Annexes to COM(2010)88 - From the European Commission to the Council - An assessment of the link with the IMO Hong Kong Convention for the safe and environmentally sound recycling of ships, the Basel Convention waste shipment regulation - Main contents
Please note
This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2010)88 - From the European Commission to the Council - An assessment of the link with the IMO Hong Kong Convention for the safe and ... |
|---|---|
| document | COM(2010)88  |
| date | March 12, 2010 |
2.3.5 Enforcement
The regulation is directly applicable in the Member States, who shall take all necessary measures to ensure that the regulation is enforced, including by setting penalties which are effective, proportionate and dissuasive. Member States must provide, inter alia, for inspections of establishments and undertakings in accordance with the Waste Framework Directive and for spot checks on shipments of waste or on the related recovery or disposal. In addition, Member States shall cooperate to facilitate the prevention and detection of illegal shipments. Member States shall designate the competent authority or authorities responsible for the implementation of this regulation and identify the permanent staff and focal points responsible for cooperation and physical checks.[27].
In practice, enforcement of the regulation is difficult when a ship becomes waste outside European waters although some decisions have been made by national courts.[28] Recent cases have shown uncertainty of some national authorities on when and how to enforce the waste shipment rules in relation to suspected end-of-life ships.
3. COMPARISON BETWEEN SCOPE, OBJECTIVES AND APPLICABILITY OF THE THREE INSTRUMENTS
THE EU WASTE SHIPMENT REGULATION AND THE BASEL CONVENTION ARE ALREADY IN FORCE AT EUROPEAN LEVEL. The Basel Convention has currently 172 Parties which includes nearly all of the Member States, with the exception of the USA.
The willingness of both flag and Recycling States to ratify the Hong Kong Convention will be influenced by the political, legal and economic incentives for becoming a Party or staying outside the Convention. Flag States could find it attractive to become a Party to such a Convention with a clear and relatively simple system of rules which would satisfy the public demand for safe and environmentally sound ship recycling without creating unnecessary burdens for shipowners and administrations. Recycling States might be expected to support this Convention if it is apparent that the majority of shipowners will send their ships only to facilities which comply with the new rules, and if the costs of improving the recycling industry are outweighed by the economic benefits. Ratification by both Flag and Recycling States will be needed in order for this Convention to enter into force.
The Hong Kong Convention covers the whole life cycle of a ship, of 500 GT and above with the normal exclusion of warships or government owned ships, from their construction phase to their environmentally sound recycling. The EU waste shipment regulation and the Basel Convention cover all type of ships when they are waste and subject to transboundary movement to environmentally sound managed facilities.
The Hong Kong Convention does not contain any geographical export limitation as long as the recycling facilities are authorized and located in a Party to the Hong Kong Convention. Its provisions are addressed to Flag States, where the ships concerned are registered, and to Recycling States.
The EU Waste Shipment Regulation set up some geographical limitations since exports to certain countries is prohibited. The Basel Convention and the EU Waste Shipment Regulation also require the recycling facilities to be authorized. Their provisions are addressed to Exporting States, Importing States and, if relevant, Transit States.
Dismantling in order to recover materials and components for reprocessing and re-use is covered by all three legal instruments. However, subsequent processing and downstream treatment of components and materials, such as further recovery- and recycling processes and disposal operations are only covered by the Basel Convention and the EU Waste Shipment Regulation. The latter achieves particularly extensive coverage by covering facilities carrying out interim operations and subsequent final recovery and disposal.
The systems of control under the PIC-procedures and export bans of the Basel Convention and the EU Waste Shipment Regulation aim to secure that end-of-life ships only go to environmentally sound management as defined by the existing guidelines under the Basel Convention. The EU Waste Shipment Regulation goes further by implementing the Basel ban and prohibiting all exports of hazardous waste to non-OECD countries. The Hong Kong Convention requests Parties to establish the necessary legislation, regulations, and standards to ensure that recycling facilities are designed, constructed, and operated in a safe and environmentally sound manner. Technical guidelines on safe and environmentally sound ship recycling are in an advanced stage of preparation. Their technical requirements will have to be taken into account by Parties in their implementation of the Hong Kong Convention. In addition, guidelines for the Authorization of ship recycling facilities will be developed.
Under the Hong Kong Convention, 'beaching' remains as an open issue until guidelines have been adopted by IMO. Under the Basel Convention's technical guidelines and the EU Waste Shipment Regulation 'beaching' is not accepted as a dismantling method and it is clearly stipulated that impermeable floors are prescribed for full ship containment at any stage of the dismantling process.
On enforcement, it may be said that the system of control and enforcement for transboundary movements of hazardous waste through the Basel Convention and the EU Waste Shipment Regulation is strict and functioning relatively well for most hazardous wastes, but is difficult to enforce in practice in relation to end-of-life ships.
The practical effectiveness of the mechanisms of the Hong Kong Convention will depend on a variety of factors, such as the authorization policy of the recycling state, the possible involvement of third parties in the monitoring and auditing of ship recycling facilities, the practice of port State control, and the existence of strong incentives for compliance with the rules of this new Convention.
4. NEXT STEPS
At international level, further procedural steps require[29] the carrying out of an assessment of whether the Hong Kong Convention establishes an equivalent level of control and enforcement as that established under the Basel Convention. The seventh Open-ended Working Group of Basel convention that will meet from 10 to 15 May 2010 has been requested to carry out a preliminary assessment on whether the Hong Kong convention, as adopted, establishes an equivalent level of control and enforcement as that established under the Basel Convention, in their entirety, after having developed the criteria necessary for such assessment. The results of the assessment will then be transmitted to the tenth Conference of the Parties of Basel Convention that will meet in October 2011 for consideration and action, as appropriate. Following this assessment it is expected that a decision will be made by the Parties to the Basel Convention on whether any amendments shall be introduced to this convention.
IMO Convention | Basel Convention | EU waste shipment regulation |
Scope: ships | All end-of-life, privately owned ships apart from certain small ships (<500GT), no coverage of warships and other state-owned ships. | All end-of-life ships. | All end-of-life ships. |
Scope: facilities | The first dismantling- and recycling site, but not any interim facilities or installations for subsequent processing and disposal of waste. | All waste management facilities, including collection, transport, interim- and final recovery and disposal. | All waste management facilities, including collection, transport, interim- and final recovery and disposal. Explicit coverage of interim operations. |
Objectives and applicability | Control of ships from design, through construction, operation and at the recycling stage. However, specific requirements for authorisation and environmentally sound management of hazardous waste not clear until the IMO guidelines, that are currently been developed, are adopted. . | Prior informed consent procedure (PIC). The principle of environmentally sound management (ESM) of waste applies to all facilities that recover or dispose of waste and is defined by guidelines, also specifically covering ship dismantling. The Basel guideline on ESM for ship dismantling does not accept 'beaching' (impermeable floors are prescribed for full ship containment). | PIC procedure. "Basel ban" is implemented prohibiting exports of hazardous waste from OECD countries to all facilities in non-OECD countries. Exports of non-hazardous waste are not allowed to facilities which do not respect environmentally sound management. The EU regulation refers explicitly to the Basel Convention's technical guidelines on ESM |
[1] COM(2008)767 final.
[2] Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006/EC of 14 June 2006 on shipments of waste, OJ L 190, 12.7.2006, p. 1.
[3] SEC(2009) 92.
[4] Articles 2(7) and 3.
[5] Article 2(11).
[6] Article 2(10).
[7] Article 5.
[8] Regulation 24.
[9] See 4th resolution adopted by the Diplomatic Conference 15 May 2009.
[10] Resolution MEPC.179 (59).
[11] Regulation 15.
[12] Article 9.
[13] See decision VII/26 adopted in 2002.
[14] Articles 2(1) and Annex IV.
[15] Article 2 (1).
[16] Article 4.
[17] Article 2.
[18] See decision VI/24 adopted in 2002.
[19] Article 4 (3) and (4).
[20] See decision III/1 adopted in 1995.
[21] Article 19.
[22] See Decision VI/12 adopted in 2002.
[23] Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006/EC of 14 June 2006 on shipments of waste, OJ L 190, 12.7.2006, p. 1, in particular recitals 1 and 42.
[24] Article 49 (1).
[25] Directive 2008/98/EC on waste, OJ L 312, 22.11.2008, p. 3.
[26] Articles 2(8) and 49. .
[27] Article 50
[28] See Communication on an EU strategy for better ship dismantling COM(2008) 767 final .
[29] See decision IX/30 adopted in 2008.