Thursday, April 01, 2004
By Associated Press

BRUSSELS, Belgium — The European Parliament gave its final approval Wednesday to a compromise bill setting up new European Union–wide legislation to force polluting companies to cover full costs of cleaning up the damage they make to the environment.

The E.U. assembly, meeting in Strasbourg, France, approved the measure by a show of hands. The 15 E.U. governments were expected to ratify the bill in a few weeks.

E.U. governments and the parliament reached a compromise on new "polluter pays" rules in February, reflecting government concerns that too-stringent legislation could harm business.

In particular, E.U. nations wanted to avoid forcing industries to have insurance against pollution risks. Under the compromise such guarantees will be voluntary for at least six years, when the E.U. will again consider a mandatory scheme.

The directive sets out rules holding polluters liable for damage they cause to wildlife, natural habitats, water resources, and contamination of land that threatens human health.

"E.U. governments will in future have to ensure either that environmental damage is prevented or that the mess is soon cleaned up again," the parliament said.

The European Commission says there are some 300,000 polluted sites in the E.U. Cleaning them up is expected to cost some US$129 billion. However, the new law will not apply retroactively to cover past environmental damage.

The legal norm across the E.U. now is that polluters are not liable for the full costs of repairing the damage they do to water, soil, and animal habitats.

E.U. nations will have three years to implement the new law.

Source: Associated Press