Directive 2003/44 - Amendment of Directive 94/25/EC on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States relating to recreational craft - Main contents

official title

 

Legal instrument	Directive
Number legal act	Directive 2003/44
Original proposal	COM(2000)639
CELEX number i	32003L0044

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Directive 2003/44/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 June 2003 amending Directive 94/25/EC on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States relating to recreational craft (Text with EEA relevance)

Official Journal L 214 , 26/08/2003 P. 0018 - 0035

Directive 2003/44/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council

of 16 June 2003

amending Directive 94/25/EC on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States relating to recreational craft

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 95 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission(1),

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee(2),

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty(3) in the light of the joint text approved by the Conciliation Committee on 9 April 2003,

Whereas:

• (1) 

  Developments since the adoption of Directive 94/25/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 June 1994 on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States relating to recreational craft(4) have made it necessary to amend that Directive.

• (2) 

  Directive 94/25/EC does not cover personal watercraft, while since its adoption some Member States have introduced laws, regulations and administrative provisions concerning such craft.

• (3) 

  The propulsion engines on recreational craft and personal watercraft produce exhaust emissions of carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons (HC), nitrogen oxides (NOx), noise emissions and particle emissions which affect both human health and the environment.

• (4) 

  Exhaust emissions produced by the engines of such recreational craft and personal watercraft and noise emissions produced by such craft are also not covered by Directive 94/25/EC.

• (5) 

  It is now necessary to integrate environmental protection requirements into the various Community activities in order to promote sustainable development. Such provisions, which are already the subject of the Council Resolution of 3 December 1992 concerning the relationship between industrial competitiveness and environmental protection(5), were taken up in the conclusions of the Industry Council of 29 April 1999.

• (6) 

  Laws, regulations and administrative provisions are in force in some Member States limiting noise and exhaust emissions from recreational craft and engines in order to protect human health, the environment and, where appropriate, domestic animal health. Those measures differ and are likely to affect the free movement of such products and constitute barriers to trade within the Community.

• (7) 

  In the framework of Directive 98/34/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 June 1998 laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical standards and regulations and of rules on Information Society services(6) Member States have notified draft national regulations aimed at reducing noise and exhaust emissions from the engines of recreational craft. Such technical regulations are considered, like the national provisions already in force, to be likely to affect the free movement of such products or to create obstacles to the proper functioning of the internal market. It is therefore necessary to draw up a binding Community instrument.

• (8) 

  The harmonisation of national laws is the only way to abolish such barriers to trade and unfair competition found in the internal market. The objective of limiting noise and exhaust emissions cannot be satisfactorily met by the Member States individually. The measures provided for in this Directive lay down only...

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