Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-04-21-Speech-1-234"
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"en.20080421.21.1-234"2
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"Mr President, I am pleased to be here today to inform you of the Commission statement in connection with the resolution that you are going to adopt on the
shipwreck and its consequences in Algeciras Bay.
In conclusion, the Commission would point out that the European Union has implemented ambitious policies for maritime safety and for the protection of the marine environment. Accordingly, any Member State affected by an accident has at its disposal, should it so wish, effective tools to combat polluters and pollution. The Commission hopes that the wreck of the
is soon removed from Algeciras Bay. The arrival of the specialist barge
in late March suggests that further attempts are being planned.
That concludes the information that I wished to give to Parliament.
Mr President, I shall now listen carefully to what Members have to say on this subject.
This resolution refers to two matters of great importance to European citizens: maritime safety and the protection of the marine environment, that is, the protection of our coastlines, our bays and our beaches. Europe has had to cope with ecological disasters caused by accidents at sea, such as the
and the
. The
shipwreck has had serious consequences, but it has not caused a disaster of such magnitude.
Nevertheless, this shipwreck reminded us that maritime transport could be dangerous and that such incidents could still occur despite the numerous measures taken by the European Union over the past few decades. The European Commission has monitored the accident very closely; it has remained vigilant with regard to the application of Community law, and it now wishes to put forward a number of practical proposals aimed at further improving maritime safety.
The Commission has very closely monitored this accident, which occurred in August 2007. The Commission’s services, in particular the Monitoring and Information Centre of the Environment Directorate-General, responsible for civil protection, have been in contact with the Spanish authorities, the ASMAR Sociedad Estatal de Salvamento y Seguridad Maritima and the British authorities.
In response to requests by the Spanish authorities, we have provided, through the European Maritime Safety Agency, EMSA, various satellite images in order to detect any potential oil pollution in Algeciras Bay. In addition, Spain decided to request, through the Monitoring and Information Centre, the mobilisation of one of the EMSA-contracted oil recovery vessels. This pollution response vessel, the
is still on site, ready to assist on the basis of instructions given by the Spanish authorities.
These two EMSA services, namely the CleanSeaNet satellite-based monitoring system and the oil recovery vessels, were created by European legislation. It is thanks to the support of the European Parliament that EUR 154 million have been allocated to combat pollution for the period 2007-2013. Moreover, EMSA has recently concluded contracts with other oil recovery vessels in order to provide Europe’s coasts with even better protection, and, in the very near future, two new vessels, the
and the
will be operating out of Algeciras Bay.
In general, the Commission is responsible for ensuring that the existing body of EU legislation in the field of maritime safety and the protection of the marine environment is properly applied. EMSA was established to assist the Commission in enforcing and implementing the existing body of EU legislation. Inspections carried out by the Agency enable an assessment of the steps taken by the Member States to comply with Community law. Where appropriate, the Commission may initiate infringement proceedings against any Member State that fails to transpose Community law correctly.
In the aforementioned fields, several matters are pending, including what is commonly known as the directive on criminal penalties and the directive on environmental liability. The practical application of the provisions of the penal code and the prosecution of polluters nevertheless remain a matter for the individual Member States.
I should like to come back to the matter of the
. The Commission is currently considering a complaint received from the Andalusian Regional Government regarding a possible failure to comply with Community legislation. It should be remembered that the third maritime package, under discussion today, aims to make further improvements in the area of vessel traffic monitoring and the liability of maritime transport operators."@en1
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"Bahia Tres"1
"Bahia Uno"1
"Big Foot 1"1
"Mistra Bay"1
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Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples