CELEX: 51983PC0733(02)
Language: en
Date: 1983-12-08
Title: PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL DECISION CONCERNING THE SIGNING OF THE PROTOCOL ON COOPERATION IN COMBATING OIL SPILLS IN THE WIDER CARIBBEAN REGION AND THE CONCLUSION OF THE CONVENTION FOR THE PROTECTION AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT OF THE WIDER CARIBBEAN REGION AND ALSO OF THE PROTOCOL ON COOPERATION IN COMBATING OIL SPILLS IN THE WIDER CARIBBEAN REGION

10. 1.84                            Official Journal of the European Communities                            No C 5/7
                                                            II
                                                    (Preparatory Acts)
                                               COMMISSION
             Proposal for a Council Decision concerning the signing of the Protocol on cooperation in
             combating oil spills in the wider Caribbean region and the conclusion of the Convention
             for the protection and development of the marine environment of the wider Caribbean
             region and also of the Protocol on cooperation in combating oil spills in the wider
                                                    Caribbean region
                                                   COM(83) 733 final
                          (Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 14 December 1983)
                                                      (84/C 5/03)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN                                     specified that the protection of marine waters to
COMMUNITIES,                                                    ensure that ecological balances are preserved is a
                                                                priority task;
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the
European Economic Community, and in particular
                                                                Whereas the third programme of action of the
Article 235 thereof,
                                                                European Communities on the environment ( J ), the
                                                                broad lines of which were approved by the Council of
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,              the European Communities and the representatives of
                                                                the Governments of the Member States on 7 February
                                                                 1983, specifically mentions the need to implement a
Having regard to the opinion of the European Par-               policy designed to prevent pollution from oil spills
liament,                                                        and for practical measures to be taken in the event of
                                                                accidents at sea;
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and
Social Committee,
                                                                Whereas the European Communities have adopted an
                                                                action programme on the control and reduction of
Whereas at its meeting in Copenhagen on 7 and 8                 pollution caused by hydrocarbons discharged at
April 1978, the European Council took the view that             sea (<);
the Community should make the prevention and
combating of marine pollution, particularly by oil, a
major objective of its action, and it requested the             Whereas the Council approved on 19 May 1981 the
Council, acting on a proposal from the Commission,              Protocol to the Barcelona Convention on the
and the Member States, to take appropriate measures             Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against
as soon as possible within the Community and to                 Pollution concerning cooperation in combating
adopt common attitudes in the competent inter-                  pollution by oil and other harmful substances ( 5 );
national bodies concerning in particular the search
for, and implementation of, effective measures to
combat pollution;                                               Whereas the Council has adopted the          following
                                                                Directives:
Whereas the first (') and second (2) programmes of
action of the European Communities on the                       — Directive 76/464/EEC of 4 May 1976 on
environment stressed the paramount importance to                    pollution caused by certain dangerous substances
Western Europe of effective action being taken                      discharged into the aquatic environment of the
against the dangers inherent in the carriage of hydro-              Community (6),
carbons, including the threat of serious pollution of
coastal areas from accidents on the high seas and
                                                                O   O J N o C 4 6 , 17.2. 1983, p. 1.
                                                                (4) OJ No C 162, 8. 7. 1978, p. 1.
(') OJ No C 112, 20. 12. 1973, p. 1.                            O   OJ No L 162, 19. 6. 1981, p. 4.
(2) OJ No C 139, 13. 6. 1977, p. 1.                             (*) OJ No L 129, 18. 5. 1976, p. 23.
 ---pagebreak--- No C 5/8                                 Official Journal of the European Communities                                          10. 1.84
— Directive 82/176/EEC of 22 March 1983, which                        mentioned Convention for the protection and devel-
    became applicable on 1 July 1983, concerning                      o p m e n t of the marine environment in the wider
    mercury discharges by the chlor-alkali electrolysis               Caribbean region;
    industry ('),
                                                                      W h e r e a s the E u r o p e a n Communities signed          the
— Directive 78/659/EEC of 18 July 1978 on the                         abovementioned Convention on 24 M a r c h 1983;
    quality of fresh water needing protection or
    improvement in order to support fish life (2),                    W h e r e a s the P r o t o c o l should first be signed and the
                                                                      Convention and the Protocol should then be
— Directive 79/923/EEC of 30 October 1979 on the                      concluded;
    quality required of shellfish waters (3),
— Directive 79/409/EEC of 2 April 1979 on the                         W h e r e a s the T r e a t y has not provided the necessary
    conservation of wild birds (4);                                   powers,
Whereas it is laid down in Article 24 of the                          HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:
Convention for the protection and development of
the marine environment of the wider Caribbean                                                           Article 1
region that no State or regional economic integration
organization may become a Contracting Party to the                    The President of the Council is hereby authorized to
Convention unless it becomes at the same time a                       designate the person empowered to sign, on behalf of
Contracting Party to at least one Protocol to the                     the European Economic Community, the Protocol on
Convention;                                                           cooperation in combating oil spills in the wider
                                                                      Caribbean region. The text of the Protocol is annexed
Whereas it is laid down in the Annex to the Protocol                  to this Decision.
that, on the basis of paragraph 2 (b) of Article 10 of
the Protocol, the Contracting Parties have agreed to                                                    Article 2
amend the Protocol at their first meeting in order to
                                                                      The Convention for the protection and development
extend its field of application to spills of substances
                                                                      of the marine environment of the wider Caribbean
other than oil; whereas, in the meantime, the
                                                                      region and the Protocol annexed thereto on
Protocol will apply, upon its entry into force, to spills
                                                                      cooperation in combating oil spills in the wider
of those other substances;
                                                                      Caribbean region is hereby approved on behalf of the
                                                                      European Economic Community.
Whereas the European Communities took part in the
negotiations for the conclusion of the above-                        The text of the Convention is annexed to this
                                                                      Decision.
(*) O J N 0 L 8 I , 27. 3. 1982, p. 29.
                                                                                                       Article 3
O OJNoL222, 14. 8. 1978, p. 1.
(3) OJ No L 2 8 1 , 10. 11. 1979, p. 47.                             The President of the Council shall deposit the act in
(4) O J N o L 103, 25. 4. 1979, p. 1.                                 accordance with Article XXVI of the Convention.
                                                        CONVENTION
                for the protection and development of the marine environment of the wider Caribbean
                                                              region
                THE CONTRACTING PARTIES,
                FULLY AWARE of the economic and social value of the marine environment, including coastal
                areas, of the wider Caribbean region,
                CONSCIOUS of their responsibility to protect the marine environment of the wider Caribbean
                region for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations,
                RECOGNIZING the special hydrographic and ecological characteristics of the region and its
               vulnerability to pollution,
                RECOGNIZING FURTHER the threat to the marine environment, its ecological equilibrium,
                resources and legitimate uses posed by pollution and by the absence of sufficient integration of an
               environmental dimension into the development process,