European cooperation to combat marine oil pollution

Abstract

The Commission of the European Communities has been actively involved in marine pollution incidents since the Amoco Cadiz accident in 1978. The activities have been performed mainly through the Community Action Plan and by active participation in several international agreements established for dealing with cooperation between States in case of accidental pollution of the sea. In the Braer incident in January 1993, as well as in the Aegean Sea incident in December 1992, the Commission played an active role in the aspect of operational initiatives. Although no specific request was received for Task Force assistance in either incident, the Task Force crisis team in Brussels assisted the responsible national authorities on a continuous basis with the dissemination of validated information to the other member States and assisted in handling of requests for observers to go to the scene. In both incidents the Commission also provided financial support for various activities.