B4-0743, 0748, 0770, 0785, 0791, 0819, 0831 and 0843/95

Resolution on whale hunting and the next International Whaling Commission meeting

The European Parliament,

A.considering the importance of the decisions to be discussed at the next meeting of the International Whaling Commission in Dublin commencing 29 May 1995,

B.whereas it has spoken out on numerous occasions against commercial whaling and in favour of the current whaling moratorium,

C.stressing that Norway and Japan are still the only two countries which continue to kill whales,

D.having regard to the Fourth North Sea Environment Ministers Conference taking place on 8-9 June 1995 in Esbjerg (Denmark) which will discuss and decide on the dumping of chemicals and out-of-use offshore platforms, which disturb the delicate ecological balance of the marine environment,

1.Restates its opposition to the commercial killing of any species of whales that is seen as an endangered species by the Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission;

2.Calls on the Commission to present a report on the basis of the latest scientific information on the interaction between whales and other species in the marine environment;

3.Reiterates its call for a conservation area for cetaceans in the Southern Ocean and demands that this conservation area be respected by all countries;

4.Calls on the Commission to express to the IWC the EU's support for the continuation of the moratorium on commercial whaling as long as it is based in sound scientific findings;

5.Draws the attention of the members of the IWC to divergent estimates of the whale population, and to the need for systematic controls on all data provided by Norwegian researchers; stresses the need to be very strict on keeping the balance between the estimates of whale population and the annual catch quotas through the 'revised management procedure';

6.Expresses its deep concern and opposes the scheduled dumping of offshore installations in the Atlantic Ocean west of Ireland, which will deliberately pollute the marine environment;

7.Calls on the Commission to take all possible steps to prevent the dumping of the 'Brent Spar' and the other offshore platforms and urges the Fourth North Sea Environment Ministers Conference to address this issue in the same way;

8.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Governments of the Member States, the members of the International Whaling Commission and the governments of the states participating in the Fourth North Sea Conference.