BIG STEP FORWARD TO PREVENT INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS
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Joint Press Release by the
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE) and by the European Commission |
Geneva, 28 November 2000
At their first meeting, held in Brussels on 22-24 November 2000, the
Parties to the UN/ECE Convention on the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents
agreed on an early-warning system which will give potentially affected countries more time
to activate their response measures. They also promised to work more closely together to
identify industrial installations handling hazardous substances. This will help the
Parties to prevent accidents in the first place and to be better prepared to limit their
impact if they do happen. In addition, the European Commission's Major Accident Hazards
Bureau will analyse the information that the Parties submit on industrial accidents,
according to an agreement with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE).
Lessons can then be drawn from past accidents to prevent any reoccurrence.
More will also be done to prevent accidental water pollution in
cooperation with the Parties to the UN/ECE Convention on the Protection and Use of
Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes.
Moreover, the Parties hammered out procedures for reporting on their
application of the Convention and set up a working group on implementation to oversee this
process. They also welcomed an initiative by Switzerland on responsibility and liability,
proposed in the aftermath of the "Baia Mare" cyanide spill that polluted the
river Danube and some of its tributaries earlier this year.
The Parties intend to hold a joint meeting with the Parties to the
Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes
next year to consider entering into an intergovernmental negotiation process on civil
liability for damage caused by hazardous activities within the scope of both Conventions,
which were negotiated by the UN/ECE as part of its pan-European environmental legal
framework.
The UN/ECE Executive Secretary, Ms Danuta Hübner, and the Deputy
Director-General of the European Commission's Directorate General Environment, Mr
Jean-François Verstrynge, addressed the Parties. Ms Hübner stressed the importance for
all UN/ECE member countries, not just the most advanced ones, to co-operate to prevent
industrial accidents and to respond to them. She therefore appealed to those UN/ECE member
countries that had not yet ratified the Convention to do so without further delay. Mr
Verstrynge stated that implementing the Convention fully should be a top priority for the
Parties over the coming years. He also pointed out the benefits of achieving synergies
between the Convention and the "Seveso II" Directive and expressed the European
Commission's strong support for drawing up an international instrument on liability. From
the World Climate Change Conference in The Hague, Environment Commissioner Margot
Wallström commented: "Hosting this important conference in Brussels shows the
Commission's commitment to work together internationally beyond the boundaries of the
European Union (EU). The approximation of national legislation to EU environmental laws
will help the east European countries not only to prepare for accession to the EU but also
to ratify the Convention and to become Parties."
The Convention on the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents
came into force on 19 April 2000. It has already been ratified by Albania, Armenia,
Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary,
Lithuania, Luxembourg, Norway, Republic of Moldova, Russian Federation, Spain, Sweden,
Switzerland and the European Community. Many other UN/ECE member countries that have not
yet signed up to it also took part in the meeting.
For more information, please contact:
Sergiusz LUDWICZAK
UN/ECE
Environment and Human Settlements Division
Palais des Nations, office 409
CH - 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Phone:(+41 22) 917 31 74
Fax: (+41 22) 907 01 07
E-mail [email protected]
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Jürgen WETTIG
European Commission
DG ENV.E.1
Rue de la Loi 200
B-1049 Brussels
Phone:(+32 2) 296 91 49
Fax: (+322)2991067
E-mail: [email protected]
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