Austrian minister seeks stress tests for oil companies
(VIENNA) - Austria's environment minister called Wednesday for "stress tests" on oil firm installations in Europe to prevent a repeat of the Gulf of Mexico spill, APA news agency reported.
"Citizens want to know when the next catastrophe will happen," Niki Berlakovich was quoted by APA as saying.
"A stress test of safety standards adopted by oil companies could restore confidence," the conservative minister said, referring to last week's tests of the ability of major European banks to withstand another economic crash.
Berlakovich plans to propose the idea to the Social Democratic party, part of Austria's coalition government, and the European Commission.
An explosion at BP's Deepwater Horizon rig on April 20 killed 11 workers and unleashed millions of gallons of crude into the sea and onto the US Gulf coast.
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