WRITTEN QUESTION E-3439/02

by Daniel Varela Suanzes-Carpegna (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(2 December 2002)

Subject: Prestige oil tanker accident off the coast of Galicia

On 13 November 2002 the Prestige oil tanker, carrying 77 000 tonnes of fuel oil, had a serious accident off the Galician coast, causing a disaster with incalculable ecological, economic and social consequences for Galicia, an Objective 1 region heavily dependent on fisheries where fishing accounts for more than 10 % of GDP.

1. Will the Commission provide special aid to lessen as far as possible the damage caused? Will it mobilise the Solidarity Fund if the European Parliament so requests?

2. Can the Commission confirm that the Prestige was sailing from Estonia and heading for Gibraltar?

3. Can the Commission say whether it met all the legal requirements to sail in Community waters and enter and leave European ports?

4. Can the Commission say whether the composition of the fuel oil it was carrying complied with the criteria laid down by Community rules?

5. Does the Commission not believe that accidents such as this could be reduced by drawing up more stringent legislation and establishing stricter controls?

6. Does the Commission not believe that these circumstances call for a change to Community legislation to bring forward the entry into force of the double-hull construction requirement?

7. Does it not believe that the transport of dangerous goods by sea needs to be kept at a distance from the coast so as to prevent damage to the marine ecosystem in highly fisheries-dependent regions such as Galicia?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(29 January 2003)

1. Firstly, on 20 December 2002 the Council adopted a Regulation instituting specific measures to support the process of recovery for fisheries and aquaculture sites affected by the oil spill from the Prestige(1). The Regulation lays down exceptional measures to support people and undertakings in the fisheries sector, the shellfish industry and aquaculture in the Spanish coastal areas affected. It also provides for certain derogations from the criteria which expenditure must meet to benefit from co-funding under the Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG) in the framework of Council Regulation (EC) 2792/99(2) in order to facilitate and speed up aid to the pollution victims.

For its part, the European Union's Solidarity Fund could provide assistance if the Commission finds that the conditions laid down in the Regulation for its mobilisation have been met, in particular the regional criterion(3).

The Cohesion Fund could also help. Within the framework of the overall amount allocated to Spain for the period 2000-2006, the Spanish authorities could submit environmental projects to the Commission to help combat the effects of the disaster.

Under the Operational Programme for Galicia (2000-2006), the Spanish Ministry of Finance, which acts as management authority in agreement with the Galician authorities, could, if approval is given by the Monitoring Committee for such assistance, modify the programme complement to devote more resources to measures to deal with the effects of the disaster.

Furthermore, Regulation (EC) No 1260//99(4) allows the Operational Programme to be amended if there are significant changes in the economic and social situation and the labour market. Such a change would require a Commission decision and would enable the financial amounts allocated to individual priorities to be modified.

Moreover, in the very short term, support could be given for an environmental impact assessment of the coast affected by the pollution. This should aim to analyse the environmental effects of the accident, evaluate the preventative and remedial measures taken and broadly disseminate the results and experience acquired to the other Member States.

The Commission is at present in close contact with the Spanish authorities to determine the co-financing (50 % up to a maximum of EUR 300 000) of a survey on the environmental impact of this accident. Other specific measures, as envisaged in the Conclusions of the Copenhagen European Council, may also be proposed.

2. The Commission confirms that the Prestige came from Saint Petersburg and was heading for Gibraltar, with a call in Estonia.

3. According to the inspection report supplied by the Prestige's classification society, the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), the ship was well maintained.

At the request of this society, an ad hoc audit has been started by the International Association of Classification Societies in which the Commission is participating as an observer, on the same terms as the International Maritime Organisation and the Maritime Administration of the Bahamas.

4. Yes, the oil being carried by the Prestige was authorised and classified by the International Standards Organisation (ISO) as intermediate heavy fuel oil. It is one of the fuel oils lawfully used as fuel by certain types of ships and by power stations.

5. to 7. The Commission does believe that stricter application of the legislation could reduce the number of accidents. It has therefore submitted to the Council a new communicatio(5) which provides in particular for speeding up the entry into force of the regulations contained in the Erika I and II packages.

At its meeting on 6 December 2002, the Transport Council decided to ban single-hull tankers carrying heavy fuel oil from EU ports and to consider monitoring ships carrying hazardous materials and keeping them more than 200 nautical miles away from the coastline.

In this context, and as announced in its communication of 3 December 2002, the Commission, on 20 December 2002, proposed a Regulation to prohibit the transport of heavy fuel oil in single-hull tankers bound for or leaving EU ports, and to speed up the replacement of single-hull by double-hull tankers(6). The proposal is currently before the co-legislators for consideration.

(1) Council Regulation (EC) No 2372/2002 of 20 December 2002 instituting specific measures to compensate the Spanish fisheries, shellfish industry and aquaculture affected by the oil spills from the Prestige, OJ L 358, 31.12.2002.

(2) Council Regulation (EC) No 2792/1999 of 17 December 1999 laying down the detailed rules and arrangements regarding Community structural assistance in the fisheries sector, OJ L 337, 30.12.1999.

(3) Council Regulation (EC) No 2012/02 of 11 November 2002 establishing the European Union Solidarity Fund, OJ L 311, 14.11.2002.

(4) Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 of 21 June 1999 laying down general provisions on the Structural Funds, OJ L 161, 26.6.1999.

(5) COM(2002) 681 final.

(6) COM(2002) 780 final.