WRITTEN QUESTION E-3439/02 by Daniel Varela Suanzes-Carpegna (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Prestige oil tanker accident off the coast of Galicia.
Date: 2002-12-02
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU aid, EU financing, Galicia, Structural Funds, environmental law, man-made disaster, maritime safety, oil pollution, tanker

C 161 E/90

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

10.7.2003

(2003/C 161 E/095)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3439/02

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

Subject:

‘Prestige’ oil tanker accident off the coast of Galicia

(2 December 2002)

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?

Can the Commission say whether it met all the legal requirements to sail in Community waters and

3.
enter and leave European ports?

Can the Commission say whether the composition of the fuel oil it was carrying complied with the

4.
criteria laid down by Community rules?

Does the Commission not believe that accidents such as this could be reduced by drawing up more

5.
stringent legislation and establishing stricter controls?

Does the Commission not believe that

6.
legislation to bring forward the entry into force of the double-hull construction requirement?

these circumstances call

for a change to Community

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,
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.

if approval

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.

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Official Journal of the European Union

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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.

The Commission confirms that the Prestige came from Saint Petersburg and was heading for

2.
Gibraltar, with a call in Estonia.

According to the inspection report supplied by the Prestige’s classification society, the American

3.
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.

(2003/C 161 E/096)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3449/02

by Glyn Ford (PSE) to the Commission

(6 December 2002)

Subject: Licensing of biotechnologists

In view of the increasing potential for harm arising from the abuse of the latest advances in biotechnology,
does the Commission have any plans for requiring those working in the field to be licensed after agreeing
to sign a ‘Hippocratic Oath’ committing them to work within laid-down norms?