Environmental bills: force Member States to step in, says MEP

By Karen Carstens

Date: 06/11/03

EU GOVERNMENTS should step in and foot the environmental clean-up bill after accidents if firms responsible for causing the damage are unable to meet the costs, claims the European Parliament's rapporteur on the environmental liability directive.

Dutch MEP Toine Manders relaunched a debate on the law today (6 November) when he presented the legal affairs committee with his proposed amendments to a position reached by member states in June.

As this second Parliamentary reading gets underway, he wants to restore a string of key amendments on issues of huge relevance for business.

His chief demand is for mandatory "subsidiarity state liability" obliging authorities to prevent damage or carry out remedial work if businesses causing the damage fail to act, cannot be found or escape liability.

But governments say they should have the choice not to intervene.

Manders also wants member states to revamp their decision to leave financial security, such as insurance, optional for firms. He claims insurance should be mandatory for damage to water and land starting five years after the law enters into force, with a possible extension to biodiversity damage two years later. On issues of legal defence against liability, he wants the directive to guarantee that firms complying with pollution permits, or using state-of-the-art technology, are treated more leniently.

The current draft gives governments a free hand to decide whether and how to incorporate these "mitigating factors" into their liability regimes.

If firms responsible are unable to meet the costs of clearing up environmental accidents, Dutch MEP Toine Manders argues that Governments of Member States should step in and foot the bill.