Mr President, Commissioner, I must begin by saying that the democratic rebelliousness that has appeared in Galicia and other societies in Spain was truly extraordinary as proof of many people’s desire to ensure that disasters such as the one in Galicia do not happen again. The Nunca Máis movement, which incorporates seamen, volunteers and local authorities from Galicia, is genuinely an admirable response and I believe that the response from the rapporteur and from this Parliament to the Prestige problem is, for the time being, in line with this democratic rebelliousness. In this respect, we must remember that six very serious accidents occurred in Galicia in the last 30 years, that, in spite of this, no measures were taken, as they were after the Erika accident, and that, once again, there were no emergency plans and there are still no emergency plans. I must point out that if a vessel like the Prestige were to sail past Galicia now, exactly the same disaster would occur because there have been no changes that prevent these types of vessels from sailing in Community waters. The result of the work of the Committee on Regional Policy, Transport and Tourism, Mr President, is better than we could have hoped. I congratulate the rapporteur, Mr Sterckx, and all those who have worked on this document which is better than hoped for, despite the obstacles encountered, by this Parliament as well as in Galicia and in the Spanish State. In any case, it is an important step forward in resolving the chaos surrounding international maritime transport. The document seriously criticises the behaviour of the Spanish authorities – which I believe is appropriate – and even more serious criticism is required of the chaos surrounding international maritime transport, the International Maritime Organisation, the states involved and the major companies, the international transport mafias. I believe that we must continue this work. To this end, our group and I, myself, approve of the amendments concerning the creation of a temporary committee to examine in detail the causes of this problem and resolve future problems. We therefore support the amendments tabled by Mr Sterckx. I would like to highlight a few issues: the Prestige problem has still not been resolved one year later. The fuel oil is still reaching the beaches. I am sorry to contradict the Commissioner, but oil is still reaching the Galician beaches – and particularly those in Cantábrico – and there are even very substantial layers of oil below the sand itself. We still do not know how much sludge is contained in the ship and the long-term consequences have by no means been resolved. Studies indicate that it will take 10 years to repair the damage and that investments of EUR 3 billion to EUR 5 billion will be required to remedy the situation. It is also essential to bring order to the chaos in international maritime traffic. In conclusion, I want to say that it is all too clear that there is a political conflict within the European Union itself. The Commission’s behaviour, which I have praised, is not always mirrored in many of the Member States, and in the European Parliament there are conflicting positions, some which are in favour of resolving this problem and some which are not. We need European legislation – like the legislation in the United States – as a condition for resolving the entire international maritime traffic situation. I think that it is fair to say here that the European Maritime Safety Agency must be situated in the country that was most affected by the disasters. It is also fair to say here that it is essential to resolve the situation of shipyards such as Astano in Galicia or Izar, which are prohibited from building civil vessels. Finally, we in Europe and the International Maritime Organisation must encourage changes to the entire international maritime legislation, creating what I would call a ‘Galicia Protocol’, similar to the Kyoto Protocol, to resolve the problems of the sea, which is the reserve of humanity.

Political group: Verts-ALE