Offshore drilling

The European Parliament environment committee today adopted a resolution calling for a moratorium on offshore deep sea drilling in Europe until the loopholes in European rules are addressed. The Greens, who launched the EU debate on an offshore drilling ban in June, welcomed the vote. After the vote, Dutch Green MEP Bas Eickhout said:

"MEPs have today sent a clear message to EU governments on the urgent need to halt deep sea drilling in the face of ongoing safety concerns. Given the serious dangers of offshore drilling and the haphazard nature of rules on liability and safety, a moratorium is the only responsible course of action, as acknowledged by the EU energy commissioner Oettinger in July. The risks are too great: EU governments must stop prevaricating and act immediately."

Belgian Green MEP Bart Staes added:

"Today's vote keeps up the pressure for an offshore deep sea drilling moratorium in Europe and we hope the vote will be replicated when the resolution is voted by all MEPs in plenary. The consequences of a spill would be devastating and would clearly extend beyond national borders, which is why tightening EU rules on safety and liability is necessary, all the more so in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, which has underlined the very real risks. We regret that the ongoing OSPAR ministerial meeting (1) has not acted to introduce a moratorium: if it fails to, it is up to EU governments to deliver."

(1) A ministerial meeting of the parties to the OSPAR Convention is currently ongoing in Norway, with a view to reviewing the Convention.