Brussels, 09/04/2008 (Agence Europe) - The European Parliament's transport and tourism committee is calling for serious measures to tackle climate change and pollution caused by ships. Adopting an own initiative report on Tuesday 8 April by Willi Piecyk (PES, Germany) on the EU's maritime policy by 42 votes in favour and one abstention, the committee 'takes the overall view, however, that the Action Plan includes too few practical measures and encourages the Commission to be more ambitious in future in using the instrument at its disposal under the Treaty on the European Union.' Willi Piecyk's report will be voted upon by the European Parliament in its May plenary session.
The EP's transport committee back several initiatives that the Commission is planning to take to establish an EU maritime policy, namely: - to exploit the potential of short sea shipping and inland waterway transport between EU member states; - to use TENT and other European financing mechanisms (such as Marco Polo) in order to accomplish the Motorways of the Sea and Short Sea Shipping Networks projects; - to improve coordination with the European agencies responsible for maritime surveillance, underlining particularly the prevention of illegal activities (human and drug trafficking, illegal immigration and terrorist threats) with special focus on international waters; - and to start a European network for maritime surveillance and promote improved cooperation between member states coastguards. In addition, the Piecyk report calls on the Commission to come up with the results of the feasibility study on a European coastguard, which was due to be published and presented by the end of 2006.
Just like the European Commission, the EP takes the view that maritime clusters are particularly well-placed to make a contribution to achieving an integrated maritime policy. The MEPs also welcome the initiative to establish an annual 'European Maritime Day'.
The transport committee regrets the fact that the action plan on European maritime policy addresses the challenges of climate change only in a very non-binding way. It recalls the fact that the melting of glaciers causes not only a rise in sea levels but also irreparable damage to human, animal and plant life. In this connection, the Piecyk report therefore welcomes the Commission's intention to put forward an Arctic initiative and calls on the scientific community and decision makers to further explore possibilities for protecting the polar ice caps.
The EP supports the target set by the European Council of March 2007 of halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, and reaffirms its call for maritime policy to make a substantial contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions; this should include incorporating shipping into emissions trading and enhancing research efforts both with regard to exploiting the seas as a source of renewable energy and with a view to developing cleaner new ship propulsion technologies.
The MEPs call emphatically on the Commission to be more ambitious in combating sulphur and NOx emissions, as well as emissions of solids from ships. In this connection, they reiterate the need for closer cooperation with the IMO (International Maritime Organisation) and, in particular, its calls for - the designation of the Mediterranean Sea, the Black Sea and the North-East Atlantic as Sulphur Emission Control Areas (SECAs) under the MARPOL Convention; - the reduction of the maximum authorized sulphur content in maritime fuel used in SECA areas by passenger ships from 1.5% to 0.5%; - the introduction of fiscal measures, such as taxes or charges on SO2 and NOx emissions from ships; - the gradual introduction of a requirement for ships at anchor to use land-based electricity.
The report points out, once again, that land-based pollution of the seas constitutes a significant proportion of overall maritime pollution, and that the Commission has so far not got to grips with this issue; it therefore reiterates its call for the Commission to put forward an action plan to reduce such pollution; and it stresses that an action plan to identify and remove old munitions from past wars dumped in the North Sea and the Baltic forms part of the transposition of the water framework directive.
The transport committee urges the Commission to introduce a plan to draw up an inventory and a map of shipwrecks and submerged archaeological sites that are part of the EU's historical and cultural heritage, which would make it possible to understand and more easily study them and help prevent the pillage they can be subject to, thereby ensuring proper protection. The relevant institutions are invited to approve without delay the Erika III maritime package, and the MEPs stress that the framework directive on an EU maritime strategy should be an environmental cornerstone of a joined-up EU maritime policy. It is noted that the framework directive foresees that regions whose maritime milieu is under threat should implement accelerated measures to achieve a high quality environment. (L.C.)