Brussels, 10/07/2000 (Agence Europe) - The European Parliament and the Council reached an agreement regarding the directive that will make it compulsory for vessels to unload their waste in port installations instead of dumping it at sea. The dispute between the two institutions concerned the financing of the "port reception installations" for waste and cargo residue. The Council had stipulated in its "common position" that the Member States will freely fix - in the amount of the fee to be paid by ships - the standard amount and that which is proportional to the amount of waste deposited. The Parliament insisted that the fixed part should be the largest in order to dissuade ships from dumping waste at sea in order to pay less. This system would also receive the support of the large German ports which fear competition between ports which would use fee reductions to attract ships. After informal conciliation, the EP and Council agreed that the standard amount of the fee would be "significant", and that the Commission should fix it at a minimum amount of 30% of the overall fee in a declaration annexed to the final act to be published in the Official Journal. The Parliament is expected to adopt the directive at third reading during its September session.
But "nobody wants the World Bank or the IMF, there is there a point of total convergence", Paul Lannoye summarised. "The problem is not so much the technical aspect of implementing this tax as much as the political war to wage", recalled Vincent Peillon, Socialist deputy who chaired the fact- finding mission on money laundering.