'Measured approach needed not knee-jerk reactions' - Watson

3.29.23pm GMT Mon 5th Feb 2007

Tomorrow, Liberal Democrat MEP for the South West and Gibraltar Graham Watson, will speak at a hearing to be held in the European Parliament to discuss the beaching of the MCS Napoli off Branscombe in Devon.

Commenting prior to the hearing, Graham Watson said:

"Last week I went with Teignbridge MP Richard Younger-Ross to see EU Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot. We wanted to know why the Napoli was allowed to sail from Antwerp, heavily laden, when a major storm was forecast. We also sought assurances from the Commissioner that a full enquiry would be held. This week I want to move the agenda forward to ensure that we learn valuable lessons from the Napoli incident.

Calls for financial compensation for the region from EU Solidarity funds are an inappropriate knee-jerk reaction since these funds are designed to help in instances where jobs have been lost due to globalisation and have a minimum threshold for payouts at £2.5 billion. Clearly neither applies in this case. Liberals and Democrats in the European Parliament believe we must take a measured approach and learn from the Napoli incident."

The hearing, organised by Belgian Liberal Democrat MEP Dirk Sterckx, will be held in the European Parliament and will group together experts on maritime safety to focus on the facts and implications for maritime safety following recent events in Lyme Bay.