New Clause 1 - Supplementary fund protocol: annual report on ratification
Merchant Shipping (Pollution) Bill [Lords]
11:00 am
Julian Brazier (Shadow Minister, Transport; Canterbury, Conservative)
Before the Minister goes on to talk about reporting, may I ask a question? He says that the news about the EU is welcome. Almost every vessel—every oil tanker, in this case—that transits our waters is heading for an EU port, often one of ours or a port in one of the Low countries or the Scandinavian countries. What is to stop the Government pressing the EU to take slightly stronger steps than diplomacy in the case of those countries which prove reluctant to sign up?