Brussels, 26/03/2012 (Agence Europe) - The 2,000 tonnes of oil in the fuel tanks of the Costa Concordia cruise ship that sank off the Italian coast last January have been brilliantly recovered, according to an announcement made by the Italian authorities on Saturday 24 March. During the pumping out operations, there were fears of contamination on the island of Giglio, which justified the sending out of a European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) ship, the Salina Bay, to clean up the pollution. Operations went smoothly and the Salina Bay will now be able to return home. European Commissioner for Transport Siim Kallas was delighted to announce this news on Twitter. Nonetheless, there is still a long way to go before we can turn the page on the sinking of the Costa Concordia. Another year will undoubtedly be needed to remove the shipwreck. Carried out in collaboration with the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), the task of the European Commission to learn lessons from this tragedy is still continuing and could lead to new safety standards for passenger ships by the end of this year. The Commission will be organising a conference on the subject in Brussels on 24 April. (MD/transl.fl)