The Commission
accepts in full 6 amendments to the common position, adopted by the European
Parliament in first reading. It also accepts in part or in principle 7 other
amendments by the European Parliament.
The Commission
rejected amendments aimed at:
- reintroducing
distress alerts within the scope of the Directive and at making
investigations mandatory not only for very serious casualties but also
for serious casualties;
- making a
clear distinction between safety and other investigations, particularly
criminal investigations;
- introducing
into the Directive an arrangement involving the Commission whereby, in
the event of a conflict between investigation bodies, one Member State
would be appointed as the lead State for conducting an investigation;
- extending to
serious casualties the instances in which the investigative body must
produce a full report whereas in some cases, if no lessons can be drawn
from the investigation, there would be justification for producing only
a simplified report;
- enabling the
Commission to make substantive changes to investigative reports, whereas
the content of reports must be the responsibility of the investigative
bodies alone;
- requiring
the Commission to produce a report on the implementation of the
Directive every three years, whereas there is no evidence anywhere that
such a requirement would serve any purpose;
- obliging
Member States to apply the provisions of the IMO Guidelines on fair
treatment of seafarers in the event of a maritime accident.