Session Two - Neighbours in the Maritime Basin
Speakers: Iain Shepherd, Carlos Berrope Garcia
How far can European regulation take into account activities that are linked to but take place outside Europe, such as ship breaking?
The EU directive can only apply in European waters. It will involve cooperation with neighbouring polities, but not as far away as China. In the specific case of ship breaking, there are IMO conventions and similar to regulate these activities. However, there is a debate to be had over how far EU legislation can influence matters outside its jurisdiction: for instance, the EU is proposing a new treaty under UNCLOS for regulating activity on the high seas.
The shipping industry in Europe is seeing ship dismantling as an opportunity and ships are coming here to be broken up, but it is a complex problem because of the environmental issues, and in the longer term we need to look at developing cleaner ships.
Is six year reporting included reporting on Marine Spatial Plans, and is this sufficient to induce member states to develop them?
Ongoing spatial planning is not mandatory and not an objective, but rather a process for achieving good environmental status. The UK Marine Bill is a separate and autonomous development, and introduces marine spatial planning at a national level.
Are there rules in place regarding the dumping and exports of toxic waste?
There are cases in progress at present, but the problem is that even with strong enforcement illegal dumping is worthwhile for some because the profits outweigh the risk, and assigning responsibility can in any case be difficult. The problem is likely to worsen.
There are rules in place already governing the export of hazardous waste based on the principle of informed consent, but these are not fully sufficient and negotiations between the EU and African states over tightening the rules are ongoing. However, the USA, Canada, Japan, India and China are unlikely to agree to very restrictive new rules.
It is my opinion that informed consent has not worked well in the past and that as a result the EU has exported its problems to places less able to cope. What is to ensure that this does not happen again?
This is a recognised problem and the legislation to tackle this has to come on several fronts.