Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-10-19-Speech-2-584"
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"en.20101019.24.2-584"2
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"Madam President, I would like first to express my deepest sympathy to the families of the victims and to all those who are affected by the industrial accident that occurred on 4 October in Ajka, Hungary. I also would like to recognise the decisive and effective actions of the Hungarian authorities to contain the impact of the spill and its spread from the rivers Torna and Marcal downstream into the Danube and into neighbouring countries, and also to prevent the risks of new spills by building additional protection walls.
Let me now turn to the EU response. On 7 October, the Hungarian authorities triggered the civil protection mechanism requesting an EU expert team. It was deployed immediately for a week in the affected area. This team delivered a number of suggestions for measures to further enhance the Hungarian Government’s comprehensive remedial and recovery plan. These include: minimising the further spread of red mud via air and water; steps to assess the risk to human health and mitigate them; steps to assess the risk of further damage and mitigate them; environmental monitoring; and remediation and revitalisation measures.
Beyond this initial emergency response, the Commission stands ready to deploy the civil protection mechanism to assist further with expertise, as well as equipment, if the Hungarian authorities so require.
Secondly, the structural funds could be mobilised to address the consequences of the disaster, and that was made clear. The government was informed of that. If they were to decide they wanted to redirect funds, the Commission would look favourably on such requests.
Thirdly, the mobilisation of the EU solidarity fund is very unlikely to be possible in this case due to the strict conditions of the current regulation, under which only natural disasters can be considered; these conditions also include a 0.6% threshold of damage to GDP, and that is unlikely to be met.
Once again, the Commission is very clearly concerned about the need to make the solidarity fund faster and expand its scope. It is very difficult to explain to citizens in Member States why we can help people in Pakistan immediately, but we cannot help the people living in the Ajka area.
The Commission is also looking into the question of environmental legislation. At a first analysis, the existing EU waste legislation, the directive on waste from extractive industries, the upcoming Industrial Emissions Directive replacing the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Directive, the directive on the control of major accident hazards, the so-called Seveso Directive, and the Waste Framework Directive provide a sufficient framework for regulating potentially dangerous industrial activities and managing waste in a way that does not pose risks to human health and the environment.
The Commission is of the view that the focus must not be on new legislation but on ensuring the proper implementation and enforcement of existing legislation by all Member States.
We also have environmental legislation that deals with post-accident damage, namely the Environmental Liability Directive. It applies to the installation and consequently, the necessary remedial measures that have to be undertaken, by the liable operator who should bear the full cost of remediation.
Our report on the implementation of the environmental liability directive shows a rather slow take-up of the financial security instruments to cover for liabilities, and this is the case in Ajka. We are considering how to strengthen this in the future and, if necessary, make this mandatory.
Following the Ajka sludge accident, the Commission will take stock of the lessons learnt at European level and, in particular, the appropriateness and the correct implementation and enforcement of European environmental legislation; the measures needed to make sure that the affected population and industry at risk are covered by appropriate insurance schemes; and the way forward to strengthen European disaster monitoring and response capacity and enhance our instruments to express solidarity with our members and our citizens in moments of need.
I had the opportunity to thank Minister Sándor Pintér, the Hungarian Minister of the Interior in charge of civil protection, for all the efforts of the various services involved and for the bravery and dedication of the first responders.
Concerning this last point, I would like to mention that next week, the Commission will adopt the communication on the reinforcement of EU disaster response capacity which will address the response to various types of disasters, including industrial accidents, and will strengthen our capacity to respond collectively.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Parliament for its strong support in this area of strengthening EU disaster response capacity. I look forward to hearing your questions on the specific case in Hungary as well as any comments you might want to make on the broader issue.
I have just come back from the site of the accident where I witnessed both the catastrophic impact of the red sludge on people, homes, land and the ecology of the region, and the significant efforts of the Hungarian response teams.
While the causes of the disaster and its full impact are still under investigation, it is clear that the most severe damage is in the immediate vicinity of the accident and the directly affected human settlements, agricultural land and ecological systems. 7 000 inhabitants, mainly from the villages of Kolontár and Devecser, have been affected. Nine people died and 130 have been injured, about 35 of them first responders.
Around 1 000 hectares of agricultural land and four Natura 2000 sites have been affected, and there has been substantial damage to flora and fauna in the area.
According to the information provided by the Hungarian authorities, the red mud does not contain high concentrations of heavy metals and is therefore not considered as hazardous waste.
Nonetheless, dust from the sludge presents a health risk and therefore, precautionary measures are necessary for the population and the emergency personnel in the area.
The Hungarian authorities have deployed massive human resources and equipment. The day I was there, yesterday, there were around 1 200 rescuers from the civil protection, environment, health and police departments working tirelessly on the ground.
It is very important to stress that the emergency phase is broadly over now, because the damage downstream to the Danube is stopped and the risk of a second spill contained. Steps are now being taken towards the next phase of decontamination and rehabilitation. Machinery and staff continue to work on the removal of the red sludge and its disposal in appropriate sites. Houses and structures beyond repair are being demolished; protection dikes have been built to prevent the risk of a second spill and are being reinforced. Monitoring is being carried out and information on precautionary and sanitary measures is being provided to the population."@en1
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