Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-10-06-Speech-3-086"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20101006.11.3-086"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Madam President, I should, in turn, like to thank you for this interesting debate. Indeed, the speeches at times revealed very different points of view. I heard what were, at times, diametrically opposed views from the same political group. This is highly instructive.
I wish to make three points. Firstly, do we need more legislation to improve the safety of the offshore industry? As I indicated in my speech, the assessment conducted so far indicates that stringent measures are already in place – this point has been made. The Commission, which I should like to remind you has the monopoly on initiating actions, is currently finalising its assessment, but it has already noted that for an industry to be made safer, there first needs to be better monitoring and better enforcement of the existing regulatory framework. We will therefore see what it intends to propose to us in this area.
Furthermore, as I have already said once today, the Commission is examining the EU’s disaster response capability with a view to improving the safety of the offshore industry, which is an important factor in this area. In anticipation of legislative proposals, I should like to point out that, unlike what some Members have said today, this issue is clearly still a concern for the Council. At the Informal Meetings of Energy Ministers on 6 and 7 September, the Presidency asked for the first assessments to be carried out, communicated and discussed.
The second point: can a moratorium be justified? Clearly, it is difficult to answer that question directly. In any event, we think that the first requirement for any given piece of legislation is to actually enforce it. We also note that the industry does not seem to be waiting for this future regulatory framework to be established; the industry itself is reviewing a number of safety-related measures at the preventive and operational stages.
Finally, it must be understood that the material situation in Europe is quite different, since most of the drilling in the Gulf of Mexico takes place at a depth of 1 500 metres, which clearly makes it difficult to shut down operations in the event of a disaster such as that which occurred. Most drilling in Europe takes place at depths of no more than 200 metres, which allows much more scope to act, or, in any case, makes taking action easier.
Finally, Madam President – and the Commissioner just spoke about this − is this accident going to speed up EU energy and renewable energy policy? This policy is, of course, already ambitious, but we are going to keep on aiming higher. The policy will definitely help us to reduce our dependence on oil and, generally speaking, to move towards a low-carbon society. As the Commissioner has just said, however, we cannot simply wave a magic wand and get rid of oil within the next 10 years. I am confident that the 2011-2020 energy strategy, which is due to be adopted at the start of next year, will accelerate this transition to an oil-free economy."@en1
|
| lpv:videoURI |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples