EC allocates 9-million-euro payment after “Prestige” oil spill

EC allocates 9-million-euro payment after “Prestige” oil spill

EC allocates 9-million-euro payment after “Prestige” oil spill

   The European Commission proposed to tap 8.6 million euros ($10 million) of solidarity funds of the European Union to reimburse Spain for some of the cost of cleaning up the oil spill caused by the sinking of the “Prestige.
   The “Prestige” sank off the coast of Spain last November, causing economic losses estimated by the Spanish authorities to amount to over 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) over two years. Over 330,000 people who depend on fisheries and related sectors, including family members, as well as workers in the tourism industry, were affected by the disaster, according to Spain.
   The EC is seeking the agreement of the EU Council and European Parliament to approve the transfer of the emergency aid of 8.6 million euros to Spain.
   “Additional amounts can be made available under existing structural and cohesion funds,” said Michel Barnier, European commissioner responsible for regional policy and the solidarity fund. “Their contribution could reach over 400 million euros,” he added.
   The EC believes that the international fund will pay 150 million euros ($169 million) as compensation for the “Prestige” disaster .
   The “Prestige”, a 26-year-old tanker carrying 77,000 tons of heavy oil caused pollution that “has affected a great number of beaches and coastal waters in the region with disastrous effects on fishing, aquaculture and tourism,” the EC said.