EU ministers reject oil spill fund plans

LONDON - A scheme to create a Euro1bn ($851.8m) contingency fund to deal with oil spills has been rejected by EU ministers. The plan was aimed at supplementing the current Euro200m fund available from the International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage (FIPOL). Instead of creating a European fund, ministers said they would push for the setting up of an international fund, in co-operation with the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). The plan was tabled by Transport Commissioner Loyola Palacio following the Erika disaster of 1999, which saw 8,000 tonnes of oil spilt off the coast of France.