Brussels, 03/12/2010 (Agence Europe) - In the last Energy Council under Belgian Presidency in Brussels on Friday 3 December, EU energy ministers adopted conclusions backing the communication adopted by the Commission in mid-October on the safety of off-shore drilling in which, though calling for safety rules to be tightened for oil and gas exploration and extraction, it stopped short of calling for a moratorium on new off-shore drilling. Laying great stress on the industry's responsibility in relation to the safety of drilling activities, the Council underlined the need for continued comprehensive consideration of all aspects of off-shore oil and gas operations and for drawing further lessons from the explosion in April of this year on board the British oil giant BP's Deepwater Horizon platform in the Gulf of Mexico, which caused an oil spillage and an ecological disaster of unprecedented proportions. The desire is to achieve the very highest levels of safety, environmental protection, maritime safety and emergency preparedness and response. The Commission was asked to bring forward, as soon as possible in 2011, concrete initiatives, including legislative acts. Since current safety levels are deemed to be sufficiently high, the Council does not consider it necessary to put in place a moratorium on all new off-shore drilling. (E.H./transl.rt)