Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-07-07-Speech-3-431"
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"en.20100707.30.3-431"2
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"Madam President, Minister Magnette, Mrs Damanaki, ladies and gentlemen, this is the second time today the House has discussed this issue and the possible risks associated with oil exploration and oil extraction off the coast of Europe.
Next, we should look at a stress test for existing legal provisions. My intention is that Europe should have the highest safety standards and legal provisions in worldwide terms. This must be accepted because the damage that could occur in the event of an accident, including the economic damage, far outweighs the cost of avoiding accidents.
We then need to check whether the existing European Maritime Safety Agency, which has competence for shipping, also has the competences to inspect drilling rigs and platforms. We have competences in this field, but the issue is, I believe, how we are to extend these competences.
We then need to look at the Member States, as well as Norway, the Mediterranean region, the Maghreb zone and, in our vicinity, Nigeria. I wish to stimulate worldwide debate that will make it impossible for similar environmental catastrophes to occur in this form in any region of the world, firstly, in the maritime regions accessible to us but, in future, worldwide too.
We must give priority to thoroughness rather than haste. This is an extremely important issue and work is in progress on the legal, economic and technical fronts. Please give us another few weeks to produce a comprehensive plan of action that we can recommend to the Member States, the Energy Council, other European Councils and Parliament. I am counting on your expertise, interest and cooperation.
We have not been idle in recent weeks. On the basis of a comprehensive hearing involving the oil companies active under European competence, we drew up an extensive catalogue of questions that dealt with all the safety issues. We received the replies in the last few days and we have also evaluated the results. Next week, we have another hearing with all 17 or 18 companies which extract oil under European competence and we shall address the weaknesses there. I have suggested an informal meeting in the next few days with the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety and the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, or rather with their coordinators, to inform them of the initial results associated with these replies.
At the same time, the Commission services have begun examining existing legislation. They are considering risk management, prevention, damage limitation and follow-up measures. It is already apparent that the answers are not absolutely clear, and are therefore unsatisfactory. I am working together closely with my colleagues, Mrs Damanaki, Mrs Georgieva and Mr Potočnik, in their respective spheres of competence. What we want is a comprehensive position from the Commission with regard to all the issues, from prevention and reaction to questions of liability.
The prime concern is safety, and safety must come first. I believe that safety always comes before financial considerations. You could also say that safety is absolutely non-negotiable. When it comes to operational and occupational safety, we already have standards that guarantee a high degree of prevention. In the environmental area, the question of liability follows the principle that the polluter pays. Yet here too, it is already possible to produce an interim result. My aim is to clarify the European legal framework and to bring it to a new level. For this reason, I am also holding a meeting on 14 July that is to be attended by the national supervisory and regulatory bodies, the ministries and specialist authorities. I intend discussing with them the options and necessary actions to ensure that European standards are brought to the highest possible level and apply uniformly across the whole of Europe.
Today, I wish to address five central points where I believe action is necessary, from prevention and remedial measures to liability.
Firstly, new drilling activity. As you know, responsibility for approving and examining applications for new drilling rigs and new drilling opportunities lies with our Member States. My clear advice to the Member States today is that I would not recommend licensing any new drilling – namely extreme drilling – but suggest that such activities be shelved. This may constitute a
moratorium. It should be accepted. While the consequences are under detailed discussion, it is reasonable to expect that all those involved, namely the oil companies, accept that new licences are hard to justify while the debate is still in progress.
Our governments will and must ensure that the industry adheres to the highest standards in terms of safety and prevention. This is a principle that is not negotiable in view of the extreme climatic and geophysical conditions that apply.
The second issue is the level of prevention and a strengthening of controls. We must examine all emergency plans on the basis of best practice, where we can learn from others; approval procedures must include the ability to respond in critical situations. We must also consider the financial background, so that responsibility for damage, i.e. the principle that the polluter pays, does not just exist in theory, but can also be pursued in practice. In addition to the liability of the originator, whether culpable or not, we should also examine whether additional insurance solutions, mandatory insurance solutions or even preliminary solutions make sense, as appropriate.
I feel the usual division of labour between the national authorities and their EU counterparts is not really satisfactory. We need a new model, greater synergy and more efficient cooperation, perhaps even a system for auditing the auditors. In other words, in a few weeks’ time, I would like to propose to Parliament and to the Member States that national competence for controlling and auditing should remain in place, but that the verification of auditors and a common auditing standard should be established in addition at European level."@en1
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