MEP and MP to take 'Napoli' to Brussels

3.33.00pm GMT Tue 30th Jan 2007

Graham Watson, Liberal Democrat MEP for the South West and Gibraltar, and Richard Younger-Ross, MP for Teignbridge, will tomorrow morning meet EU Commissioner for Transport, Jacques Barrot, to discuss the plight of the strickened cargo-ship MCS Napoli.

Speaking in Brussels prior to the meeting, Graham Watson MEP said:

"The meeting with Jacques Barrot will be a good opportunity to explain to the Commission the exact nature of the problem faced by Branscombe and surrounding areas following the Napoli incident. This is the kind of situation where the European Commission needs to take an active role and I am pleased to join forces with Richard Younger-Ross to help out in this way."

During their meeting, Graham Watson MEP and Richard Younger-Ross MP will challenge the Commissioner to address why the Napoli was beached off Branscombe, part of the Jurassic Coast, in place of other locations. They will also ask Commissioner Barrot what provisions the European Commission can provide to help with the salvage operation, the negative effect on tourism in the area and the pollution caused by the beaching of the Napoli.