Inland waterway vessels: technical requirements
The European Parliament adopted by 638 votes to 22 with 14 abstentions, a legislative resolution on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down technical requirements for inland waterway vessels and repealing Directive 2006/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council.
Parliament’s position adopted in first reading following the ordinary legislative procedure amended the Commission proposal as follows :
Ensure navigation safety: Parliament underlined that the existence of the different legal frameworks and timeframes for the decision-making procedures made it difficult to maintain the equivalence between the Union inland navigation certificates issued pursuant to Directive 2006/87/EC and the certificates issued pursuant to Article 22 of the Revised Convention for Rhine Navigation. Legal certainty was therefore not ensured, and this had a potentially negative impact on navigation safety.
Committee for the Elaboration of European Technical Standards: it was recalled that the Commission's services and the CCNR signed an Administrative Arrangement establishing the Committee for the Elaboration of European Technical Standards (CESTE)) to draw up technical standards in the field of inland navigation to which reference can be made by the Union and the CCNR in their respective regulations.
Adapting the annexes: in order to ensure a high level of safety and efficiency for inland navigation and to maintain the equivalence of the inland navigation certificates, the technical requirements laid down in the annexes to the directive should be kept up to date in order to take into account scientific and technical progress, and technical standards in the field of inland navigation. In order to do so, the Commission should have the power to adopt delegated acts. It should, in particular adopt by 31 December 2017, delegated acts to introduce technical requirements for vessels powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), in order to allow efficient and safe circulation of those vessels in inland waterways.
Given that the proposed Commission directive on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure aims to develop the use of LNG in inland navigation, Members considered it essential to ensure consistency between the different legislation and to systematically issue navigation certificates on the basis of technical criteria established at EU level.
Union inland navigation certificates: it was specified that these must be issued by the competent authorities of the Member States.
Classification societies: the Commission must publish for the first time one year after entry into force of the directive and keep updated, a list of the classification societies.
Delegated powers: Members proposed to limit the delegation of power conferred on the Commission for a five-year period, which could be tacitly extended for an identical duration. The time-limit for objections to the delegated acts will be two months, which might be prolonged by a further two months by Parliament or Council.
Review: the Commission should submit, at the end of three years of entry into force of the directive and every three years thereafter, a report reviewing the effectiveness of the measures introduced, particularly as regards the mechanisms for cooperation with international organisations competent for inland navigation to further streamline cooperation and coordination in establishing standards.
The report shall, if appropriate, be accompanied by a legislative proposal to further streamline cooperation and coordination in establishing standards to which reference can be made in legal acts of the Union.