Brussels, 26/04/2013 (Agence Europe) - The ruling of a trial in France over the oil slick caused by the shipwreck of the Erika oil tanker off the coast of France in 1999 sets a precedent for European decision-makers, says the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions (CPMR). The oil company Total was found liable by the French high court in 2012 although the shipwreck occurred outside French waters. Regional authorities are happy that the ruling was passed in a country other than the flag state of the ship. In the French ruling, regional authorities (along with the state) have received compensation for damages. The CPMR says that this should set an example and pave the way for greater debate at EU level on adjusting maritime rules. Speaking for the CPMR at an afternoon debate at the European Parliament on 24 April, Pierre Karleskind, vice-president of the Regional Council of Brittany, said: “With the Erika ruling, regional and local authorities were recognised as victims of environmental damage, and as such were able to obtain compensation. We must now move forward by changing international and European rules along these lines”. MEP Isabelle Thomas (S&D, France) agrees: “The time is now ripe to introduce ecological damage into EU law”. MEP Corinne Lepage (ADLE, France) said: “I uphold the idea that the state that is the injured party must have jurisdiction to prosecute those responsible. We are going to put back on the agenda the idea of creating a European fund to complement the IOPC funds (International Oil Pollution Fund)”. This is what the CPMR recommends, along with changes to EU Directive 2004/35/EC on environmental liability and the Civil Liability Convention for damage caused by oil slicks. (MD/transl.fl)