Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2016)82 - Recognition of professional qualifications in inland navigation - Main contents
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This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2016)82 - Recognition of professional qualifications in inland navigation. |
|---|---|
| source | COM(2016)82  |
| date | 18-02-2016 |
1. CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL
1.1.Reasons for and objectives of the proposal
The objective of the initiative is to facilitate labour mobility in the inland waterway transport sector by ensuring that skilled workers’ qualifications are recognised throughout the Union. The initiative builds upon over 19 years of experience with implementation of Directives 96/50/EC 1 and 91/672/EEC 2 which are however limited to the mutual recognition of boatmasters operating on EU inland waterways other than the Rhine river.
Inland waterway transport (IWT) is a cost-saving and energy-efficient transport mode that could be used more efficiently to support the European Union’s energy efficiency, growth and industrial development goals. However, its contribution is hampered by difficulties in terms of labour mobility, persistent vacancies and skills mismatches, which continue in spite of attempts by the sector to tackle the problems at bilateral and multilateral level. Varying minimum requirements for professional qualifications across the Member States do not provide sufficient assurance for individual countries as regards the recognition of professional qualifications of crew from other Member States, in particular as this also affects the safety of navigation.
This initiative therefore proposes to extend the scope of recognition of professional qualifications beyond the level of boatmasters to all crew involved in the operation of vessels, including on the Rhine river. To instil the necessary confidence which is a prerequisite for such recognition, this initiative proposes to base the recognition of the professional qualifications on the competences that are needed for the operation of vessels and to balance the recognition of qualifications with safeguards introducing standards as regards assessment of competence, approval of training programmes and monitoring and evaluation of certification and training.
The initiative responds to long-standing calls from the sector and Member States to revise the existing outdated legal framework and replace it with a modern, competence-based framework in line with the approach towards recognition of qualifications for other modes of transport.
1.2.Consistency with existing policies in this area
Directive 91/672/EEC and Directive 96/50/EC provide for the reciprocal recognition and set minimum requirements for obtaining boatmasters’ certificates. This initiative builds upon these instruments and extends the requirements to cover all crew in inland navigation in the EU, including on the Rhine river.
As there is no EU-wide sectoral legislation for the recognition of professional qualifications for workers below the level of boatmaster, the general Directive 2005/36/EC on the recognition of professional qualifications is applicable. In practice however, this Directive does not provide an effective solution for professionals performing frequent and regular cross-border activities in IWT and for this reason the possibilities offered by this general framework have hardly been used by the workers in the sector.
The proposal has been prepared under the Commission’s policy framework for promoting IWT, NAIADES II 3 , entailing review of the framework on the harmonisation and modernisation of professional qualifications in the sector. As part of the new approach to governance in IWT, the Commission has strengthened its cooperation with various River Commissions, in particular with the Central Commission for the Navigation on the Rhine (CCNR). This cooperation has led amongst others to the creation of a new body open to experts from all EU Member States, known by the French acronym CESNI 4 whose task is to develop technical standards for the inland waterway sector. Its expertise may be used by the EU also in the area of professional qualifications in this sector. The development of minimum competence-based standards which the EU, the CCNR and other international bodies and third countries may use within their legal frameworks is an important step towards mutual recognition of qualifications for inland navigation across the EU.
1.3.Consistency with other Union policies
This initiative is consistent with and contributes to the internal ’market as it helps to overcome barriers that prevent realising its full potential. It can help give businesses access to IWT services offering for the best quality, price or service available and help professionals to provide services across the EU quickly and conveniently. The initiative contributes to the 2014-2019 strategic objectives that the Commission is pursuing to promote ‘a deeper and fairer internal market with a strengthened industrial base’, ‘a new boost for jobs, growth and investment’, ‘energy union’ and the EU as ‘a stronger global actor’.
More particularly, the initiative is consistent with the Commission’s 2016 work programme which underlines both the importance of supporting labour mobility while tackling abuse and of promoting skills development, including the mutual recognition of qualifications. The present initiative illustrates a balanced approach to labour mobility for a fairer and deeper internal market as it addresses issues of persistent vacancies in the inland waterway transport sector and paves the way for measures to combat abuse or fraudulent claims. At the same time, with making the competences the cornerstone of the mutual recognition of qualification, the initiative aims at giving boost for jobs and careers.
This further accomplishment of the EU internal market for IWT is essential for improving the energy efficiency of transport and participates, with new the setting up of common standards across the EU, in making the Union a ‘stronger global actor’.
2. LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY
2.1.Legal basis
The proposal is based on Article 91(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which is the legal base for the adoption of Union measures relating to inland waterway transport.
2.2.Subsidiarity
This initiative is justified because the objectives of the proposed action cannot be sufficiently achieved by Member States acting alone. All aspects of transporting goods over the IWT network are generally transnational. Differences in the Member States’ national legislation undermine the functioning of the internal market for goods and workers. Without EU action, the completion and efficient use of the Trans-European Transport Network would be jeopardised and the investments of EU funds in the IWT network would not have optimal results. Differences in legal regimes 5 for professional qualifications in IWT throughout the EU cannot be entirely resolved by the Member States individually or in the framework of international conventions, nor by the industry itself. This reasoning is valid for measures applying to boatmasters and for other categories of crew members. Extending the scope to include the Rhine river adds value compared to the existing legal framework as it provides for common standards that are a necessary component of the internal market for skilled workers in IWT at EU level.
2.3.Proportionality
In line with measures taken for other modes of transport, competence-based EU-wide minimum requirements, verified through examinations, are only envisaged for skilled crew — boatmen and boatmasters. For unskilled crew, such as deckhands, only minimum requirements with regard to age and medical fitness are proposed.
The measure designed to certify training programmes is proportionate to its goals as it does not interfere with the national education curricula on general subjects but relates to competences and skills necessary to ensure safety of navigation and the protection of human life, and does not require that those who have already successfully completed an approved training programme in the EU to pass additional administrative exams on the same subjects already covered by their training programme.
Introducing common criteria for competence for specific risks is necessary as such requirements should be justified on safety grounds and the knowledge required should be proportional to the risk at stake.
The inclusion of information on certified qualifications in a database kept by the Commission or a designated body is necessary to streamline the exchange of information between the Member States and to ensure efficient implementation of the initiative.
To instil the necessary confidence among the Member States in the mechanism for mutual recognition, the requirements in terms of quality standards with respect to assessment of competences and skills, recognition of training programmes and monitoring of the whole certification system are also considered proportionate.
A number of measures, such as extending the requirements to crew working on inland waterways not linked to the navigable network of another Member State, have been discarded for reasons of proportionality. Member States with non-linked inland waterways nevertheless have to recognise the certified qualifications of crew members from other Member States.
As such, the proposed intervention is proportionate to its goals.
Contents
For the purpose of establishing a harmonised and efficient system of recognition of professional qualifications in inland navigation and complying with the principle of proportionality, a directive is the most appropriate instrument. The present proposal also does not change the type of instrument previously used. A directive will enable Member States to take the actions needed to comply with the obligations foreseen in this Directive by taking also into account national specificities. Provided that it recognises qualifications certified by other Member States, a Member State may also apply more stringent requirements for certifying qualifications on its own territory.
3. RESULTS OF EX-POST EVALUATIONS, STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATIONS AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS
3.1.Ex-post evaluations/fitness checks of existing legislation
An external evaluation of Directives 91/672/EEC and 96/50/EC was carried out 6 . The study showed that the existing framework has been partially effective in fulfilling the objective of reciprocally recognising boatmasters’ certificates and harmonising conditions for obtaining the certificates, but several barriers remain. All recommendations were taken into account in the framework of the impact assessment.
3.2.Stakeholder consultations
Stakeholders were consulted on several occasions and by different methods on the various elements which are now the subject of the proposal:
In 2012 the Commission created a Common Expert Group (CEG) on professional qualifications and training standards in inland navigation. The consultation within the CEG took the form of 11 expert meetings between September 2012 and November 2014 and included international river commissions, national administrations, professional organisations, trade unions, training institutions and other associations 7 . Those meetings provided the opportunity for useful exchanges on the measures envisaged for a Commission proposal. They showed broad support for an initiative at EU level.
The Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee for Inland Waterway Transport at European level 8 was also involved in the consultations. The social partners submitted on 16 September 2013 a document entitled ‘Social partners’ position on professional qualifications and training standards for crew members on inland waterways transport vessels’. They pointed out that the current ‘patchwork arrangement’ is quite clearly no longer fit for purpose. It hampers the attractiveness of the profession and makes the sector vulnerable to illegal practices that may distort the competition. They confirmed the need for a modern and flexible regulatory tool regarding training and certification. Social partners also stressed that the proposal on professional qualifications is only one part of the puzzle. The electronic service record book, logbook and tachograph are the missing pieces that have to be addressed without too much delay in order to ensure a level playing field.
An online public consultation on the essential elements of the Impact Assessment took place from 26 March to 21 June 2013 9 . The Commission received a total of 94 replies from education and training organisations, entrepreneurs/ship owners, shipping companies, public authorities, ports, workers’ organisations and river commissions. Responses came from a total of 16 countries. The online public consultation highlighted the fact that the problems addressed in the Commission proposal are of great importance. The responses indicated a high level of support for regulatory measures aiming to harmonise professional requirements, qualifications and examinations in inland navigation.
3.3.Impact assessment
This proposal is accompanied by an impact assessment report which has been reviewed by the Regulatory Scrutiny Board, which issued a positive opinion on 31 July 2015. All the recommendations from the Regulatory Scrutiny Board have been taken into consideration in the final impact assessment report. More information on the way these have been addressed is included under section 2.2. of the impact assessment report.
In order to address the main problems identified, namely that workers face difficulties with regard to mutual recognition of professional qualifications and that local knowledge requirements may create unnecessary difficulties for boatmasters operating on certain river stretches, the policy option introducing minimum competence requirements for boatmen and boatmasters, including examination standards for training institutes, has been chosen.
This option is preferred as it offers a more effective way to improve labour mobility than the ‘do nothing’ and the ‘voluntary measures’ options.
The preferred option also addresses the difficulties for labour mobility arising from requirements for local knowledge requirements and allows Member States to carry out assessments of required competences for specific risks also for inland waterways located in another Member State, which further improves the effectiveness of this option.
The impact assessment presented two variations of the preferred option, one limiting the regulatory requirements for assessment of competences to mandatory administrative examination and one including alongside the mutual recognition of approved training programmes. Under the first variant, all boatmen and boatmasters are required to pass an administrative exam organised by a competent authority in order to have their qualifications recognised across the EU, even if they are already in possession of a diploma or certificate from an IWT education or training institute. The second variant has been preferred as it minimises the administrative burden for those applicants who have already acquired the necessary skills and who have demonstrated their competences in the course of their training, by sparing them the need to take additional exams. As a result, there is also a positive impact on attractiveness of the profession, labour mobility, access to the profession and administrative savings. The latter impact makes the second variant also more efficient compared to the first variant. Finally, this variant is also more coherent as similar legislative requirements for education and training institutes already exist at EU level for the rail and air transport sector. In these sectors, the requirements even go further as they also entail continuous training. Overall, the second variant is more coherent, more effective and more efficient and complies with the principles of proportionality as outlined in section 2.3.
3.4.Regulatory fitness and simplification
The private IWT sector is almost exclusively composed of SME’s and micro-enterprises. They are therefore not excluded from this initiative as doing so would neutralise the effect completely. This proposal has been drafted with SME’s in mind. The impact of this proposal on SMEs and micro-enterprises is positive, as they will have to bear only a small proportion of the costs, which will be more than off-set by the benefits of enhanced labour mobility.
By providing the common standards across the Union necessary to achieve the internal market for workers in IWT, the proposal streamlines the legal framework related to professional qualifications in the European IWT sector, which is currently fragmented. The proposal will replace a complex set of regional requirements with multilateral and bilateral agreements by a simpler and, more importantly, EU-wide framework for certification and mutual recognition.
The proposal minimises the administrative burden for those applicants who completed an approved training programme by avoiding that they would have to take unnecessary additional administrative exams.
The proposal also facilitates the electronic exchange of information and paves the way for the introduction of electronic tools, with a view to reduce the administrative burden whilst rendering the documents less prone to tampering
The proposal repeals Directive 91/672/EEC and Directive 96/50/EC and provides for gradual phasing-in with transitional measures.
4. BUDGETARY IMPLICATION
The proposal has no implications for the EU budget.
5. OPTIONAL ELEMENTS
5.1.Monitoring, evaluation and reporting arrangements
It is anticipated that the Commission will submit, at the latest seven years after the end of the transposition period, a report to the European Parliament and the Council, evaluating the effectiveness of the measures introduced by this proposal.
5.2.Explanatory documents
The proposed Directive contains a significant number of more extensive legal obligations compared to the existing Directives 91/672/EEC and 96/50/EC. Given this, and the fact that the proposal includes provisions on a number of qualifications not yet covered in a mandatory way by the current legal framework i.e. deck crew members other than boatmasters, experts in the use of liquefied natural gas as a fuel and passengers navigation experts, explanatory documents accompanying the notification of transposition measures will be needed so that measures which the Member States have introduced are clearly identifiable.