Brussels, 18/11/2002 (Agence Europe) - Since the capsize of the oil tanker Prestige last Wednesday off the coast of Galicia in North-West Spain, the European Commission's Civil Protection Unit has been contacting the Spanish authorities and the other EU Member States to mobilise and coordinate available vessels for rescuing crude oil out at sea. Pia Ahrenkilde, spokesperson for Margot Wallström, Environment and Civil Protection Commissioner, a French vessel is already at work, and a ship provided by the Netherlands is setting off to assist. Other Member States (Italy, Portugal, Sweden, Belgium, Germany, Denmark and Greece) have also offered aid. Following a request by the Spanish authorities, the Commission has commissioned satellite images to enable Spain to monitor the situation.
Gilles Gantelet, spokesperson for Transport and Energy Commissioner Loyola de Palacio, added that in terms of liability, the "polluter-pays" principle would apply, in line with international maritime law. Before getting supplies from Gibraltar, the Prestige oil tanker had stopped off at the port of Karamata in Greece, six months before the disaster. The Commission has sent the Greek authorities the same letter it has sent to the UK authorities (see Europe of 15 November, p.8) in order to find out whether the ship had been inspected. Should serious negligence be suspected, procedures will be launched to determine liability.
As for compensation for the victims of the oilslick (which has afflicted a fishing zone), up to EUR 200 billion may be available from the International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund (IOPCF), pointed out the spokesperson. Private insurance could make up the remainder of the compensation. Gilles Gantelet explained that the Commission's proposal to set up an additional European fund (of EUR 1 billion) had not come to anything since Member States preferred an international agreement.
As for whether the European Union's newly established Disaster Fund (for environmental damage) could be used, Pierre- Jérôme, spokesperson for Regional Policy Commissioner Michel Barnier, said that this would be determined in line with several criteria. Firstly, an initial assessment of the scale of the damage would be carried out, after which the Spanish authorities would have to make an official statement to the European Commission outlining the impact of the oilslick on the environment and the economy. The Commission would then decide whether the Fund's eligibility criteria had been met, and whether such a disaster can be considered a natural catastrophe according to the Fund's regulations. It may be possible to reallocate Structural Funds to the disaster-struck fishing zone.