The Commission
accepts in full 27 amendments to the common position, adopted by the European
Parliament in first reading. These are amendments which:
- improve the
Commission proposal on the question of places of refuge, as regards the
plans for accommodating vessels in places of refuge and insurance;
- relate to
the establishment of the LRIT European Data Centre for the long-distance
tracking of vessels, the SafeSeaNet maritime data exchange network, fair
treatment of seafarers, navigation in ice conditions, and requirements
concerning the shipment of dangerous goods;
- relate to
comitology, correlation tables and the entry into force of the Directive;
- incorporate
elements of the proposal for a directive on civil liability and
insurance for shipowners, another part of the Third Package which, on
the date of the second reading by the European Parliament, had not yet
been approved by the Council.
The amendments
partially accepted by the Commission are as follows:
- amendments
on the compensation for economic losses suffered by ports which
accommodate vessels in distress. The Commission fully supports one of
the objectives, which is to stress how important it is that the Member
States ratify and/or implement international conventions on compensation
for pollution damage. However, the obligation on Member States to
reimburse all the costs and compensate for the damage resulting from a
decision to accommodate a vessel is excessive and poses legal and
practical problems. In the view of the Commission, it is desirable that
Member States have a legal framework in place that allows for
compensation for such damage whenever necessary;
- an amendment
intended to oblige the Member States to comply with the IMO guidelines
on fair treatment of seafarers. In the view of the Commission, Member
States should take the guidelines into consideration, but it would be
difficult to envisage making them compulsory in Community law, given
that they relate essentially to questions of judicial and criminal
procedure, and are not directly connected to the objectives of the
Directive;
- an amendment
on the scope of the comitology procedure.
Lastly, the
Commission accepted in principle and/or subject to rewording, amendments on:
- incorporating
AIS systems for short-distance monitoring of vessels into VMS systems
used for fisheries control;
- the
decision-making process for the accommodation of vessels in places of
refuge and 'place of refuge' plans;
- the
establishment of the LRIT European Data Centre for the long-distance
tracking of vessels flying the flag of an EU Member State and operating
off the EU coast;
- the
confidentiality of information obtained under the Directive, whether
relating to information sent by vessels using AIS or LRIT systems, or
information circulated among Member States using the SafeSeaNet maritime
data exchange network;
- enabling the
development of the constituent parts of the SafeSeaNet maritime data
exchange network within the content of Annex III to the Directive;
- the use of
information obtained under the Directive for the purposes of maritime
safety;
- strengthening
checks on compliance with building and maintenance requirements for
navigation in ice filled waters;
- obliging
vessels to inform the coastal authorities of the quantity of bunker
fuel, irrespective of the volume on board;
- strengthening
the provisions of the Directive relating to the information to be
provided by the shipper when dangerous or polluting goods are offered
for carriage;
- alleviating
the burden on scheduled services using Community ports to provide
notifications of entry into port.
No amendments
were rejected.