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[asian1]

Several chemical companies from France and Swiss had dumped tons of toxic waste on offshore locations near Somalia.

Because of tsunami, the dangerous waste is leaking.
Can EU government investigate the illegal operation and prosecute the companies? Is it possible to repair the environmental damages?

From BBC:
Tsunami waves could have spread illegally dumped nuclear waste and other toxic waste on Somalia's coast, a United Nations spokesman has said.
Nick Nuttall of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) told the BBC that December's tsunami appeared to have broken barrels and scattered waste.
Mr Nuttall said a preliminary UN report had found that Somalis in the northern areas were falling sick as a result. Some firms have been dumping waste off Somalia's coast for years, the UN says.
It says international companies have been taken advantage of the fact that Somalia had no functioning government from the early 1990s until recently.

Cancer link
"It appears that the tsunami broke open the containers and scattered a lot of these toxic substances around," Mr Nuttall told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme. We need to see if there needs to be a clean-up, whether top soils have to be removed and disposed of safely.

"We are talking about radioactive chemicals, heavy metals, medical waste.. you name it," he said. Mr Nuttall said that reports from the tsunami-hit areas in northern Somalia had found that some local villagers there had mouth bleeds and haemorrhages.

He said that some of the hazardous wastes had been linked with cancer.
"We know this hazardous waste is on the land and is being blown around in the air and being carried to villages. ". There is also a possibility - which needs to be urgently investigated - about whether some of these chemicals have got into the coastal waters.

However, the spokesman said the UNEP needed to assess the full impact for the country. He said that the waste posed significant danger to Somalia's fishing industry and also local marine life.

Disgraceful

[whabang]

Quick! Blame it on U.S. corporations!

[redrumloa]

whabang wrote:
Quick! Blame it on U.S. corporations!

Yeah, it must have been Bush himslef!

-was going to put laugh smiley, but I guess toxic waste is no laughing matter :-(

[Karlos]

Of course it's the US government's fault! In particular it is most definately all Bush's fault....

But seriously, this is disgraceful. They better be made to clean it up ASAFP.

If the US military wanted to *persuade* them to do that, they'd have my blessing ;-)

[metalman]

@whabang
Quick! Blame it on U.S. corporations!
@Karlos
Of course it's the US government's fault! In particular it is most definately all Bush's fault....

>>Halliburton!

[whabang]

@Metalman
Naah! They're busy in Iran! :-)

[Dandy]

asian1 wrote:
...
Can EU government investigate the illegal operation and prosecute the companies? Is it possible to repair the environmental damages?
...

Maybe you're overestimating the power of the European "government".

It does not have the power of an REAL government yet - its more an "roof-organisation" for the European member states.

Maybe Europe one day evolves to a construct similar to the United States Of America - but that's in the distant future, if ever.

Until then there's quite a distance to go.
Up to now the European "government" - better say: "European Council" - can give advices to the governments of its member states to adapt their laws.

The members should follow these advices, but you know, theory and practical experience are two different pairs of shoes...

Europes unification is an ongoing process - and today it is still not clear (at least not to me) to which extent it is meant to go in the end...

Currently I would prefer to see Europe as a loose combination of independant states, and not as one nation with one poweful government.

It sometimes reminds me of the UN...

[Fade]

@ Dandy
"Currently I would prefer to see Europe as a loose combination of independant states, and not as one nation with one poweful government.

It sometimes reminds me of the UN..."
------------------

Dandy, I don't think the EU could ever become as corrupt as the UN.

Maybe Europe one day evolves to a construct similar to the United States Of America - but that's in the distant future, if ever.

That will never happen, and if, on the off chance it ever did happen, the UK would have no part in it whatsoever. I don't think european mainlanders realise just how much anti-european sentiment there is over here.

To paraphrase an old man i heard on the bus talking about this subject "I didn't fight Hitler in a world war to stop the b*stards taking over this country, just so they could sneak in the back door 60 years later".

That pretty much sums up the attitude of at least 50% of our population.

[metalman]

--------------------------------------------------------------
according to polls, only 11% of EU citizens have actually read the "mother of all EU treaties" or have any idea what it is all about.

The English version of the EU constitution is 474 pages.
--------------------------------------------------------------

>The US Constitution is 14 pages, including signatures!

[whabang]

Europe will never become a federal state, hoever, it's quite likely that the cooperation between the EU-countries will be extended greatly, possibly including a mutual defence pact.

Personally, I believe that cooperation, not assimilation, is the way to go.
Playing with the thought of a European super-power is funny, but Europe isn't ready for that. It's not likely that it will ever be.

[Dandy]

mdma wrote:

That will never happen, and if, on the off chance it ever did happen, the UK would have no part in it whatsoever. I don't think european mainlanders realise just how much anti-european sentiment there is over here.

To paraphrase an old man i heard on the bus talking about this subject "I didn't fight Hitler in a world war to stop the b*stards taking over this country, just so they could sneak in the back door 60 years later".

That pretty much sums up the attitude of at least 50% of our population.

Got your point.
Thing is, that if the UK wants to join - fine.
If they don't - fine as well.
The "rest" of Europe does not depend on the UK, you know...

Although the thought of a politically united Europe, where *ALL* the countries that are geographically "European" are memberstates, is a tempting one...