BRUSSELS, May 12 (UPI) -- European legislators need to work with oil and gas operators to make sure disasters such as that in the Gulf of Mexico are averted, officials said.
European Energy Commissioner Gunther Oettinger met with representatives from the European oil and gas industry, including BP executives, to discuss offshore production.
Oettinger said he wants to make sure assurances are in place from the energy industry to avoid a disaster like the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
BP and a myriad of U.S. federal agencies are scrambling to control oil spilling into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico following the April sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig.
"I wish to make sure that the necessary legislation is in place and effectively implemented and that, at the same time, all possible efforts are made by the industry to avoid a similar accident and consequent oil spill," he said.
Oettinger added that while offshore exploration in the European Union isn't proceeding at the same pace as in the United States, European leaders need to deal with the possibility of a similar accident occurring near its shore.
"Politics and business need to work together to ensure that the European environment and the public are as safe as they possibly can be," he added.
