Marine Pollution taken seriously: new regulation to strengthen EMSA response mechanism

The member states' permanent representatives endorsed today (7.3.2014) the compromise reached between the Council and the European Parliament concerning a regulation to finance the actions of the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) in the field of response to marine pollution caused by ships and oil and gas installations in the years 2014 to 2020.

The financial envelope for the period from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2020 will be € 160.5 million expressed in current prices, while the annual amounts will be determined through the EU's annual budgetary procedure. EMSA's marine pollution response includes information, cooperation and coordination activities and, crucially, operational assistance, i.e. detection and clean-up of oil spills. The new regulation is intended to ensure that the agency has the funds needed to carry out these tasks.

To enter into force, the text still needs to be formally approved by the Parliament, whose vote in plenary is expected to take place in April, and the Council, which is due to take its decision after the vote in Parliament.