Legal provisions of COM(2010)611 - Amendment of Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002 establishing a European Maritime Safety Agency

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dossier COM(2010)611 - Amendment of Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002 establishing a European Maritime Safety Agency.
document COM(2010)611 EN
date January 15, 2013

Contents

Article 1 - Amendments to Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002

Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002 is hereby amended as follows:

(1)Articles 1 to 3 are replaced by the following:

‘Article 1

Objectives

1. This Regulation establishes a European Maritime Safety Agency (“the Agency”) for the purpose of ensuring a high, uniform and effective level of maritime safety, maritime security, prevention of, and response to, pollution caused by ships as well as response to marine pollution caused by oil and gas installations.

2. To that end, the Agency shall cooperate with the Member States and the Commission and provide them with technical, operational and scientific assistance in the fields mentioned in paragraph 1 of this Article within the limits of the core tasks set out in Article 2 and, as and when applicable, the ancillary tasks set out in Article 2a, in particular in order to help the Member States and the Commission to apply the relevant legal acts of the Union properly. As regards the field of response to pollution, the Agency shall provide operational assistance only upon the request of the affected State(s).

3. By providing the assistance referred to in paragraph 2, the Agency shall, where appropriate, contribute to the overall efficiency of maritime traffic and maritime transport as set out in this Regulation, so as to facilitate the establishment of a European Maritime Transport Space without Barriers.

Article 2 - Core tasks of the Agency

1. In order to ensure that the objectives set out in Article 1 are met in the appropriate manner, the Agency shall perform the core tasks listed in this Article.

2. The Agency shall assist the Commission:

(a)in the preparatory work for updating and developing relevant legal acts of the Union, in particular in line with the development of international legislation;

(b)in the effective implementation of relevant binding legal acts of the Union, in particular by carrying-out visits and inspections as referred to in Article 3 of this Regulation and by providing technical assistance to the Commission in the performance of the inspection tasks assigned to it pursuant to Article 9(4) of Regulation (EC) No 725/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 on enhancing ship and port facility security (22). In this regard, it may address suggestions to the Commission for any possible improvements of those binding legal acts;

(c)in the analysis of ongoing and completed research projects relevant to the objectives of the Agency; this may include the identification of possible follow-up measures resulting from specific research projects;

(d)in the performance of any other task assigned to the Commission in legislative acts of the Union regarding the objectives of the Agency.

3. The Agency shall work with the Member States to:

(a)organise, where appropriate, relevant training activities in fields which are the responsibility of the Member States;

(b)develop technical solutions, including the provision of relevant operational services, and provide technical assistance, to the building up of the necessary national capacity for the implementation of relevant legal acts of the Union;

(c)provide, at the request of a Member State, appropriate information resulting from the inspections referred to in Article 3 in order to support the monitoring of the recognised organisations that carry out certification tasks on behalf of the Member States in accordance with Article 9 of Directive 2009/15/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on common rules and standards for ship inspection and survey organisations and for the relevant activities of maritime administrations (23) without prejudice to the rights and obligations of the flag State;

(d)support with additional means in a cost efficient way pollution response actions in case of pollution caused by ships as well as marine pollution caused by oil and gas installations, when a request has been presented by the affected Member State under the authority of which the cleaning operations are conducted, without prejudice to the responsibility of coastal States to have appropriate pollution response mechanisms in place while respecting existing cooperation between Member States in this field. As appropriate, requests for mobilisation of anti-pollution actions shall be relayed through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism established by Council Decision 2007/779/EC, Euratom (24).

4. The Agency shall facilitate cooperation between the Member States and the Commission:

(a)in the field of traffic monitoring covered by Directive 2002/59/EC, the Agency shall in particular promote cooperation between riparian States in the shipping areas concerned, as well as develop and operate the European Union Long-Range Identification and Tracking of Ships European Data Centre and the Union Maritime Information and Exchange System (SafeSeaNet) as referred to in Articles 6b and 22a of that Directive as well as the International Long-Range Identification and Tracking information data exchange system in accordance with the commitment made in the International Maritime Organisation (“IMO”);

(b)by providing, upon request and without prejudice to national and Union law, relevant vessel positioning and Earth observation data to the competent national authorities and relevant Union bodies within their mandate in order to facilitate measures against threats of piracy and of intentional unlawful acts as provided for in applicable Union law or under internationally agreed legal instruments in the area of maritime transport, subject to applicable data protection rules and in accordance with administrative procedures to be established by the Administrative Board or the High Level Steering Group established in accordance with Directive 2002/59/EC, as appropriate. The provision of long-range identification and tracking of ships data shall be subject to the consent of the flag State concerned;

(c)in the field of the investigation of marine casualties and incidents in accordance with Directive 2009/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 establishing the fundamental principles governing the investigation of accidents in the maritime transport sector (25); the Agency shall, if requested by the relevant Member States and assuming that no conflict of interest arises, provide operational support to these Member States concerning investigations related to serious or very serious casualties and it shall carry out analysis of safety investigation reports with a view to identify added value at Union level in terms of any relevant lessons to be drawn. On the basis of data provided by the Member States, in accordance with Article 17 of that Directive, the Agency shall compile a yearly overview of marine casualties and incidents;

(d)in providing objective, reliable and comparable statistics, information and data, to enable the Commission and the Member States to take the necessary steps to improve their actions and to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-efficiency of existing measures. Such tasks shall include the collection, recording and evaluation of technical data, the systematic exploitation of existing databases, including their cross-fertilisation, and, where appropriate, the development of additional databases. On the basis of the data collected, the Agency shall assist the Commission in the publication of information relating to ships pursuant to Directive 2009/16/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on port State control (26);

(e)in gathering and analysing data on seafarers provided and used in accordance with Directive 2008/106/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on the minimum level of training of seafarers (27);

(f)in improving the identification and pursuit of ships making unlawful discharges in accordance with Directive 2005/35/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 September 2005 on ship-source pollution and on the introduction of penalties for infringements (28);

(g)regarding marine oil pollution caused by oil and gas installations, by using the European Satellite Oil Monitoring Service (CleanSeaNet) to monitor the extent and environmental impact of such pollution;

(h)in providing technical assistance necessary for the Member States and the Commission to contribute to the relevant work of the technical bodies of the IMO, the International Labour Organisation as far as shipping is concerned, and the Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control (“Paris MoU”) and relevant regional organisations to which the Union has acceded, with regard to matters of Union competence;

(i)with regard to the implementation of Directive 2010/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 October 2010 on reporting formalities for ships arriving in and/or departing from ports of the Member States (29), in particular by facilitating the electronic transmission of data through SafeSeaNet and by supporting the development of the single window.

5. The Agency may, upon the request of the Commission, provide technical assistance, including the organisation of relevant training activities, as regards relevant legal acts of the Union, to States applying for accession to the Union, and, where applicable, to European Neighbourhood partner countries and to countries taking part in the Paris MoU.

The Agency may also provide assistance in case of pollution caused by ships as well as marine pollution caused by oil and gas installations affecting those third countries sharing a regional sea basin with the Union, in line with the EU Civil Protection Mechanism established by Decision 2007/779/EC, Euratom, and by analogy with the conditions applicable to Member States as referred to in paragraph (3)(d) of this Article. These tasks shall be coordinated with the existing regional cooperation arrangements related to marine pollution.

Article 2 - a Ancillary tasks of the Agency

1. Without prejudice to the core tasks referred to in Article 2, the Agency shall assist the Commission and the Member States, as appropriate, in the development and implementation of the Union activities set out in paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article related to the Agency’s objectives, in so far as the Agency has established and recognised expertise and tools. The ancillary tasks set out in this Article shall:

(a)create substantiated added value;

(b)avoid duplication of efforts;

(c)be in the interest of the Union maritime transport policy;

(d)not be detrimental to the Agency’s core tasks; and

(e)not infringe upon Member States’ rights and obligations, in particular as flag States, port States and coastal States.

2. The Agency shall assist the Commission:

(a)in the context of the implementation of Directive 2008/56/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (Marine Strategy Framework Directive) (30), by contributing to the objective of achieving good environmental status of marine waters with its shipping-related elements and in exploiting the results of existing tools such as SafeSeaNet and CleanSeaNet;

(b)providing technical assistance in relation to greenhouse gas emissions from ships, in particular in following up ongoing international developments;

(c)as concerns the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security programme (GMES), in promoting the use of GMES data and services for maritime purposes, within the GMES governance framework;

(d)in the development of a Common Information Sharing Environment for the EU maritime domain;

(e)with respect to mobile offshore oil and gas installations, in examining IMO requirements and in gathering basic information on potential threats to maritime transport and the marine environment;

(f)by providing relevant information with regard to classification societies for inland waterway vessels in accordance with Directive 2006/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2006 laying down technical requirements for inland waterway vessels (31). This information shall also be part of the reports referred to in Article 3(4) and (5) of this Regulation.

3. The Agency shall assist the Commission and the Member States:

(a)in the examination of the feasibility and the implementation of policies and projects supporting the establishment of the European Maritime Transport Space without Barriers, such as the Blue Belt concept and e-Maritime, as well as Motorways of the Sea. This shall be done in particular by exploring additional functionalities to SafeSeaNet, without prejudice to the role of the High Level Steering Group established in accordance with Directive 2002/59/EC;

(b)by exploring with competent authorities for the River Information Services System the possibility of sharing information between this system and maritime transport information systems on the basis of the report provided for in Article 15 of Directive 2010/65/EU;

(c)by facilitating voluntary exchange of best practices in maritime training and education in the Union and by providing information on Union exchange programmes relevant to maritime training while fully respecting Article 166 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union ( TFEU).

Article 3 - Visits to Member States and inspections

1. In order to perform the tasks entrusted to it and to assist the Commission in fulfilling its duties under the TFEU, and in particular the assessment of the effective implementation of relevant Union law, the Agency shall carry out visits to Member States in accordance with the methodology established by the Administrative Board.

2. The Agency shall inform the Member State concerned in good time of the planned visit, the names of the authorised officials, and the date on which the visit starts and its expected duration. The Agency officials delegated to carry out such visits shall do so on presentation of a decision in writing from the Executive Director of the Agency specifying the purpose and the aims of their mission.

3. The Agency shall carry out inspections on behalf of the Commission as required by binding legal acts of the Union regarding organisations recognised by the Union in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 391/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on common rules and standards for ship inspection and survey organisations (32), and regarding the training and certification of seafarers in third countries in accordance with Directive 2008/106/EC.

4. At the end of each visit or inspection, the Agency shall draw up a report and send it to the Commission and to the Member State concerned.

5. Where appropriate, and in any case when a cycle of visits or inspections is concluded, the Agency shall analyse reports from that cycle with a view to identifying horizontal findings and general conclusions on the effectiveness and cost-efficiency of the measures in place. The Agency shall present this analysis to the Commission for further discussion with Member States in order to draw any relevant lessons and facilitate the dissemination of good working practices.

(2)in Article 4, paragraphs 3 and 4 are replaced by the following:

‘3.   The Administrative Board shall adopt the practical arrangements for the application of paragraphs 1 and 2, including, where appropriate, arrangements regarding consultation with Member States before the publication of information.

4. The information collected and processed in accordance with this Regulation by the Commission and the Agency shall be subject to Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2000 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data (33) and the Agency shall take the necessary measures to ensure the safe handling and processing of confidential information.

(3)in Article 5, paragraph 3 is replaced by the following:

‘3.   At the request of the Commission, the Administrative Board may decide, with the agreement of and in cooperation with the Member States concerned and with due regard to budgetary implications, including any contribution the Member States concerned may provide, to establish the regional centres necessary in order to carry out, in the most efficient and effective way, some of the Agency’s tasks. When taking such a decision, the Administrative Board shall define the precise scope of activities of the regional centre while avoiding unnecessary financial costs and enhancing cooperation with existing regional and national networks.’;

(4)in Article 10, paragraph 2 is amended as follows:

(a)point (b) is replaced by the following:

‘(b)adopt the annual report on the Agency’s activities and forward it each year by 15 June to the European Parliament, the Council, the Commission, the Court of Auditors and the Member States.

The Agency shall forward annually to the budgetary authority all information regarding the outcome of the evaluation procedures;’;

(b)point (c) is replaced by the following:

‘(c)examine and approve, in the framework of the preparation of the work programme, requests for assistance to the Commission, as referred to in Article 2(2)(d), requests from Member States for technical assistance, as referred to in Article 2(3), and requests for technical assistance, as referred to in Article 2(5) as well as requests for assistance as referred to in Article 2a;

(ca)examine and adopt a multiannual strategy for the Agency for a period of five years taking the written opinion of the Commission into account;

(cb)examine and adopt the multiannual staff policy plan of the Agency;

(cc)consider draft administrative arrangements, as referred to in Article 15(2)(ba);’;

(c)point (g) is replaced by the following:

‘(g)establish the methodology for the visits to be carried out pursuant to Article 3. In the event that the Commission expresses, within 15 days from the date of adoption of the methodology, its disagreement, the Administrative Board shall re-examine and adopt it, possibly amended, in second reading either with a two-thirds majority, including the Commission representatives, or by unanimity of the representatives of the Member States;’;

(d)point (h) is replaced by the following:

‘(h)perform its duties in relation to the Agency’s budget pursuant to Articles 18, 19 and 21 and monitor and ensure adequate follow-up to the findings and recommendations stemming from various audit reports and evaluations, whether internal or external;’;

(e)point (i) is replaced by the following:

‘(i)exercise disciplinary authority over the Executive Director and the Heads of Department referred to in Article 16;’;

(f)point (l) is replaced by the following:

‘(l)review the financial execution of the detailed plan referred to in point (k) of this paragraph and the budgetary commitments provided for in Regulation (EC) No 2038/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 on multiannual funding for the action of the European Maritime Safety Agency in the field of response to pollution caused by ships (34);

(g)the following point is added:

‘(m)appoint an observer from amongst its members to follow the selection procedure by the Commission for the appointment of the Executive Director.’;

(5)Article 11 is amended as follows:

(a)in paragraph 1, the second subparagraph is replaced by the following:

‘Administrative Board members shall be appointed on the basis of their degree of relevant experience and expertise in the fields referred to in Article 1. The Member States and the Commission shall each strive for a balanced representation between men and women on the Administrative Board.’;

(b)paragraph 3 is replaced by the following:

‘3.   The duration of the term of office shall be four years. The term of office may be renewed.’;

(6)in Article 13, paragraph 4 is replaced by the following:

‘4.   When there is a matter of confidentiality or conflict of interest, the Administrative Board may decide to examine specific items of its agenda without the presence of the members concerned. Detailed rules for the application of this provision shall be laid down in the rules of procedure.’;

(7)Article 15 is amended as follows:

(a)in paragraph 2, points (a) and (b) are replaced by the following:

‘(a)he/she shall prepare the multiannual strategy of the Agency and submit it to the Administrative Board after consultation of the Commission at least eight weeks before the relevant Administrative Board meeting, taking into account views and suggestions made by members of the Administrative Board;

(aa)he/she shall prepare the multiannual staff policy plan of the Agency and submit it to the Administrative Board after consultation of the Commission at least four weeks before the relevant Administrative Board meeting;

(ab)he/she shall prepare the annual work programme, with an indication of the expected human and financial resources allocated to each activity, and the detailed plan for the Agency’s pollution preparedness and response activities, and submit them to the Administrative Board after consultation of the Commission at least eight weeks before the relevant Board meeting, taking into account views and suggestions made by members of the Administrative Board. He/she shall take the necessary steps for their implementation. He/she shall respond to any requests for assistance from a Member State in accordance with Article 10(2)(c);

(b)he/she shall decide to carry out the visits and inspections provided for in Article 3, after consultation of the Commission and following the methodology for visits established by the Administrative Board in accordance with Article 10(2)(g);

(ba)he/she may enter into administrative arrangements with other bodies working in the Agency’s fields of activities provided that the draft arrangement has been submitted for consultation to the Administrative Board and provided that the Administrative Board does not object within four weeks.’;

(b)in paragraph 2, point (d) is replaced by the following:

‘(d)he/she shall organise an effective monitoring system in order to be able to compare the Agency’s achievements with its objectives and tasks as laid down in this Regulation. To this end, he/she shall establish, in agreement with the Commission and the Administrative Board, tailored performance indicators allowing for an effective assessment of the results achieved. He/she shall ensure that the Agency’s organisational structure will be regularly adapted to the evolving needs within the available financial and human resources. On this basis the Executive Director shall prepare a draft general report each year and submit it for consideration by the Administrative Board. The report shall include a dedicated section concerning the financial execution of the detailed plan for the Agency’s pollution preparedness and response activities and give an update of the status of all actions funded under that plan. He/she shall establish regular evaluation procedures that meet recognised professional standards;’;

(c)in paragraph 2, point (g) is deleted;

(d)paragraph 3 is replaced by the following:

‘3.   The Executive Director shall, as appropriate, report to the European Parliament and the Council on the carrying out of his/her tasks.

In particular, he/she shall present the state of play with regard to the preparation of the multiannual strategy and the annual work programme.’;

(8)Article 16 is replaced by the following:

‘Article 16

Appointment and dismissal of the Executive Director and the Heads of Department

1. The Executive Director shall be appointed and dismissed by the Administrative Board. The appointment shall be made for a period of five years on grounds of merit and documented administrative and managerial competence, as well as documented experience in the fields referred to in Article 1 after hearing the opinion of the observer as referred to in Article 10. The Executive Director shall be appointed from a list of at least three candidates proposed by the Commission after an open competition, following publication of the post in the Official Journal of the European Union, and elsewhere, of a call for expression of interest. The candidate selected by the Administrative Board may be invited to make a statement before the competent committee of the European Parliament and answer questions put by its members. The Administrative Board shall deliberate on dismissal at the request of the Commission or of one third of its members. The Administrative Board shall take its decisions on appointment or dismissal by a four-fifths majority of all members with the right to vote.

2. The Administrative Board, acting on a proposal from the Commission, taking into account the evaluation report may extend once the term of office of the Executive Director for not more than four years. The Administrative Board shall take its decision by a four-fifths majority of all members with the right to vote. The Administrative Board shall inform the European Parliament about its intention to extend the Executive Director’s term of office. Within a month before the extension of his/her term of office, the Executive Director may be invited to make a statement before the competent committee of the European Parliament and answer questions put by its members. If the term of office is not extended, the Executive Director shall remain in office until the appointment of his/her successor.

3. The Executive Director may be assisted by one or more Heads of Department. If the Executive Director is absent or indisposed, one of the Heads of Department shall take his/her place.

4. The Heads of Department shall be appointed on grounds of merit and documented administrative and managerial skills, as well as professional competence and experience in the fields referred to in Article 1. The Heads of Department shall be appointed or dismissed by the Executive Director after having received a positive opinion of the Administrative Board.’;

(9)Article 18 is amended as follows:

(a)in paragraph 1, point (c) is replaced by the following:

‘(c)fees and charges for publications, training and/or any other services provided by the Agency.’;

(b)paragraph 3 is replaced by the following:

‘3.   The Executive Director shall draw up a draft statement of estimates of the Agency’s revenue and expenditure for the following year, on the basis of activity-based budgeting, and shall forward it to the Administrative Board, together with a draft establishment plan.’;

(c)paragraphs 7 and 8 are replaced by the following:

‘7.   The statement of estimates shall be forwarded by the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council (the “budgetary authority”) together with the draft general budget of the European Union.

8. On the basis of the statement of estimates, the Commission shall enter in the draft general budget of the European Union the estimates it deems necessary for the establishment plan and the amount of the subsidy to be charged to the general budget, which it shall place before the budgetary authority in accordance with Article 314 TFEU, together with a description of and justification for any difference between the Agency’s statement of estimates and the subsidy to be charged to the general budget.’;

(d)paragraph 10 is replaced by the following:

‘10.   The budget shall be adopted by the Administrative Board. It shall become final following final adoption of the general budget of the European Union. Where appropriate, it shall be adjusted accordingly, together with the annual work programme.’;

(10)Article 22 is replaced by the following:

‘Article 22

Evaluation

1. At regular intervals and at least every five years, the Administrative Board shall commission an independent external evaluation on the implementation of this Regulation. The Commission shall make available to the Agency any information the latter considers relevant to that evaluation.

2. The evaluation shall assess the impact of this Regulation as well as the utility, relevance, achieved added value and effectiveness of the Agency and its working practices. The evaluation shall take into account the views of stakeholders, at both European and national level. It shall, in particular, address the possible need to modify the Agency’s tasks. The Administrative Board shall issue specific terms of reference in agreement with the Commission, following consultations with the parties involved.

3. The Administrative Board shall receive the evaluation and issue recommendations regarding changes to this Regulation, the Agency and its working practices to the Commission. Both the evaluation findings and recommendations shall be forwarded by the Commission to the European Parliament and to the Council and shall be made public. An action plan with a timetable shall be included, if appropriate.’;

(11)the following Article is inserted:

‘Article 22a

Progress report

By 2 March 2018, and taking into account the evaluation report referred to in Article 22, the Commission shall submit a report to the European Parliament and the Council setting out how the Agency has undertaken the additional responsibilities assigned by this Regulation with a view to identifying further efficiency gains and, if necessary, the case for modifying its objectives and tasks.’;

(12)Article 23 is deleted.

Article 2 - Entry into force

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.