Common rules and standards for ship inspection and survey organisations. Recast

The Committee on Transport and Tourism adopted the recommendation for second reading contained in the report by Luis de GRANDES PASCUAL (EPP-ED, ES), amending the Council common position for adopting a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on common rules and standards for ship inspection and survey organisations (recast).

The committee accepts the separation of the proposal into a draft Directive and a draft Regulation. However, it considers it necessary to treat the set of proposals that make up the ‘Erika III’ package as an interconnected whole, in order to avoid incoherency.

The main purpose of the amendments is to reinstate Parliament’s position at first reading:

Assessment Committee: the Member States, together with the recognised organisations shall set up, by 18 months after the date of entry into force of the directive, an Assessment Committee in accordance with the quality standards EN 45012. This Committee shall be responsible for ensuring that the organisations comply with ISO 9001 quality standards. The Assessment Committee shall have the necessary competences to act independently.

Report: the Commission shall submit a report to the European Parliament and the Council by three years after the entry into force of the directive, based on an independent study, on the level reached in the process of harmonising the rules and regulations and on mutual recognition. In the event of failure by the recognised organisations to fulfil the provisions of Article 10, the Commission shall propose to the European Parliament and the Council the appropriate measures.

Comitology: the Regulation may, without broadening its scope, be amended, in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny, in order to update the minimum criteria set out in Annex I taking into account, in particular, the relevant decisions of the IMO.