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Verbatim report of proceedings
Tuesday, 20 April 2004 - Strasbourg OJ edition

Safety at sea
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  Pex (PPE-DE). (NL) Mr President, Commissioner, as other Members have already said, we can be pleased with the work the rapporteur has done. I should like to take this opportunity of congratulating Mr Sterckx on his work on maritime safety. This compliment also applies to the Commissioner. The report that is now before us is succinct and clear and has avoided duplication in respect of the September resolution. I have tabled a few amendments in the Committee on Regional Policy, Transport and Tourism, and all of them have either been approved or included in the rapporteur's compromise amendments.

I should now like to turn to my concerns. First of all, the European coastguard service. A majority in this Parliament is – quite rightly – in favour of a far-reaching form of cooperation between the different coastguard services, with the establishment of a common European coastguard service as the ultimate goal, if necessary. For this coastguard service, as well as for the existing European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA), it is of major importance to have sufficient powers to be able to carry out the work in the field of maritime safety effectively.

In my view, far more attention should be paid to the maintenance and state of the ships. Accordingly, a poorly maintained double-hulled tanker will constitute a greater risk than a well-maintained single-hulled tanker. I have also expressed my misgivings about the registration labelling of containers and vessels containing dangerous chemicals and substances. This is further to the loss of very toxic cargo from the Andinet in the North Sea, in which apparently, the substance in question did not correspond to the description on the bills of lading. I am also anxious about the increase in the export of Russian oil via the Baltic Sea along the EU coastline, because very often, this involves the cheapest substandard tonnage.

Since my own report concerning the introduction of criminal sanctions has run aground in the Council, I am delighted to see that a few Members, including the rapporteur, are calling on the Council to reach a decision in this matter as soon as possible. Internationally, there are plenty of options in legislation to tackle the situation. The problem, though, is that the Member States do not enforce the rules to which they have committed themselves through treaties. It is precisely those Member States that reject controls by means of Community legislation.

 
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