Parliamentary questions 25 March 2013 E-003365-13 Question for written answer to the Commission Rule 117 Bart Staes (Verts/ALE) Subject: Planned oil drilling in the waters between Morocco and the Canary Islands In the Canary Islands, and more specifically on the island of Lanzarote, the protest by the local population against planned oil drilling near Lanzarote and Fuerteventura by the company REPSOL is burgeoning. Other companies, too, such as the Scottish company Cairns Energy, Total, Chevron and Genel Energy, are intent on prospecting for oil in the waters between Morocco and Lanzarote. Many objections have been raised against these initiatives: 1. Oil drilling would take place in an area that is highly prone to earthquakes and is, therefore, very risky; 2. In the event of an accident, the environmentally significant areas on the coasts of the aforementioned islands will be seriously threatened. Unesco has designated the area as a biosphere reserve and the Ca ... more