Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-04-24-Speech-2-265"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20070424.46.2-265"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
".
Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, as the French elected representative of the large Nord-Ouest region, a region with many coastlines, I am naturally affected by issues relating to maritime safety. I therefore fully endorse the Commission initiative to create a mechanism, on the basis of a body of legislative texts, that is designed to protect Europe from the risks of pollution and maritime accidents.
Indeed, in spite of the progress made since the sinking of the ‘Erika’ and the ‘Prestige’ – with, for instance, the compulsory inspections of ships in ports and even the demise of single-hull oil tankers – I believe that the accident prevention system remains inadequate. This sad view is unfortunately shared by professional seafarers’ trade unions, environmental protection associations and even by elected representatives from across the political spectrum.
The main issue at stake is that of flags of convenience; despite the desire of the Commission and Parliament to reform them, there are still too many of them. Nearly 60% of the world fleet still sails under a flag of convenience, which, aside from the advantage of minimal taxation, offers the possibility of increasing the number of intermediaries, so that all liability can be avoided in the event of an accident or disaster. Furthermore, it permits the most lax of attitudes where ship safety and labour law are concerned.
Finally, maritime safety should obviously be based on three responsibilities: that of the flag State, that of the charterer and that of the classification societies, which are responsible for surveying ships. These measures certainly appear in the third package on maritime safety. Let us hope, however, that they are implemented in practice, as this is unfortunately not always the case."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples