By Chris Jones - 23rd April 2007
STRASBOURG: Five key reports designed to improve the safety of Europe’s sea traffic could set MEPs at odds with member states.
The five reports, part of the so-called third maritime package, focus on areas as diverse as tracking and monitoring ships, helping vessels in distress and compensation for ship passengers and crews.
But parliament, commission and member states disagree on a number of areas, notably who should have responsibility for policing sea vessels and assessing ships at risk.
Transport commissioner Jacques Barrot told MEPs that the aim of the proposals was to make Europe’s waters safer and cleaner, and to give greater protection to travellers.
He highlighted in particular proposals to increase the number of inspections of ships – “we want to control 100 per cent of the sea traffic in European waters” – and the extension of protection to people travelling by sea or other water-borne transport within a member state.
“Why should a passenger travelling between member states by sea be protected when one travelling within a member state, by sea or river, is not?” he said.
One of the key sticking points between member states and parliament is the proposal to create independent bodies in each country that would be responsible for reacting to accidents at sea.
“We need to be prepared in advance,” said Dirk Sterckx, the Belgian Liberal who was rapporteur on the monitoring and tracking report.
“Some member states are not well prepared at all, but we have still not seen a lot of enthusiasm among member states for setting up bodies to take decisions once accidents happen.”
“But these bodies could save lives, protect our coasts and protect our economies – surely that is a good enough reason to support them?”
Member states are also divided over who should take responsibility for investigating accidents once they have happened, and rapporteur Jaromir Kohlicek said that this often led to poor inquiries.
“We need better guidelines on how to conduct investigations and learn from accidents.”
“Some countries are struggling with our proposal of independent commissions, especially the Mediterranean countries, with only Spain agreeing so far.”
“But I see no reason why these independent bodies could not work alongside other states, to ensure a better level of investigation.”
Dominique Vlasto, rapporteur on the port state control report, said member states also needed to accept that there was a price to pay for safer seas.
“Many member states complain that banning at-risk vessels from both harbours and off-shore anchorages is too expensive and difficult to police.”
“But if we do not extend the rules to offshore anchorage, those ships that are banned from ports will simply take advantage.”
She also criticised attempts from member states to water down the proposals to inspect 100 per cent of vessels in European waters.”
“We have introduced a new system to ensure that at-risk ships are checked more regularly and those that conform with the rules are checked less often.”
“I would be happy to see some flexibility, allowing ships to be checked less often, perhaps, but not if this means some ships are not inspected at all.”
She said that the current requirement on member states to check 25 per cent of ships was not working since most of the vessels inspected were in order.
Read the views of rapporteurs Paolo Costa, Dominique Vlasto, Dirk Sterckx, Jaromir Kohlicek, Luis de Grandes Pascual and Marta Vincenzi in the pages of the Parliament Magazine.
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