Strasbourg, 30/10/2006 (Agence Europe) - The scandal of lethally toxic waste exported from Europe to the Côte d'Ivoire in August was the focus of the European Parliament's attention when it met in Strasbourg on 23 October. The Parliament expressed its indignation at this “extremely grave” illegal practice that runs counter to Community law and for which criminal sanctions should be imposed for environmental crime.
The resolution on waste exports to Africa, adopted by a very large majority of MEPs, recalls that, under Community Regulation 259/93ECC (on surveillance and control of waste transfers to and from the European Community), all waste exports from the EU have been banned since May 1994 and that, pursuant to the same Regulation, exports of hazardous waste from the EU to non-OECD countries for recycling purposes has been banned since January 1997. It is also banned under the Basel Convention on cross-border movements of hazardous waste and the elimination of such waste.
Expressing consternation at the serious impact that this health and environmental disaster has had - twelve deaths, 85,000 persons taken to hospital, intoxication of a large number of children, and the potential contamination of soil, surface water and groundwater - the Parliament condemns the shipping of 500 tonnes of chemical waste to Abidjan by a Greek tanker, the Probo Koala, registered in Panama and chartered by the Trafigura Beheer BV company established in the Netherlands. “This sharing of responsibilities creates a systematic and unacceptable problem when it comes to applying Community law”, MEPs say, without minimising the extent of responsibilities. The resolution states that it was during offloading that the Amsterdam port authorities became aware of the hazardous nature of the waste, calling for a higher fee in order to be able to ensure offloading was safely carried out (after which, the ship pumped the waste back on board). The Dutch authorities authorised the ship to leave the Dutch territorial waters although they knew that the waste was hazardous and that the captain refused to pay the cost of environmentally-friendly elimination of the waste. The resolution goes on to denounce the fact that Africa is a place where all sorts of dangerous waste is dumped. Greenpeace has identified 80 sites where toxic waste from developed countries has been dumped, mainly old computers in Nigeria, radioactive containers in Somalia, and chloride in Cameroon, although most African countries do not have stringent regulations for protecting the environment or the means to protect the population against hazardous waste.
Furthermore, the Parliament invites the Commission, the Netherlands and the Côte d'Ivoire to carry out an in-depth investigation into the matter, to establish responsibilities at every level, and to take legal action against those responsible for such environmental crimes, ensuring that environmental pollution is totally eliminated, and that the victims receive compensation.
The resolution invites the European institutions and the Member States to take all possible measures to provide assistance to the Ivorian population affected, and to children especially. The European Commission, for its part, is invited to present proposals aimed at offsetting the failings in implementation of legislation in order to put an end to the transfer of waste electrical and electronic equipment and old vessels to non-OECD countries.
In another resolution on combating crime, infringements and penal sanctions, the Parliament welcomes the Coutt of Justice ruling of 13 September 2005 cancelling the Council framework decision adopted in the context of the third pillar (Justice and Home Affairs), specifying that the provisions of criminal law necessary for effective implementation of Community law come under the first pillar (on the basis of Article 175, Environment).
During the debate, the Finnish EU Council Presidency recalled the conclusions adopted during the last Environment Council to prepare the next meeting of the parties to the Basel Convention (COP8 Nairobi, 27 November-1 December). It did not, however, say anything about criminal sanctions, and for good reason - Member States did not wish to refer to this (EUROPE 9292). Stavros Dimas, Environment Commissioner, made no bones about it, however, and confirmed to MEPs his intention to present a new legislative proposal in December that, he hopes, will establish minimum Europe-wide standards for effective, proportionate and dissuasive penal sanctions imposed on all persons involved in illegal transfers - including the illegal shipping of waste. This directive will be a synthesis of the Commission proposal presented in 2001, which did not receive a warm welcome from Member States, and the Council's framework decision cancelled by the European Court of Justice, he explained.
The wait-and-see attitude of Member States in this affair was criticised by MEPs who had supported the Commission's initial proposal. Karl-Heinz Florenz (EPP-ED, Germany), who chairs the environment committee, mainly reproached the Council for “not doing its work”. (an)