between the Gibraltar authorities and the Spanish authorities. I believe that cooperation was exemplary. Gibraltar is in compliance with all its relevant international obligations, and I would invite my Spanish colleagues, particularly from the Partido Popular, to come with me to that part of my constituency, talk to the authorities and take a look at the wreck.
There are indeed legitimate concerns over maritime safety and the danger of pollution, not just at sea, but also of the air and of groundwater, in the busy, heavily-populated industrial area in which Gibraltar and its Spanish hinterland are found. However, let us not allow the party-political devices of a disappointed opposition to colour our European considerations."@en1
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