Controversial EU 'polluter pays' bill gets backing

A new bill aimed at making firms pay for damaging the environment won approval from European Union lawmakers yesterday, but was slammed by environmentalists as too weak and by industry as too harsh.

European firms are used to paying up if they damage people, property or livelihoods, but in many EU countries there is no penalty for damage to nature which, although environmentally valuable, has no monetary value.

The law, passed during a meeting of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, aims to introduce such rules, but a tougher bill was watered down by EU ministers in June.

Parliament members said it was anyway a good first step. "Today's vote is good news for the environment, as companies which pollute will in future be held to account and required to pay compensation for environmental damage," said Dutch liberal Toine Manders, who guided the law through the chamber.

"As a citizen, I am disappointed that the European Parliament did not assert itself much more. We have rolled over too easily in the face of the Council's (of EU ministers) demands," he added in a statement after the vote.

Environmentalists said the bill was shorn of key aspects. "We regret that despite the fact that the 'polluter pays' principle has been enshrined in the EC Treaty since 1987, European taxpayers will continue to foot the bill for environmental damage in most cases," said Greenpeace campaigner Rosanna Micciche.

She was disappointed that EU governments would be allowed to give wide exemptions to companies from clean-up costs, for instance when they were in compliance with an operating permit.