01/09/2021 (Agence Europe) – As an oil spill from a leaking Syrian power plant approaches northern Cyprus, the Cypriot authorities submitted a request for assistance through the EU’s civil protection mechanism on Tuesday 31 August, the European Commission announced on Wednesday 1 September. “We were alerted yesterday. Cyprus has requested the assistance of the European Maritime Safety Agency. A ship has been dispatched to the area”, said Tim McPhie, a Commission spokesman. He added that “the European Commission calls on the countries concerned to activate the mechanisms for preventing pollution in the Mediterranean under the Barcelona Convention”. At midday the previous day, another spokesperson said the Commission was “in close contact with the Greek authorities”, but that no concrete request had been made. (AN)