8. Callsonthe European Unionto draw up and introduce as soonas possible rules toprevent vessels
flying flags of convenience from evading strict rules and inspections regarding not only maritime safetyandenvironmentalprotectionbutalsosocialprotectionstandards,compliancewithwhichalsohelpsguar-anteeanincreased levelofsafety;
9. CallsupontheCommissiontogiveprioritytoCommunityactiontosecuretheeffectiveanduniform
implementationofstandardsforclassificationsocietiesandcallsupontheCommissionandtheCounciltoensurethattheon-goingconsiderationoftheproposeddirectiveonportsreceptionfacilitiesforship-gen-eratedwasteandcargoresidues(COM(1998)452)resultsinaswiftandsatisfactoryconclusionwhichwillreallydeterdumpingatseaandpenaliseoffenders;
10. BelievesthattheEuropeanUnionshouldalsobeveryworriedaboutthequantitiesofoilandother
wastes pumped deliberately from ships’ bilges, a practice which causes considerably more maritime andcoastalpollutionthan Erika-typespillages;
11. CallsupontheCommissionandtheCounciltoonceagainconsidertheimplicationsofanEuropean
register forshippingtoworkalongsideportstatecontrol;
12. WelcomesanyeffortsbytheCommissiontobringforwardthedatebywhichoiltankerswillallbe
obligedtohavedouble-hullconstruction,andtoensurethatthereisafocusonsafetyatseaandmaritimepollutioninitsworkprogrammefor2000;
13. Callsforthe international rules onthe training ofcrews and working conditionsonboardship to
bestrictlyapplied,andfortheserulestoberevisedtogive ahigher levelofprotection;
14. Notes and deplores the inadequacy of the techniques available to combat the consequences of the
wreckofthe Erika,andcallsforthedevelopmentofindustrialresearch inthisarea;
15. Hopesthattheinquirywillcastlightonallthefactorscontributingtotheaccidentandwillpermit
fairreparation tobemadefortheenvironmental,economicandsocialdamagecausedbythismassiveoilslick;
16. CallsforthefundsoftheEuropeanUniontobemobilised,asamatterofurgency,inthecontextof
partnership exchanges betweentheMemberStates,inordertohelp:
Hdash cleanupthebeaches,Hdash assistthebusinessesaffectedintheregion,Hdash increase storagecapacityforthewasteoilrecovered,Hdash providetreatmentorrecycling facilitiesforsuchwaste;
17. Calls for aid to be released as quickly as possible pursuant to Article 83(2)(b) of the EC Treaty to
remedythedamagecausedbythisdisaster;
18. Instructsits President to forward this resolution to the Commission,the Council, the governments
oftheMemberStatesandcandidatestates,andtoalltherelevantmarineauthorities.
3. Storms across Europe
B5-0029, 0031, 0040, 0042, 0051 and 0058/2000
European Parliament resolution on the recent storms in Europe
The European Parliament,
A. having regard to the exceptional weather conditions and the unusually violent storms which swept
across various parts of Europe, crossing the southern United Kingdom, France, Germany and Austriabetween24and27December1999,andwhich alsoaffectedSwitzerland,Spain,ItalyandIreland,
B. whereastheconditionscausedthedeathsofmorethan90people,C304/200 EN24.10.2000 OfficialJournaloftheEuropean Communities
Thursday 20 January 2000
C. having regard to the particularly difficult situation which affected thousands of homes which were
without electricity, telephones and heating, were cut offfrom roads and basic infrastructure and hadnoaccesstopublicservices,
D. having regard to the destruction of homes and of certain production facilities and equipment, the
damage caused to the agricultural, forestry and oyster-farming sectors, and to SMEs, the job lossesandtheeconomicandsocialconsequencesthereof,
E. having regard to the indelible impact on our architectural heritage, forests, countryside, protected
areasandfaunaandflora,
F. whereas the extent of the damage to the electricity grid is in large measure due to policies which
favourconveyingelectricity overlongdistancesbymeansofhigh-voltage lines,
G. having regard totheunparalleledscaleofthedisaster,theEuropean solidarityandthemassivefinan-
cialresourcestobedeployedtorehabilitatethedevastatedareasandtorestorepeople’snormallivingconditions,having regard tothe emergency measures neededtoprevent the riskofplantdiseaseandwaterpollutionandtheriskoffireassociatedwithstorage,
H. whereas a substantial proportion of the affected areas is eligible for support from the Community
StructuralFunds,andinparticular theERDF,theEAGGF-Guarantee SectionandtheFIFG,
I. whereas it is to be feared that, as a result of emerging climate change, natural disasters on this scale
arelikelytore-occur,
1. Expressesitssympathytoandheartfeltsolidaritywiththefamiliesofthosekilledandthosewhohave
suffereddamage;
2. CallsontheCommissionandonthoseMemberStatesnotaffectedbythebadweathertoplanprac-
tical measures to demonstrate Community solidarity, as soon as possible, by mobilising professional andtechnical resources under the five-year plan establishing a Community action programme in the field ofcivilprotectionwhich wasadoptedbytheCouncilon9December1999(Decision1999/847/EC);
3. Callsonthe Commissiontoputtogether emergency fundingtohelp the victims ofthis naturaldis-
aster,andtosupplementthefinancialmechanismssetupbynationalandlocalauthorities, inthecontext
of the possibilities provided by the economic and social cohesion policy and the common agricultural
policy, in particular by means of a major mobilisationof the resources allocated to rural development inaccordance with theprovisionsofArticle 33ofCouncilRegulation (EC)No1257/1999of17May 1999onsupportforruraldevelopmentfromtheEuropeanAgriculturalGuidanceandGuaranteeFund(EAGGF)andamendingandrepealing certainRegulations,which laydownmeasuresforcasesofnaturaldisaster;
4. Calls on the Member States, once the Commissionhas adopted the schedule of areas eligible under
Objective2,todrawuptheirdevelopmentandconversionplansasspeedilyaspossible,sothatthereisno
delayintheprocessofawardingStructuralFundresourcestotheaffectedregions;
5. Calls on the Commission to apply Article 83(2) of the Treaty with a view to granting appropriate
financialaidtoallthesectorsaffected;
6. CallsontheCommissiontogivespecialconsiderationtothedamagecausedtoFrench,Germanand
Austrian forests,in particular by envisaging a significant redeployment ofthe resources allocated to ruraldevelopment, in accordance with the provisions of Article 30 of the abovementioned Council Regulation(EC)No1257/1999,intheforestrysector,andbyenvisagingthespecificmobilisationofprofessionalandtechnical resources in the European forestry sector, soastoprovide swift andsubstantialsupportfor therequisite loggingandclearing operations,inthecontextoftheabovementionedfive-year plan;
7. Calls for the policy of reafforestation to respect local species, the diversity of ecosystems and the
qualityofrurallandscapes,andtodiversifyoutletsfortheforest-basedindustries;24.10.2000 EN C304/201 OfficialJournaloftheEuropean Communities
Thursday 20 January 2000
8. CallsontheCommissiontodevoteparticularattentiontoprojectsdesignedtorestoreahigh-quality
environmentinsensitiveareaswhich willbesubmittedtoitundertheLIFEprogramme;
9. Calls on the Commission to take all the requisite steps to ensure that those affected are informed
promptlyaboutthe European Fundsassistanceavailable andthat suchassistanceis granted speedily; callson the Commission to submit practical proposals to the European Parliament and the Council if it findsthatthefundingavailableforsuchassistanceisinadequate;
10. ExpectstheCommissionandtheEuropeanUniontoimplementmeasureslinkedtoanoverallstrat-
egyofcombatingthegreenhouseeffect;
11. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the parlia-
mentsoftheMemberStates.
4. Peace process in Middle East
B5-0024, 0025, 0027, 0033, 0035 and 0075/2000
European Parliament resolution on the Middle East peace process
The European Parliament,
Hdash havingregard toitspreviousresolutionsontheMiddleEastpeaceprocess,
Hdash havingregardtoitsresolutionof6October1999(1)ontheSharm-el-Sheikhagreementandrelaunch-
ingtheMiddleEastpeaceprocess,
Hdash having regard to the Syrian-Israeli peace talks held in Shepherdstown, USA, from 3 to 10 January
2000,
Hdash havingregard toUNSecurity Councilresolutions242,338,425and520,
A. whereas the peace process has been given fresh impetus by the decision of the Israeli and Syrian
Governmentstoresumethenegotiationsinterrupted inMarch 1996,
B. whereas these negotiations are dealing with the key issues, such as the Israeli withdrawal from the
GolanHeights,securityarrangements,water,thenormalisationofrelationsbetweenthetwocountriesandthetimetablefortheimplementationofanyagreement,
C. consideringthepositiveimpactoftheSharm-el-Sheikhagreementsonthepeace process,
D. whereas the European Union fully supports these talks and is ready to help the negotiators should
theysowish,
E. consideringtheforthcomingvisitofthePresidentoftheEuropeanParliamenttotheregion,
1. Welcomes the Sharm el-Sheikh agreements; requests that the negotiations between the Israelis and
thePalestiniansmoveforwardinaccordancewiththedeadlineslaiddownintheagreements;
2. Praisesthemajorboostinfavourofpeace givenbyalltheparties;reaffirmsthenecessityofachiev-
ingafair,globalandlastingpeaceintheareawhichguaranteesthelegitimatesecurityaspirationsofallthecountriesoftheregion,especiallyIsrael,underliningthatafuturePalestinianStatemustbeviabletocom-pletelyensureIsrael’ssecurity;
3. Recallsthatmanydifficultissuesstillstandinthewayofapermanentpeace,suchasthecreationof
the Palestinian State, the final drawing of borders, the status of Jerusalem, the return of Palestinian refu-gees,thedistributionofwaterandtheIsraelisettlements;andhopesthatthepoliticalwillexpresseduptonowby bothparties willovercome these obstaclesandthat the international communitywillgive itsfullsupporttohelpandassistbothparties;undertakesforitsparttogiveeverysupporttobothpartiesinthepeaceprocess;
(1) ‘TextsAdopted’ofthatdate,Item19.C304/202 EN24.10.2000 OfficialJournaloftheEuropean Communities
Thursday 20 January 2000