# Council Decision of 29 April 2004 on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Community, of the Protocol to the Barcelona Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against Pollution, concerning cooperation in preventing pollution from ships and, in cases of emergency, combating pollution of the Mediterranean Sea (2004/575/EC), Article 1: Definitions


For the purpose of this Protocol:
(a) ‘Convention’, means the Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against Pollution, adopted at Barcelona on 16 February 1976 and amended on 10 June 1995;
(b) ‘pollution incident’, means an occurrence or series of occurrences having the same origin, which results or may result in a discharge of oil and/or hazardous and noxious substances and which poses or may pose a threat to the marine environment, or to the coastline or related interests of one or more States, and which requires emergency action or other immediate response;
(c) ‘hazardous and noxious substances’, means any substance other than oil which, if introduced into the marine environment, is likely to create hazards to human health, to harm living resources and marine life, to damage amenities or to interfere with other legitimate uses of the sea;
(d) ‘related interests’, means the interests of a coastal State directly affected or threatened and concerning, among others:
(i) maritime activities in coastal areas, in ports or estuaries, including fishing activities;
(ii) the historical and tourist appeal of the area in question, including water sports and recreation;
(iii) the health of the coastal population;
(iv) the cultural, aesthetic, scientific and educational value of the area;
(v) the conservation of biological diversity and the sustainable use of marine and coastal biological resources;
(e) ‘international regulations’, means regulations aimed at preventing, reducing and controlling pollution of the marine environment from ships as adopted, at the global level and in conformity with international law, under the aegis of United Nations specialised agencies, and in particular of the International Maritime Organization;
(f) ‘Regional Centre’, means the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea (REMPEC), established by Resolution 7 adopted by the Conference of Plenipotentiaries of the Coastal States of the Mediterranean Region on the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea at Barcelona on 9 February 1976, which is administered by the International Maritime Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme, and the objectives and functions of which are defined by the Contracting Parties to the Convention.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eudn/2004/575/attachment/1/article/1 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/eu-decision-2004-575/attachment-1/article-1
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.