Motion for a resolution - B8-0061/2017Motion for a resolution
B8-0061/2017

MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on environmental risks linked to the use of dams

10.1.2017

pursuant to Rule 133 of the Rules of Procedure

Mireille D’Ornano

B8-0061/2017

Motion for a European Parliament resolution on environmental risks linked to the use of dams

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to Articles 11 and 191 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

–  having regard to Rule 133 of its Rules of Procedure,

A.  whereas in 2015, the Commission ordered France to open up to competition some 50 hydropower concessions that came up for renewal between 2011 and 2015, and whereas, a few days later, two mining dams burst in Brazil;

B.  whereas those ruptures released tens of thousands of cubic metres of toxic sludge and caused major damage to the environment, once again highlighting the risks that dams pose;

C.  whereas dams prevent the circulation of sediment, which collects in reservoirs, where the water stagnates and various pollutants build up, destroying flora, fauna and the countryside;

D.  whereas dams deprive migrating fish (salmon, eels, etc.) of access to areas in which they can reproduce, and whereas this increases the rate at which species die out;

1.  Calls on the Commission to recognise the danger that dams pose to the environment;

2.  Encourages the Commission to restrict the extent to which the hydropower sector is opened up to competition, in order to prevent a situation in which the pursuit of profit jeopardises the safety of structures requiring costly maintenance.