Madam President, the preamble of the directive on port State control says that many flag states are unable to ensure that ships flying under their flag exercise proper control of safety and environmental protection. This is a disgraceful situation. The consequence is that European waters feature - that is what the proposal says; I would say "are infested by" - substandard operators, substandard ships and substandard crews. It is not surprising, then, that the Commission's 1993 document on a common policy on safe seas called for the effective application of the international rules to vessels of all flags through intervention by port and coastal States.

Is it not astonishing that in this proposal we learn that the first initiative for port State control was taken in June 1980? And yet this proposal is still on the Council's table. The President-in-Office is just walking away, but I would say to him that the Council should hang its collective head in shame that in 14 years nothing has happened.

The current proposal calls for the harmonization of inspectorate criteria and detention criteria and for greater transparency of the results of inspections. There is a commitment to inspect one in four of all ships entering European ports. About time, too, I would say! It especially requires oil tankers, bulk carriers and passenger ships to be subjected to enhanced control. Given what has happened to the Estonia and earlier to the Braer, this is absolutely essential.

One final point. We will introduce a spiral of benefit by allowing Europe's shipyards to build the modern, environmentally protective and safe ships that we need for Europe and by preventing the disasters that Europe has too often witnessed.