Activities of Jiří MAŠTÁLKA related to 2016/2251(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Implementation of the Environmental Liability Directive (debate) CS
Amendments (13)
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas Article 11 TFEU stipulates that environmental protection requirements must be integrated into the definition and implementation of the Union’s policies and activities, in particular with a view to promoting sustainable development;
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
Ab. whereas Article 191(1) TFEU states that Union policy on the environment shall contribute to pursuit of objectives, such as protecting and improving the quality of the environment, protecting human health, ensuring prudent and rational utilisation of natural resources, promoting measures at international level to deal with regional or worldwide environmental problems;
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas Article 191(2) TFEU stipulates that Union policy on the environment shall aim at a high level of protection and ishall be based on the ‘polluter pays’ principleprecautionary principle and on the principles that preventive action should be taken, that environmental damage should as a priority be rectified at source and that the polluter should pay;
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas new scientific findings show that pollution from industrial activities can affect the environment as well as human body in hitherto unsuspected ways and that this endangers human health, sustainability, biological and bio- evolutionary balances;
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
Fa. whereas many Member States have made progress towards effectively achieving the main objectives of preventing and remedying environmental damage, however, in a few Member States the enforcement of the ELD remains insufficient;
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Stresses that the ability of the ELD in achieving a high level of environmental protection and in preventing and remedying environmental damage in the EU is hampered by significant lack of clarity and uniform application of key concepts, and underdeveloped capacities and expertise;
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Points out that the different interpretations and application of the ‘significance threshold’ for environmental damage are one of the main barriers to an effective and uniform application of the ELD, while precise data on administrative costs for public authorities, including data on the application of complementary and compensatory remediation, are limited, quite divergent, and for business not available at all;
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Deplores the fact that under ELD, incidents are defined as “serious” only if they give rise to deaths or serious injuries, with no reference to the consequences for the environment; highlights therefore that even if it does not give rise to deaths or serious injuries, an incident may have a serious impact on the environment, by virtue of its scale or because it affects, for example, protected areas, protected species or particularly vulnerable habitats;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Stresses that problems persist regarding the application of the directive to large-scale accidents and the insolvency of economic operators responsible for damage, especially when it is not possible to identify the liable polluter and/or the polluter becomes insolvent or bankrupt;
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. Emphasises that compensatory regimes must be able to address transboundary claims effectively, rapidly, within a reasonable timeframe and without discrimination between claimants from different European Economic Area countries; recommends that they should cover both primary and secondary damage caused in all the affected areas, given that such incidents affect wider areas and may have a long-term impact; stresses the need especially for neighbouring countries, which are not members of the European Economic Area, to respect international law regarding the environmental protection and liability;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Calls for the establishment of a European fund for the protection of the environment from damage caused by industrial activity governed by the ELD17 , for insolvency risks and only in cases where financial security markets fail; the same should apply in cases of large scale accidents, when it is impossible to trace the operator responsible for the damage; __________________ 17 As regards this option please refer to the document published by the Commission on 17 April 2013 entitled ‘Study to explore the feasibility of creating a fund to cover environmental liability and losses occurring from industrial accidents’.
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Stresses the importance of a culture of environmental damage prevention, through a systematic information campaign in which Member States should ensure that potential polluters and potential victims are informed of the risks to which they are exposed, of the availability of insurance or other financial and legal means that could protect them from those risks and of the benefits they could gain from them;
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)
Paragraph 25 a (new)
25a. Considers that all cases of proven liability, as well as the details of penalties applied, should be made public in order to make the true cost of environmental damage transparent to all;