Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2003)440 - Amendment of Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002 establishing a European Maritime Safety Agency - Main contents
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This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2003)440 - Amendment of Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002 establishing a European Maritime Safety Agency. |
|---|---|
| source | COM(2003)440  |
| date | 06-08-2003 |
Following the accident of the oil tanker 'Erika', the Commission proposed in 2001 a Regulation setting up a European Maritime Safety Agency (the Agency), a technical body with the aim to ensure a high, uniform and effective level of maritime safety and prevention of pollution by ships in the Community. Regulation 1406/2002 setting up the Agency was adopted by the European Parliament and the Council on 27 June 2002 and entered into force following its publication in the Official Journal, in August of the same year. This new Community body has the responsibility to provide Member States and the Commission with technical and scientific assistance in order to help them to apply properly the Community legislation in the field of maritime safety and prevention of pollution by ships, to monitor the implementation of this legislation and to evaluate the effectiveness of the measures in place.
In the aftermath of a new ecological catastrophe in European waters, caused in November 2002 by the accident of the oil tanker 'Prestige', it became obvious that additional measures had to be taken on a European level not only with regard to prevention of pollution by ships but also the response to such pollution. The envisaged measures had to supplement the actions undertaken by Member States and provide added value to the actions already undertaken at Community level in the fields of accidental or deliberate marine pollution and civil protection. The newly established European Maritime Safety Agency provided the appropriate framework for developing concrete pollution response actions at Community level. In order to give to the Agency the competence and the means to act, the Commission proposes to amend accordingly Regulation 1406/2002 which established the Agency.
At present, the role of the European Community in the field of response to marine pollution is based on two Community instruments: (a) Decision 2850/2000/EC i of the European Parliament and of the Council setting up a Community framework for co-operation in the field of accidental or deliberate marine pollution, (b) Council Decision 2001/792/EC i of 23 October 2001 establishing a Community mechanism to facilitate reinforced co-operation in civil protection assistance interventions. In line with the above instruments Community action aims to: support and supplement Member States' efforts; contribute to improving the capabilities of the Member States for response in case of incidents; strengthen the conditions for and facilitate efficient mutual assistance and co-operation; promote co-operation among Member States in order to provide for compensation for damage in accordance with the polluter-pays principle.
The Community mechanism facilitating co-operation in civil protection assistance interventions works in parallel with a number of regional agreements and Conventions on accidental marine pollution, such as the Bonn Co-operation Agreement i, which facilitate mutual assistance and co-operation between Member States at regional level.
The Agency will provide practical resources in support of the above Community framework and Community mechanism, including specialised pollution response ships and equipment for collecting oil and other noxious substances in the sea. It will thereby supplement the pollution response mechanisms of Member States. In case of a pollution incident, the Agency will assist the affected Member State under the authority of which the cleaning up operations will be conducted.
Furthermore, the Agency will provide Member States and the Commission with technical and scientific assistance in the field of accidental or deliberate pollution caused by ships.
The proposed revision of the Regulation setting up the Agency had also to take into account the development of Community competence in an area closely related to maritime safety: maritime security. Increased concerns over the threat of terrorism and other illicit actions targeting ships and port installations led to the adoption of specific international instruments. A diplomatic Conference held by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) adopted on 12 December 2002 a series of amendments to the SOLAS i Convention and a new International Code (International Ship and Port Facility Security Code), that provide a set of measures relating to maritime security. In view of the entry into force of these measures on July 2003, the Commission issued a proposal for a Regulation on the improvement of ships and ports security i, which implements in a harmonised way throughout the Community the international instruments mentioned above. The same proposal sets up a system of inspections regarding the effective application of the security measures by Member States, to be carried out by the Commission with the assistance of the Agency. Therefore, Regulation 1406/2002, setting up the Agency, had to be amended accordingly, to reflect the contribution of the Agency in this field.
A recent Commission proposal amending Directive 2001/25/EC on the minimum level of training of seafarers i provides for an increased role of the Agency in the process of Community recognition of the training and qualifications of third country seafarers. While the tasks of the Agency already include the field of seafarers training, the present revision of the Regulation 1406/2002 provides the opportunity to focus more on this area and to take into account the increased requirements resulting from the proposed amendment to Directive 2001/25/EC.
Contents
- 2. JUSTIFICATION OF THE PROPOSED MEASURE
- 2.1. The pollution response task
- 2.2. Maritime transport security and training of seafarers
- 3. CONTENT OF THE PROPOSAL
- 4. SPECIFIC CONSIDERATIONS
- 4.1. Introduction of maritime security and pollution response among the Agency's objectives (Article 1.1)
- 4.2. Introduction of maritime security and pollution response among the specific tasks of the Agency (Article 1.2)
The objective of the proposed measure is to amend Regulation 1406/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council. There are two main reasons for this. First, the need to provide the Agency with the legal competence and the appropriate means to fight accidental and illicit pollution caused by ships and second the need to specify the role of the Agency in the fields of maritime security and the training of seafarers, in line with recent Commission initiatives in these fields.
The Commission Communication of 5/3/2003, reporting to the European Council on action to deal with the effects of the Prestige disaster i, announced the Commission's intention to further define and expand the jurisdiction of the Agency, in order to enable it to lease vessels equipped with advanced technology or other anti-pollution equipment to serve the European Union.
Co-ordination of the Community pollution response has been substantially improved following the establishment of the civil protection co-ordination mechanism (Decision 2001/792/EC), which is now referred to as the Civil Protection Response Centre. However, experience from recent accidents in European waters demonstrated that there is need for additional Community action in the pollution response field. The Commission sees a clear merit in providing the European Maritime Safety Agency with the competence and the means to supplement the pollution response plans of Member States.
In order to provide the Agency with the necessary means to fulfil its pollution response objective, it is considered necessary to grant it an additional budget whose revenue will initially come from the Community. However, the Commission will study appropriate ways of re-funding this task, taking into account the polluter pays principle, in order to submit proposals if appropriate to the European Parliament and the Council at a later stage.
In order to contribute actively to the Community civil protection co-ordination mechanism, the Agency should have appropriate means allowing it to intervene, under the authority of the Member State requesting assistance, in cases of accidental or deliberate marine pollution. To this end, the Agency must be able to charter specialised or multipurpose pollution response ships and associated technical equipment.
This proposal leaves it to the Administrative Board of the Agency, with the agreement of the Commission, to adopt a detailed pollution response plan, determining the best possible use of the financial means made available in the Community budget. In doing that, the Agency will have to take into account the added value of its activities towards those of Member States, as well as the best possible combination of cost and efficiency. This line of action takes into account the fact that the Agency needs flexibility both in the constant evaluation of the gaps in the Member States' pollution response schemes and in the setting up of its own pollution response scheme.
The detailed pollution response plan of the Agency will take into account the actions undertaken in the context of the Community mechanism facilitating a reinforced co-operation in civil protection assistance interventions.
The Commission and the Agency are currently studying the most efficient ways of exercising the pollution response activity of the Agency. This analysis, to be completed by the results of an independent study, will allow the Agency to set up its detailed pollution response plan to be adopted by the Administrative Board.
The number of ships to be chartered is another factor determining the effectiveness of the Agency's action. In most cases oil spills occur close to the coast and the time available to intervene before the pollution reaches the shore is very short. Therefore the proximity of the ships chartered, to the place of the incident is crucial for the intervention. Considering the length of the coasts of the Union, in particular after enlargement, a choice needs to be made on how many ships are economically justifiable to be chartered and under which conditions. Such choice will be part of the detailed pollution response plan to be adopted by the Administrative Board of the Agency, with the agreement of the Commission. It should be pointed out in this context that the Community's action supplements, but does not take the place of, action by the Member States.
The ships belonging to the pollution response plan of the Agency should carry all the necessary equipment to deal with a broad range of oil types and chemical substances, following a pollution incident.
The Agency will have to carry out detailed research and an analysis of where appropriate pollution response ships can be found. Since the current pollution response fleet in Europe is mainly owned or chartered by the Member States, the Agency will have to investigate existing capacity in the private sector. In such context, the technical expertise available from the shipbuilding sector in the EU and elsewhere in building pollution response ships of advanced technology will be explored. All contracts to be concluded by the Agency for chartering ships and equipment will have to be publicly tendered.
As clearly mentioned in the proposal, the Agency will supplement the pollution response mechanisms of Member States and not replace them. To achieve this result, the best solution would seem to be to create closer co-operation between Member States and the Agency within the existing civil protection co-operation mechanism.
In addition to the provision of the appropriate means in the fight against pollution caused by ships, the Agency will also provide technical and scientific support to the Member States and the Commission in this same area. It will therefore have to develop and maintain scientific knowledge in this field. It will also have to constantly evaluate the effectiveness of the actions carried out and propose adjustments/alternatives. The evaluation of the effectiveness will have to be carried out in close co-operation with the Member States.
The Commission proposal for a Regulation on enhancing ship and port facility security sets out Member States' obligations as regards administration, monitoring and provision of resources necessary for achieving the objectives of the Regulation, and requires them to adopt a national plan for implementing its provisions.
The proposed Regulation introduces a process whereby inspections supervised by the Commission are put in place to check the effectiveness of procedures for monitoring the implementation of each national system. Under this process the Agency is requested to assist the Commission in the tasks assigned to it by this Regulation.
In the light of the above, Regulation 1406/2002 establishing the Agency has to be amended accordingly to mention clearly maritime security among the tasks of the Agency.
The Commission proposal for a Directive amending European Parliament and Council Directive 2001/25/EC on the minimum level of training of seafarers introduces new procedures with regard to the recognition of certificates of competency of seafarers issued by countries outside the EU. More specifically it introduces a centralised and harmonised procedure for a Community-wide recognition of third countries complying with the STCW Convention i.
Such centralised Community wide recognition becomes the responsibility of the Commission and requires additional resources at Community level, in order to perform a task which was previously under the responsibility of Member States. The proposal mentions clearly that the Agency will have to assist in this enlarged Community task.
While Regulation 1406/2002 establishing the Agency, already mentions in article 2 that the Agency must assist the Commission in the performance of any task assigned to it in the field of safety, training, certification and watchkeeping of ships' crews, it is necessary to align this provision with the enlarged task assigned to the Commission and to the Agency in this field.
The proposal contains one article specifying the proposed modifications to the existing provisions of the Regulation and one article relating to the entry into force of the Regulation.
4.1. Introduction of maritime security and pollution response among the Agency's objectives (Article 1.1)
Article 1 of Regulation (EC) 1406/2002 is amended in order to reflect the expansion of the Agency's jurisdiction in the fields of maritime security and pollution response. A new paragraph 3 is added to Article 1, providing for the Agency's technical and scientific assistance to Member States and the Commission in the pollution response field. The same paragraph provides that the Agency is to assist Member States with appropriate resources, by supplementing their action in cases of maritime pollution incidents. In such cases, the Agency will act in support of the Community mechanism in the field of civil protection, set up by Council Decision 2001/792/EC.
4.2. Introduction of maritime security and pollution response among the specific tasks of the Agency (Article 1.2)
Article 2 of Regulation (EC) 1406/2002, referring to the Agency tasks, is amended in order to introduce in all relevant places specific references to the new objectives of the Agency. These modifications concern:
- assistance to the Commission in updating, developing and verifying the implementation of Community legislation in the fields of maritime security and pollution response;
- backing up, with appropriate resources, Member States' pollution response actions;
- collection, recording and evaluation of information and data on maritime security (the same task with regard to information and data on pollution from ships was already included among the Agency tasks);
- possible technical assistance to accession countries on both maritime security and pollution response.
Under this same article, a specific reference is added to paragraph (b)(iii) to the enlarged Community competence on the training and qualifications of third country seafarers, involving the evaluation of compliance of third countries with the requirements of the STCW Convention.
4.3. Establishment of a policy plan by the Administrative Board with regard to the Agency's pollution response activities (Article 1.3).
A new paragraph is added to article 10 of Regulation (EC) 1406/2002, referring to the creation and powers of the Administrative Board, in order to include among its powers the adoption of a detailed plan with regard to the Agency's pollution response activities, which will be prepared by the Executive Director. The Board will have to take into account the value added by the Agency's activities to the activities of the Member States, as well as the best possible combination of cost and efficiency. Such plan needs to have the agreement of the Commission, in order to ensure its full compatibility with the Community mechanism in the field of civil protection and the Community framework of co-operation in the field of accidental or deliberate marine pollution.
4.4. Addition of the required expertise of both the Administrative Board Members and the Executive Director concerning the Agency's new tasks (Articles 1.4 and 1.5).
Articles 11 and 16 of Regulation (EC) 1406/2002, referring respectively to the composition of the Administrative Board and the appointment of the Executive Director, are amended in order to add the fields of maritime security and pollution response to the list of required expertise. This provision will take effect in the case of new appointments within the Agency's administrative structure.
4.5. Adjustment of the conditions applying to third countries wishing to participate in the Agency (Article 1.6).
Article 17 of Regulation (EC) 1406/2002, referring to the participation in the Agency of third countries, is amended in order to include among the conditions for such participation the adoption and application of the Community law on maritime security and pollution prevention. This provision cannot apply retrospectively to third countries already participating in the Agency prior to the entry into force of this Regulation. These countries are, however, expected to take all appropriate measures in order to align with the Community legislation in these two areas, as soon as possible.