Strasbourg, 15/11/2006 (Agence Europe) - The European Parliament, which is in favour of a strategy for the protection and conservation of the marine environment in the EU, has shown itself to be more ambitious than the Commission in the objectives targeted and implementation timetable for the measures proposed.
In the proposal of the Commission, the thematic strategy for the protection and conservation of the marine environment, which was proposed in October 2005 (EUROPE 9055), aims to protect the marine ecosystems in Europe by dint of a global and integrated approach to the various marine regions and all sources of pollution, in the interests not only of the environment and quality of living of the citizens of the EU, but also of European growth, given the fact that the current degradation of the marine environment and the parallel erosion of its ecological capital are endangering the possibilities for the creation of wealth and employment offered by the oceans and seas, particularly in the sectors of fishing and tourism.
Taking position on the thematic strategy in Strasbourg on 14 November (own-initiative report by Aldis Kuskis, a Latvian Christian Democrat) and on the proposed directive accompanying it (report by French Socialist Marie-Noëlle Lienemann), the MEPs raised the bar at first reading, in line with the wishes of their rapporteurs, who are highly critical of the Commission's proposals. This is partly due to the omission of a legal obligation upon the Member States to achieve a decent environmental water status within a reasonable period of time, thus guaranteeing the healthy and sustainable management of the ecosystems, failure to take account of the Black Sea despite the accession of Bulgaria and Romania in January 2007 and the absence of provisions on the creation of protected marine areas to be taken into account in the implementation of the common fisheries policy.
The principal amendments voted on by the plenary aim to extend the scope of application of the directive to associated States and candidate countries to EU accession; to bring forward to no later than 2017 (instead of 2021) the cut-off date by which the Member States must have achieved a good ecological status for their marine waters, by implementing a marine strategy for each of the European marine regions (the Baltic Sea, the North East Atlantic, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea) and the creation of protected marine zones; to establish specific and legally binding criteria for the definition, at European level, of what constitutes a good environmental status for oceans and seas; to propose the swift implementation of pilot projects for regions such as the Baltic Sea, for which the Member States hope to lead from the front in terms of protection measures; to improve the integration of environmental concerns into other Community policies, particularly to allow the Member States to demand action at EU level if fishing activities constitute an obstacle to their efforts to achieve a "good environmental status" for their waters.
"The situation of our seas and oceans is quite disastrous. This is why we must act fast to preserve a marine ecosystem which plays a fundamental role in the global environment of the planet and, more importantly, a role in regulating the climate", warned Marie-Noëlle Lienemann. Given that 80% of all maritime pollution originates on land, the MEP hopes that "this directive will set in place a structure which will finally give us a strategy which goes beyond international conventions, the results of which mostly fall short of what was hoped for".
In a press release, environmental NGOs (Greenpeace, WWF, Bird Life International, IFAW, FISH, Seas at Risk and the BEE) welcome the Parliament's call for determined effort at European level to combat the impact of many destructive and unsustainable factors - fishing, navigation, oil exploration, marine pollution, coastal offshore building - which are a growing threat to Europe's seas and oceans. Compared to the empty shell that was the Commission's initial proposal, the stronger action called for by MEPs is, they say, to be welcomed. (an)