Looking at the proposal put forward by the European Commission last June to strengthen the rules on the prevention of marine pollution caused by ships ( of the June 1 2023), today the Commission for Transport and Tourism (TRAN) of the European Parliament voted by 36 votes in favour and one against the draft update of the relevant rules currently defined by the EU directive no. 35 of September 7, 2005 that introduced sanctions for violations of the legislation. The proposal aims to include in EU law all international standards on the prevention of illegal discharges of ships defined at the International Maritime Organization.

With today's vote, MEPs supported the Commission's proposal to include in the legislation the ban on discharge, as well as hydrocarbons and hazardous or harmful substances, also from sewage, waste and residues of the plants. purification.

With regard to the sanctions regime to target violations, MEPs voted in favour of the proposal to prevent EU governments from setting a maximum or minimum limit for sanctions in order not to compromise the effectiveness and the proportionality of the fines.

In addition, a greater exchange of information between the Member States and the European Commission on maritime accidents causing pollution was expressed and the proposal to verify at the crash site was supported and in the least available time 50% of claims reported by CleanSeaNet, the European satellite monitoring system for the detection of hydrocarbon spills and for vessel detection, system that-it has been highlighted in order to support the update of pollution standards-does not provide information on how pollution has been addressed.

The Commission's rapporteur on the Marian-Jean Marinescu proposal stressed that currently European standards to prevent, detect and contain pollution of the sea and to punish those responsible do not work : " the current rules of the EU-have stated-they do not work because they are applied in a caring manner by the Member States and this is unacceptable. The time has come for member states to plop into the frontline and protect European seas from the harmful effects caused by ships that illegally depart substances. It is necessary to effectively detect illegal discharges and to set amounts of sanctions that serve as a true deterrent. "