Cooperation agreement on north-east Atlantic pollution A Commission proposal for a Council Decision concerning the Conclusion of a Cooperation Agreement for the protection of the coasts and waters of the north-east Atlantic against pollution (COM(92) 564 of 23.12.1992) concerns such an Agreement prepared and signed in Lisbon. The ... A Commission proposal for a Council Decision concerning the Conclusion of a Cooperation Agreement for the protection of the coasts and waters of the north-east Atlantic against pollution (COM(92) 564 of 23.12.1992) concerns such an Agreement prepared and signed in Lisbon. The present Commission proposal is that the Council approves the agreement on behalf of the European Economic Community. The proposal notes, in introduction, that the priority attributed to marine pollution is increasing. It recognises that considerable attention must also be paid to other dangerous substances, as well as oil. Hence, Signatories to the present Agreement shall take all appropriate measures in order to be prepared to deal with an incident of pollution at sea such as pollution caused by hydrocarbons and other harmful substances. They shall jointly draw up and determine guidelines covering the practical, operational and technical aspects of joint action, and shall set up staff training programmes to improve the state of readiness of the bodies responsible for dealing with pollution. An international centre shall be created in Portugal with the aim of assisting those States which are Parties to react swiftly and effectively to pollution incidents. The geographical scope of the Agreement shall be the north-east Atlantic region bounded by the exclusive economic zones of the contracting States: Spain; France; Morrocco; and, Portugal. The Lisbon Agreement fills a gap as far as this region is concerned, in that international action in relation to accidental marine pollution of the Baltic Sea, the North Sea and the Mediterranean are already covered by multilateral cooperation agreements in this field. The Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of the second month following the date on which all the States referred to plus the EEC sign without reservation as to their ratification, acceptance or approval. Countries Spain, France, Morocco, Portugal
