Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-05-20-Speech-2-523"
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"en.20080520.36.2-523"2
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".
Firstly, I should like to thank my colleague Mr Blokland most warmly for his excellent report. I feel that he has outlined very well the enormous problems that are created in poor countries as a result of the dismantling of European ships. The consequences for both working conditions and the environment are often serious, and the EU must not run away from its responsibility for these.
Amongst other things, Mr Blokland opts to follow the route of more stringent international legislation. I am most certainly an advocate of such legislation, but I fear it will take much too long before tangible results can be achieved in this way. Europe must take action now and cannot wait for the rest of the world. Effective scrapping regulations must be established for ships. These regulations should include a provision to the effect that, in principle, European ships may only be dismantled outside the EU if the owners can demonstrate that it is impossible for this to be carried out within Europe. Furthermore, ships for scrapping that contain asbestos or other hazardous substances should in any case be dismantled in European territory.
We cannot allow our rubbish to cause great problems elsewhere in the world. Once a ship ceases to be suitable for use, we must stop thinking of it as a ship. It then becomes waste and must be treated as such. We do not simply allow other hazardous waste to leave the EU without guarantees with regard to the way in which it is going to be processed, and so there is no reason why we should do so with ships for scrapping.
In addition, emphasis should be placed upon processing within the Union itself, as is the case in the entire European waste policy. Finally, a policy of naming and shaming shipowners and Member States who have their ships dismantled according to methods that are unfriendly to the environment and people would be an effective initial step that we could in fact commence tomorrow. The responsibility for dismantling a ship responsibly must always remain with the owner and, subsequently, it is up to Member States to verify that this takes place in the correct manner."@en1
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