The Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevicius.Javier Vázquez / Europa Press (Europa Press)
The controversy over pellet disposal in Galicia, which reached Brussels last week, has also reached Strasbourg this Thursday. Oceans, Fisheries and Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius defended the legislative proposal presented by the Commission in October to “prevent microplastic contamination” during a debate in the European Parliament on the “latest environmental disaster” on Spain's northern coast. “Accidental loss of pellets” and explained that the EU is already working with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to take global action on the transport of these microplastics. Meanwhile, a bitter discussion on the issue has developed in the European Chamber, with Spanish MPs accusing each other of “negligence” and exploiting the environmental disaster for electoral interests, ahead of the Galicians' next electoral meeting.
MEPs have again called for the future European standard for pellets to also apply to sea transport, which was not foreseen in the Commission's original proposal. Brussels says that maritime transport is global and it is not in the EU's hands to regulate it, although a Commission representative raised the possibility of including this in the rules during a parliamentary discussion in Brussels last week. In its early stages of discussion, one was concrete “distinction” between “intra-European” and “purely international” maritime traffic was proposed so that the future law could apply to at least some of the intensive maritime traffic on the EU coasts.
In any case, the Commissioner pointed out that the Commission is already actively working with the International Maritime Organization, which is responsible for this area, to take new measures. The IMO is “intensively examining” several issues, in particular how to guarantee “quality” and leak-proof packaging or guarantee “transport information” that allows “clear identification” of containers with pellets, he explained at the plenary session in Strasbourg.
Likewise, Sinkevicius added, the IMO is examining the possibility of placing containers with plastic pellets below deck or in safer areas of the deck in maritime transport if the former is not possible. That these measures are “agreed and adopted worldwide” is important in order to avoid a wave of different regulations and, above all, to be able to operate in a sector such as the maritime sector, where, as he recalled, many containers are transported by ships from outside the EU.
The politician reiterated the importance of prevention since it is “difficult and expensive to recover these microplastics once they are disposed of”. However, if such a leak occurs, “the polluter pays principle must be applied,” he added, referring to the sanctions provided for in the European regulation.
Before the plenary debate, Sinkevicius received several Spanish MEPs who had requested a meeting last week to discuss the pellet crisis. Socialists Nicolás González Casares and César Luena called for “better European coordination to address the environmental crisis caused by pellets and support in restoring the damage they have caused to ecosystems.” They also reiterated the need to “extend regulations against pellet pollution to international maritime trade and introduce mandatory geolocation of containers to facilitate management in the event of an accident,” according to a statement.
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Sinkevicius also met with Ana Miranda of the BNG, who invited the mayor of Muros, María Lago, to the plenary session and the private meeting to inform her about “the problems that Galicia is having with the flood of plastic that it causes”. the dumping of pellets and the lack of resources and transparency on the part of the Galician government to tackle coastal pollution”, while the popular MEPs used their meeting with the EU Commissioner to “explain the great work that “The Xunta de Galicia is using what the left and the nationalists are doing for electoral purposes and regrets it.”
Bitter debate in the European Parliament
This Thursday's debate in the European Parliament was very angry. Spanish MEPs exchanged accusations about the handling of the environmental crisis, while at the same time there was a more unified call for Europe to better prevent this type of disaster and impose tougher punitive measures against those responsible for this type of oil spill.
Galicia today faces “a double flood: a flood of plastic and a flood of incompetence, obfuscation and lies on the part of the autonomous PP government,” denounced the Galician socialist MEP Nicolás González Casares in the plenary session, describing the situation as “catastrophic”. “” the management of Xunta and has spoken out in favor of a change in the appointment before the elections on February 18th.
The oil spill was “a disaster” and what has happened since is “negligence,” agreed Podemos MEP Idoia Villanueva. Ana Miranda, at whose request the debate took place on the last day of the Strasbourg plenary session, also criticized the “inaction” of the Galician government, which “took a month to activate Alarm 2, an obvious example of the denial of the catastrophe”. .” “This “bad management is not new, it reminds us of the prestige, they have learned nothing,” he accused the popular MEPs, before whom he also called for greater action in the EU in the face of a problem that is “not only Galician in nature is.”, it is also a European problem.
“Gentlemen of the Left, are you so nervous about suffering another electoral defeat?” responded Dolors Montserrat, vice-president of the European People's Party, who accused the Left of trying to “win miserably with this crisis, which it was”. unable to defeat the opponent. At the same time, however, he once again attacked the national debate at the European level with PP slogans: “If it were amnesty instead of Pellets and Puigdemont instead of Rueda, you would undoubtedly act so quickly.” to give in to the blackmail of a fugitive from justice, but so slowly and “It is irresponsible to lend a shoulder in a crisis that affects everyone,” he accused. “This debate would not take place if there were no elections in February,” added the also popular Francisco Millán Mon.
For his part, Vox MEP Jorge Buxadé attacked all parties for an “embarrassing spectacle” and accused them of only being interested in “winning the election” of the crisis. “They don't give a damn about coastal protection, the real disaster is the destruction of the Spanish fishing sector, which popular and socialists have promoted over the last 40 years through the systematic implementation of foreign plans,” denounced the Ultra party MP The Chairman The PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, has called for not to take part in the elections in Galicia in order not to endanger the PP's absolute majority.
Ribera criticizes the Xunta for “minimizing the toxicity” of the pellets
The third vice-president of the government and minister of the ecological transition and the demographic challenge, Teresa Ribera, has criticized the Xunta de Galicia for having “minimized the risk and toxicity” of the “pellets”, and subsequently “a list of media adopted those who did that.” “Not, there is no way to make it accessible to anyone.” “Fortunately, it is a different contamination than the 'Prestige',” said the minister this Thursday. The minister thinks it is “fantastic” if you can tackle the problem on your own, but is critical
this simultaneously requires others to “invent a level of involvement that is not specified in the protocols.” “The problems we face require collaboration, transparency, debate and collaboration-based solutions,” he said.
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