EU deputies review maritime rules in wake of accidents
European lawmakers yesterday considered a raft of maritime safety measures aimed at keeping dangerous vessels away from EU coastlines, following a recent series of shipping accidents.
Yet despite the stark need for new laws - highlighted by the environmental catastrophes unleashed when the oil tankers Erika and Prestige sank in 1999 and 2002 - some European Union countries are still resisting change.
'It's true that some member states are dragging their feet a little,' EU Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot said ahead of yesterday's meeting of the European Parliament's transport committee.
'But we're not going to wait for a third catastrophe before we take the necessary steps,' he said.
The deputies, meeting in Brussels, are examining some 600 amendments to the 'Erika III' package - the third wave of EU measures named after the tanker that sank off France's west coast in December 1999 causing a massive oil spill.
The results of their tinkering - of both a technical and political nature - will be put to the full parliament in April, when Mr Barrot hopes the text will win good support to convince the EU's more reticent members.
Laws contained in Erika's I and II have already had their impact on an industry which accounts for about 75 per cent of EU exports and imports, in terms of volume, or around 45 per cent in terms of value.
They resulted in the banning in 2003 of single-hulled ships - in favour of vessels with a double lining that is more difficult to pierce - the setting up of an EU maritime safety agency, and the boosting of in-port controls.
But the urgent need for further measures was underlined last month by a deadly accident off Italy and a cargo vessel running aground near England's south coast.
Seven new Bills under discussion will have a deeper impact on industry safety by forcing the bloc's 27 countries to guarantee that international shipping rules are enforced for vessels flying their flag.
'Member states who are hiding mediocre ships under their flag will have to put their house in order,' Mr Barrot said.
Britain and Germany, which have two of the largest fleets in Europe, are reluctant to see EU laws regulating their industries, an EU official said.
Mr Barrot expressed concern about Cyprus, Malta, and Greece.
'States like Cyprus, Malta and Greece have made maritime transport a pillar of their economies. They are the least inclined to accept changes,' he said.
The parliament's rapporteur on the flagging issue, Socialist deputy Marta Vincenzi, lamented the 'lack of respect for international (legal) instruments that some member states are showing'.
She also decried the 'use of less qualified and less costly crews'.
Another proposal in the latest package is to draw up a list of refuges where vessels in distress can seek cover before running into deeper trouble out at sea and causing more environmental damage.
The measure is aimed at avoiding a repetition of the Prestige oil tanker disaster. The tanker broke in two off the Galician coast, spilling thousands of tonnes of fuel into the seas after authorities denied it safe harbour.
Under the proposal, such ships would be given refuge after the situation is fully assessed and following a decision by an independent authority, free of pressure from local officials, jittery about ship wrecks on their shores.
Yet despite the stark need for new laws - highlighted by the environmental catastrophes unleashed when the oil tankers Erika and Prestige sank in 1999 and 2002 - some European Union countries are still resisting change.
'It's true that some member states are dragging their feet a little,' EU Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot said ahead of yesterday's meeting of the European Parliament's transport committee.
'But we're not going to wait for a third catastrophe before we take the necessary steps,' he said.
The deputies, meeting in Brussels, are examining some 600 amendments to the 'Erika III' package - the third wave of EU measures named after the tanker that sank off France's west coast in December 1999 causing a massive oil spill.
The results of their tinkering - of both a technical and political nature - will be put to the full parliament in April, when Mr Barrot hopes the text will win good support to convince the EU's more reticent members.
Laws contained in Erika's I and II have already had their impact on an industry which accounts for about 75 per cent of EU exports and imports, in terms of volume, or around 45 per cent in terms of value.
They resulted in the banning in 2003 of single-hulled ships - in favour of vessels with a double lining that is more difficult to pierce - the setting up of an EU maritime safety agency, and the boosting of in-port controls.
But the urgent need for further measures was underlined last month by a deadly accident off Italy and a cargo vessel running aground near England's south coast.
Seven new Bills under discussion will have a deeper impact on industry safety by forcing the bloc's 27 countries to guarantee that international shipping rules are enforced for vessels flying their flag.
'Member states who are hiding mediocre ships under their flag will have to put their house in order,' Mr Barrot said.
Britain and Germany, which have two of the largest fleets in Europe, are reluctant to see EU laws regulating their industries, an EU official said.
Mr Barrot expressed concern about Cyprus, Malta, and Greece.
'States like Cyprus, Malta and Greece have made maritime transport a pillar of their economies. They are the least inclined to accept changes,' he said.
The parliament's rapporteur on the flagging issue, Socialist deputy Marta Vincenzi, lamented the 'lack of respect for international (legal) instruments that some member states are showing'.
She also decried the 'use of less qualified and less costly crews'.
Another proposal in the latest package is to draw up a list of refuges where vessels in distress can seek cover before running into deeper trouble out at sea and causing more environmental damage.
The measure is aimed at avoiding a repetition of the Prestige oil tanker disaster. The tanker broke in two off the Galician coast, spilling thousands of tonnes of fuel into the seas after authorities denied it safe harbour.
Under the proposal, such ships would be given refuge after the situation is fully assessed and following a decision by an independent authority, free of pressure from local officials, jittery about ship wrecks on their shores.