WRITTEN QUESTION E-0484/99

by Jan Lagendijk (V) to the Commission

(5 March 1999)

Subject: Scrapping of European ships in India

Old European ships are being scrapped in Alang (India) without any protection for workers or the environment. Obsolete vessels containing toxic substances are simply being ripped apart with bare hands. The toxic substances disappear into the environment without being processed. This situation is unacceptable, from both the social and the environmental points of view(1). Is the Commission aware of the way in which European ships are scrapped in India? Does it agree that this scandalous practice must be stopped?

Hoe does the Commission explain the fact that this practice is still being carried out, given that the Basel Convention - to which the European Union is a signatory - became binding on 1 January 1998? What action will the Commission take to ensure that the Convention is implemented? And how does the Commission reconcile the scrapping of old European ships in India with the proximity principle to which it has subscribed? What will the Commission do to implement this principle in respect of the scrapping of European ships?

Now that an excellent directive is available for end-of-life vehicles(2), I should like the Commission to take the initiative in drafting a similar directive for end-of-life ships in order to encourage the socially and environmentally responsible scrapping of European Union ships. The essential feature of such a directive would be delivering a ship free of charge to an enterprise which would scrap the vessel in a way which is responsible towards humans and the environment. The cost could be financed by imposing a levy on the price of new ships to guarantee proper recycling in future. Is the Commission prepared to take such an initiative?

Answer given by Mrs Bjerregaard on behalf of the Commission

(29 April 1999)

Over the last months, the Commission has been seised of the problem of the export of European ships to ship-breaking yards in Asia, notably India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. The Commission is aware of the way the scrapping activities are being carried out. It agrees that the conditions under which ships are being scrapped in the countries concerned, posing serious hazards to the health of the workers and the environment, are unacceptable and is currently examining different measures in order to address this problem. Nevertheless, this scrapping activity is important for the economy of these countries and any measure taken to address the environmental problem should take this parameter into account.

One of the questions which has arisen in this context is, whether the export of ships for breaking-up to the countries mentioned above is covered by Council Regulation (EEC) 259/93 of 1 February 1993 on the control and supervision of shipments of waste within, into and out of the Community(3) ("Shipment Regulation"). On this aspect the Commission would refer the Honourable Member to its answer to Written Question P-462/99 by M. Skinner(4).

The Regulation is based, as the Honourable Member rightly observes, on the principles of proximity and self-sufficiency in waste disposal. However, these principles do not apply to the shipment of wastes for recovery operations. Accordingly, they are not relevant to the extent that old ships are exported for recovery purposes such as, for example, the recovery of scrap metals from those ships for recycling at steel mills.

Nevertheless, the Shipment Regulation represents a binding legal framework for the Community, which subjects exports of obsolete ships to tight control and supervision procedures. The Commission is currently examining a number of issues related to the effective enforcement of those rules, both in the context of Community legislation as well as in the framework of the Basel Convention.

In addition, the issue is being placed on the agenda of the International Maritime Organisation. In this context, it should be observed that an effective and high-capacity ship-scrapping industry is essential in order to remove ageing, sub-standard ships from the oceans, which in themselves pose a serious environmental threat by increasing the risk of accidents at sea which could result in serious marine pollution and increased loss of life. This would be contrary to the quality shipping campaign to which the Commission and the Member States are already fully committed.

As regards the suggestion by the Honourable Member for the Commission to draft a directive for end-of-life ships similar to that currently discussed for end-of-life vehicles on the basis of a proposal by the Commission, the Commission is doubtful at this stage, whether this would be an efficient way forward to solve the problems at hand. Shipping is a global activity and the problem of scrapping of old ships is a global issue. Solutions should take account of this international aspect.

In conclusion, the Commission is fully aware of the safety, health and environmental problems, which exist in third countries where ships are being scrapped. It is fully committed to explore all instruments at its disposal in order to contribute to a comprehensive solution of those problems.

(1) See the report in the (Dutch) edition of the Greenpeace newsletter, No 1, 1999.

(2) COM(97) 0358 final - OJ C 337, 7.11.1997, p. 3.

(3) OJ L 30, 6.2.1993.

(4) OJ C 325, 12.11.1999, p. 116.