The European Parliament,

distressed that the Norwegian Government should have announced its unilateral intention to allow commercial whaling to be resumed, regardless of the decisions of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) of which it is a member, and concerned also by the decision of the Icelandic Government to leave the IWC,

condemning Norway for its decision to resume commercial whaling and congratulating the European Commission for its firm condemnation of that decision,

considering that the vast majority of whales live in international waters and therefore cannot be considered the property of any nation,

having regard to the proposal of the French Government that the southern hemisphere should be declared a sanctuary for all cetaceans,

fearing not only that the stock of whales is not sufficient to permit the resumption of commercial whaling but also that the Norwegian decision will encourage other governments to resume whaling, effectively destroying the value of the international ruling body in this area, the IWC, and whereas in 1986 the 37 member states of the International Whaling Commission announced a ten-year moratorium on whaling and since the beginning Japan, Norway and Iceland have circumvented the moratorium for purposes of scientific research,

Calls upon the Government of Norway immediately to abandon its plans to resume commercial whaling and on the Government of Iceland to remain a member of the IWC;

Calls on Norway to respect the spirit and substance of the UN Conference on the Environment and Development and calls on the Commission to consider respect for the moratorium by applicant states to be one of the essential conditions for accession to the European Community;

Calls on the Commission to study the implications for international trade if some countries unilaterally refuse to address environmental questions on a multilateral and international basis;

Calls on the member states of the IWC to support the moratorium on industrial whaling and calls on the Member States to take all economic and diplomatic measures possible to ensure that the moratorium is observed;

Calls on the Commission to take a firm stand against all activities that might directly or indirectly endanger the life of marine mammals in all waters, possibly including giving consideration to increasing the Commission's role in the IWC, a ban on the import of all tuna that is not caught in a dolphin-safe manner and the eradication of purse-seine nets;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, all the Member States, the IWC and the Governments of Japan, Norway and Iceland.