European insurers have raised objections to a new EU directive on environmental liability that would make insurance compulsory.
The directive would seek to reduce environmental pollution through improved bio-diversity, water and contamination.
The European Commission directive calls on countries to, "encourage the development of appropriate insurance or other financial security instruments and markets by the appropriate economic and financial operators, including the financial services industry."
However a recently proposed amendment to the directive would make the insurance requirement, "mandatory on the basis of a sliding scale, provided that financial security instruments are developed and available at reasonable, market prices."
However The Comite Europeen des Assurances warned, "the principle of compulsory insurance is not conceivable for environmental liability, where risks differ substantially from one operator to the next."
