Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-09-22-Speech-1-067"
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"en.20030922.5.1-067"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, let me start by warmly congratulating Mr Sterckx, the author of this report; it is outstanding, it is superb, and I would almost be prepared to accord to it the status of holy writ as regards the safety of ships and maritime transport in the future – provided, of course, that it includes those things for which we are pushing, as it is very comprehensive.
We were told, let me remind you, that the
had set off from the Baltic, and that – leaving Austria and Luxembourg out – it had, at least in theory passed by every one of the Member States, so that what happened could have happened anywhere. This means that we need not just technical improvements but also safer shipping lanes. We have been told more than once about the blackspots in the Baltic, such as, for example, the ‘Kadetrinne’, where what basically happens is that ships end up travelling in the wrong direction, so that near-accidents are an almost daily occurrence. That is why there is an urgent need for mandatory pilotage there, and that is something we want to bring up in this House. It is the Russians who are refusing to accept this, so I would like to see us in this House make explicit reference to it when we vote, and put more pressure on Russia in this matter, as mandatory pilotage is inordinately important.
My second point is that there of course have to be emergency measures, with clear responsibilities and adequate provision of tugboats. Perhaps Commissioner De Palacio will again give some thought to what was said at the first meeting about the issue of linking this with compensation, as this may simplify the practical side of any emergency measures. Quite apart from the disasters, we must not forget the mess that is made in European coastal waters on a daily basis. In 2001, 390 oil slicks were illegally deposited in the Baltic, with another 596 in the North Sea. Commissioner, I think it right and proper that you have put something forward about once and for all categorising this as criminal wrongdoing and dealing with it by means of criminal law. Fines are not enough to deal with this; no longer must it be possible to pay them out of the petty cash. Such pollution of the sea is a crime, and must be punished accordingly.
Technology, though, is not the decisive factor. I very much welcomed your commencement, in July, of proceedings in respect of infringements of the Treaties against ten Member States that have not yet transposed even the measures decided on after
. It is, basically, sad that this should be so. Those ten Member States should be ashamed of themselves, and the country holding the presidency being one of them is a bitter pill to swallow. We need port State control and classification societies. The Member States did not need the accident that befell the
to make that clear to them. That was what we decided post
and you yourselves all signed up to it. I think, Commissioner, that you will have every support from Parliament in these matters – on which both Parliament and the Council have come to decisions – in pressing for this to be transposed into national law, failing which this whole Council will remain a bunch of hypocrites, and we will be unable to make any promises to the public about safety."@en1
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