On Thursday 18 January during a debate on the consequences of the Galician environmental disaster caused by the accidental spillage of tonnes of plastic pellets from a container lost at sea by a ship, MEPs expressed their shared desire to prevent marine pollution by microplastics and to help speed up work at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) on the transport of containers containing plastic pellets.
In response to the concerns that prompted the debate, the European Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevičius, began by stressing the importance of the proposal for an EU regulation to prevent microplastic pollution caused by the unintentional release of plastic pellets into the environment, which is currently under discussion. This “covers all operators who produce, store or transport pellets by road or inland waterway” and, in the event of pollution, “the polluter pays principle must apply”, he recalled (see EUROPE 13273/11).
With regard to the tools already available at EU level to help, the Commissioner cited the Maritime Safety Agency, which enables the exchange of information on containers damaged at sea, the Union Civil Protection Mechanism, and the EU Solidarity Fund, which could support the costly clean-up effort once the results of the enquiry currently under way in Spain into who is responsible are known.
Within the framework of the IMO, there are three aspects to be taken into account with regard to the transport of pellets by container, said the Commissioner: - correct packaging to withstand shocks during transport; - transport information to clearly identify freight containers carrying plastic pellets; - safe storage to avoid negative consequences for the environment.
In his view, cargo containers with plastic pellets should be stored inside, and the inclusion of such a provision in EU legislation could be considered once the IMO has made its decision.
Deirdre Clune (EPP, Irish) questioned the time that had elapsed “between 8 December and 2 January for regional governments to be informed”.
She added that “hundreds of people are working day and night to clean up this pollution,because they want to protect their environment, their fishing and their livelihood”. She believes that this pollution highlights the merits of the proposed regulation.
Joao Albuquerque (S&D, Portuguese), the rapporteur for the proposal (see EUROPE 13324/5), was alarmed by the “26 tonnes of pellets, millions of plastic pellets polluting a magnificent environment”, and pledged his determination to “move it forward by focusing on prevention, but also to increase the pressure on the IMO”.
‘White tides’ are just as serious as oil spills, because plastic pellets are converted oil, said Catherine Chabaud (Renew Europe, French). “Solutions exist, but they are not being applied”, she said, arguing that plastic pellets should be stored inside the holds of ships. She also argued for traceability requirements both at the IMO and in the proposed European regulation.
For Ska Keller (Greens/EFA, German), the millions of plastic pellets in question are just “the tip of the iceberg: not even 1% of the pellets lost each year”.
The Spanish left and right have clashed in the run-up to the European elections, with the left, following the example of Nicolás González Casares (S&D), accusing the PP government in Galicia of a “tide of lies”, while the right accused Pedro Sánchez’s socialist government of a lack of responsiveness.
“The socialists are playing the natural disaster card, but the destruction of fisheries, the relocation of fisheries through the extension of exclusive zones, the reduction in the fishing fleet and catches at a time when imports from third countries are increasing by 96%, that is the real disaster”, said Jorge Buxadé Villalba (ECR).
Idoia Villanueva Ruiz (The Left) criticised the EPP for “denying the disaster more than a month after” it occurred. In her view, “it’s time to put an end to corporate impunity and to force the authorities to take immediate action”. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)