Brussels, 19/12/2011 (Agence Europe) - The draft directive to restrict the sulphur content of marine fuel (to amend Directive 1999/32/EC) comes nowhere close to unanimous agreement and will therefore be handed on to the Danish Presidency of the Council of the EU, which takes up the helm for six months on 1 January 2012. On Monday 19 December, the Environment Council talks in Brussels revealed that while ministers back the idea of reducing air pollution caused by shipping, most want a more detailed impact study into the draft directive and would be happy to do no more than align EU legislation with the 2008 rules of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). For various reasons, ministers are unhappy about the aim of reducing the maximum authorised sulphur content of fuel from the current 1.5% to 0.1% on 1 January 2015 in sensitive areas like the Baltic, the North Sea and the Channel, and from the current 4.5% to 0.5% in other areas on 1 January 2020. Bulgaria and Hungary, for example, are concerned at how this would affect intermodal transport, while the United Kingdom calls for caution because of the high cost for ship-builders, saying that the MARPOL international agreement on cutting ship pollution should be complied with. Portugal is concerned about the impact of such a stringent rule and wants a more detailed cost-benefit study to be carried out.
Satisfied that no countries disagree with the objectives set out for the legislation, Commissioner Janez Potocnik said that shipping was a huge polluter of the air and had to start reducing its negative impact on air quality. He hopes it will be possible to reach agreement in first reading under the Danish Presidency. (AN/transl.fl)