Energy Commissioner Gunther Oettinger presented the EC's draft proposals for strengthening EU rules on offshore oil and gas exploration at a press briefing in Brussels.
The EC recommends specific EU legislation on oil platforms, and indicated that a formal proposal could be tabled early next year.
When granting licenses for new drillings, national governments will have to make sure that the oil companies meet key EU requirements such as having a contingency plan and proof that they have the financial means available to pay for environmental damage caused in the event of an accident.
Oil platforms are controlled by national authorities.
"These supervision tasks of national authorities should be evaluated by independent experts," the EC said.
The proposals also included new standards for safety equipment and a requirement for oil companies to clean up damage caused to the environment following an accident within a zone of a maximum of 200 nautical miles from the coast.
"Safety is non negotiable. We have to make sure that a disaster similar to the one in the Gulf of Mexico will never happen in European waters. This is why we propose that best practices already existing in Europe will become the standard throughout the European Union," Oettinger said Wednesday.
In July, Oettinger called for a freeze on new deepwater drilling as a preventative measure until more was known about the long-term risks of deep sea drilling.
Media reports this week expected the EC to stand strong and call on member states to halt offshore drilling until new EU-wide rules were in place.
However, the US lifted its ban on deepwater drilling Tuesday because of new rules put in place to lower the risk of another large scale accident like the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
Michael Bromwich, director of the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, said that US oil and gas companies will likely have to provide more electronic data in real-time to federal regulators as part of a "major" overhaul of the government's offshore oil inspection program.
European Green party member Bas Eickhout said that his party welcomed the EC's improves safety measures.
"The Commission has acknowledged that EU rules on liability are simply not up to the task and we hope it will now move quickly to revise the EU Environmental Liability Directive," he said. "We regret that the Commission has backtracked on proposals in earlier drafts clearly calling on member
states to suspend licensing until EU rules are revised."
Last week, the European Parliament failed to back the drilling moratorium in a non-legislative resolution on offshore oil and gas exploration in the EU.
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