Strasbourg, 16/04/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 15 April, the European Parliament approved the granting of €160.5 million to the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA).
MEPs confirmed the agreement previously reached with the Council with adoption of the report by Keith Taylor (Greens/EFA, United Kingdom) by 532 votes to 79, with 5 abstentions.
This money will come from the EU budget and will be available until the end of this decade. This European funding will enable the agency to continue its work of detecting and cleaning up maritime pollution, such as oil spills, caused by ships. This money is, however, also expected to cover the new responsibilities allocated to EMSA for tackling contamination caused by offshore oil installations. Commissioner for Transport Siim Kallas,said that it was a good thing that the EP had given its approval for the EMSA budget; he said that its tackling pollution “had proved (EMSA's) added value and cost effectiveness”. (MD)