Compensating system for damages caused by oil spill pollution: Background for the Prestige assessment damage in Galicia, Spain

In the last decades, Galician Coast has suffered the consequences of several oil spills such as Polycommander and Erkowit (1970), Urquiola (1976), Andros Patria (1978), Casَn (1987) and Aegean Sea (1992). The recent Prestige Oil Spill (2002) has affected more than 1000 km of the Galician Coast, having unquestionable economical, ecological and social effects. Before providing an economical assessment of the disaster, in this paper we analyse the compensatory instruments for oil spill damages existing under the European legislation. A first evaluation of their ability to repair the real damage suffered by the Galician population after the Prestige Oil spill is also presented.