The Committee adopted the draft recommendation by Mr Per STENMARCK (S, EPP)
on Council's common position on safety rules and standards for passenger
ships.After the coming into force of the directive concerned, the SOLAS
Convention will apply equally to domestic voyages in the member states and
the standards set in the High Speed Craft Code will apply also to high speed
passenger craft. The rapporteur saw all his, mainly technical, - amendments
for second reading adopted.The Council's common position takes on board more
than half of Parliament's amendments with on occasion minor technical
adjustments. In particular those that deal with the need to improve the
professional training of crews and on the validity of security cerificates
for shipping.In Article 1 of the draft directive the EP had proposed the
improvement of measures to protect the environment but this was not retained
by either the Commission or the Council. However, the committee has
introduced a new amendment proposing that environmental protection be dealt
with either within the framework of security, or as one of the aims of the
directive.