The European Council adopted a long-debated regulation on the lucrative ship-recycling business that sets strict requirements on environmental standards but doesn't prevent ships from being recycled on South Asia beaches...The European Council...opposed a ban on beaching amid pressure from South Asian governments...Council officials said the new regulation encourages shipyards in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan—where ships are pulled on sandy beaches and broken up by hand—to improve their methods to avoid toxic spills. But they don't expect European vessels will stop using South Asia recycling yards...The EU legislation is in line with an existing global proposal—the 2009 Hong Kong Convention—that regulates the scrapping industry by establishing standards that are safe for workers and environmentally sound..."My greatest relief is that Europe did not make the grave error of banning the beaching of European-flagged ships," [says former executive of the United Nations' International Maritime Organization]