Brussels, 10/12/2004 (Agence Europe) - Thursday's Transport Council chose to postpone the definition of the EU's position on the reinforcement of the international regime of civil liability in cases of marine pollution. Discussions are to start in February 2005 within the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) ahead of the revision of this regime. Several Member States, including France, wanted the Council to adopt conclusions forthwith stressing the need to change this regime in order to avoid limiting civil liability for marine pollution just to ship owners, as is currently the case. But Cyprus, Malta and Greece opposed the adoption of the draft conclusions, saying that it was too soon to define an EU position on this. Instead, the Presidency adopted watered down conclusions, which were nonetheless supported by most delegations, in which it "stresses, in the interest of victims, the need to ensure appropriate compensation for damage caused by oil pollution from ships by actively working to ensure that effective financial responsibility is exercised on the part of those involved in transportation of oil by sea, and the need for an appropriate revision of the provisions of the civil liability Conventions (CLC) of 1992 and the 1992 International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund (IOPCF)". The Presidency also urges the Member States to work towards the definition of an EU common position ahead of the meeting in February 2005.