Following the same approach as in the common position concerning the Regulation (refer to COD/2000/0236), the Council has modified the description of the scope of the directives covered by the proposal to include the prevention of pollution from ships. It shares, however, the view expressed, by the Commission that the protection of the marine environment is covered by the environmental legislation and that reference to this area should there not be included.
The Common position includes a few other modifications to the Commission proposals. The description of purpose of the Directive (Article 1) has been slightly modified in order to clarify the reference to the update of Community legislation and to align its wording with the corresponding provision in the Regulation. Finally, some purely technical amendments have been introduced in order to take account of the most recent Community maritime legislation.�