Verbatim report of proceedings

Tuesday, 20 April 2004 - Strasbourg

Safety at sea

  Thors (ELDR). (SV) Mr President, Commissioner, as the Commissioner said, it is really time we brought to an end the protracted work we have been doing together on improving safety at sea. We have you to thank for this, but we also owe thanks to our fellow Member Mr Sterckx for his excellent report.

With a view to the future, I have a feeling that it would be a very good thing if the Commission were to order a study into where the holes in the acquis communautaire lie. I had this feeling following the Erika package. We noticed that there were new holes – like those in Emmental cheese – that had been exploited. I sometimes have the feeling that we think we are making progress, but new holes are springing up. I should like us to look at these holes before another disaster occurs. We have tried to do this to some extent in the report, but I think that we are in need of additional expertise in this field.

I am glad that you mentioned enlargement and Russia, and I think that this report is a historic one from the point of view of the Baltic Sea. The Baltic has never had as much mention in a report by the European Parliament as it has in this report. My thanks to all my fellow Members for this.

The international dimension emerges strongly and, in your speech, Mrs de Palacio, you point out what you are intending to do. I noted with interest that single hulls are to be phased out in Russia by 1 May 2005 at the latest. I should like you to elaborate a little on what you said on that point.

I do not think that sufficient attention has been paid to the work being done by the working group that is considering changes to the international compensation regime. We know that the working group is going to meet in May, and that Spain, France and the Commission have presented a proposal. I think that the proposal to remedy the flaws in liability insurance and in liability throughout the maritime chain merits more attention here in Parliament. I should like us to think a little more carefully about whether we want the European system we are calling for, or if we should give more thought to this working group in the IOPC context in order to see what can be done there.

Finally, I hope that we shall work together on tangible rules for success with the Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas (PSSA) that have been designated. The creation of the new PSSA in London was a success, but we need to specify what is meant by these. At the same time, when the Commission evaluates the plans for dealing with places of refuge in other respects, I should like it to decide, with respect to item 14 in the report, whether or not places of refuge should be made public. The Member States need guidance, because this matter has been the subject of much debate.