By Martin Banks - 20th August 2010
In and around the EU, similar security standards must be applied at the highest level possible
Jo Leinen
Senior MEP Jo Leinen has called for a moratorium on new deep water oil drilling in Europe.
The demand by the chair of parliament's influential environment committee comes in the wake of the devastating oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
The German Socialist said that as a consequence of the spill a "general revision of security standards and a risk assessment of deep water drilling are overdue".
He said, "Until all open security issues have been answered to full satisfaction, a moratorium on any new deep water offshore drilling in the North Sea, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea should apply.
"In and around the EU, similar security standards must be applied at the highest level possible."
He said the European Agency for Maritime Safety in Lisbon should be tasked with monitoring to ensure compliance with such standards.
Parliament's environment committee plans to organise an exchange of views on oil drilling issues with the US congress' special committee dealing with the topic.
The committee will hold a hearing with oil companies this autumn. Parliament will also prepare a resolution on all concerns related to drilling for oil in European waters.
Almost three-quarters of the oil spilled in the Gulf of Mexico has now been cleaned up or broken down by natural forces, the US government has said.
A US government report says only a quarter of the oil from the BP well remains and that it is "degrading quickly".
The majority has been captured, burned off or evaporated, it states. But officials warn there is an urgent need for more of a clean-up.
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