is required to immediately report any incident or accident affecting the safety of the ship or other shipping, any sightings of polluting materials or drifting containers, and any situation liable to lead to pollution of EU waters or shores. In poor weather, ships may be prevented from leaving port. EU member states are required to provide places of refuge for ships in distress. COPE Fund A proposed regulation would set up the COPE Fund, a compensation fund for victims of oil spills in European waters. The fund would compensate victims with justified claims that exceed the international regieme's compensation limit of 200 million Euros. The fund's compensation limit is . It is proportionally financed by European businesses that receive more than 150,000 tonnes of crude oil and heavy fuel per year. This regulation also provides financial penalties for those found guilty of grossly negligent behaviour in the transport of oil by sea. European Maritime Safety Agency Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002 created the European Maritime Safety Agency. The agency was created "to ensure a high, uniform and effective level of maritime safety and prevention of pollution by ships in the Community." Erika III The third and final maritime safety package addressed civil liability and flag states. The Prestige oil spill showed that the existing regulations were inadequate, according to the Parliament member that guided the legislation. "We could have avoided the Prestige oil spill," said Loyola de Palacio, vice-president in charge of Transport and Energy, claiming that the spill would not have happened if the European Commission's Erika I and II proposals had been fully adopted and implemented. The Commission proposed the package on 23 November 2005. The European Parliament adopted the package on 11 March 2009. The laws entered into force on 17 June 2009, although the directives must then be implemented by the domestic laws of the member states before they become effective. Flag States Directive 2009/21/EC requires that the flags of all EU countries have good standing, and not be on the black or grey list established by the Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control. It also codifies the International Maritime Organization's flag-state audit scheme into law. Classification societies The existing directive covering classification societies was split into Regulation (EC) 391/2009 (containing a recognition scheme, obligations, and penalties) and Directive 2009/15/EC (governing relations between EU countries and recognised classification societies). The societies must set up an