# EUR-Lex - 52014PC0083 - EN

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# 52014PC0083

**Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION on the position to be adopted on behalf of the European Union at the International Maritime Organization during the 66th session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee on the adoption of amendments to MARPOL Annex VI concerning the delay of the Tier III NOx emission standards /* COM/2014/083 final - 2014/0042 (NLE) */**

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

1.           INTRODUCTION

The present Commission proposal concerns the
establishment of the Union position at the 66th session of the IMO
Marine Environment Protection Committee in relation to amendments to MARPOL
Annex VI. These amendments to MARPOL Annex VI, regulation 13, paragraph 5.1
introduce a 5-year postponement of the introduction of Tier III NOx emission
standards. The changes are set out in Annex 12 of the MEPC report (MEPC 65/22).
 Para 4.64 of this report indicates that these amendments will be adopted at
MEPC 66.

2.           ADOPTION OF THE IMO
AMENDMENTS

2.1.        Adoption of amendments to
MARPOL Annex VI concerning the postponement of the Tier III NOx emission
standards.

These draft amendments were approved at the 65th
session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee meeting between 13 – 17
May 2013 and are to be submitted for adoption to the 66th session of
that Committee between 31 March – 4 April 2014.

2.2.        Acceptance and entry into
force.

Once approved and adopted by the Marine Environment
Protection Committee, the above amendments will be submitted to the respective
contracting parties in order for them to express their consent to be bound by
the said amendments.

3.           RELEVANT EU LEGISLATION
AND EU COMPETENCE

EU Policy

Environmental protection, which is the
subject-matter of the amendments to MARPOL, is a shared competence under the EU
Treaty and is in very large measure regulated by Union legislation The EU has
extensively exercised its competence in the area of air and water quality
policy, both through legislation and agreed policy objectives. The environment policy
includes a clear commitment of the Union to improve air and water quality,
including at international level.

The aim and design of the EU's air quality
policy framework, as set out for example in the Thematic Strategy on Air
Pollution[1],
is to make substantial progress towards the long-term EU objectives of
preserving, protecting and improving the environment and protecting human
health (art 191 (1) TFEU), i.e "to achieve levels of air quality that
do not result in unacceptable impacts on, and risks to, human health and the
environment". This objective, first set out in the Sixth Environment
Action Programme[2]
a decade ago, is confirmed in the 7th Environmental Action Programme recently
agreed by the EU, which guides the development of EU policy until 2020[3], most recently
reflected in the Clean Air Programme for Europe adopted by the Commission.[4]

These policy objectives would be adversely affected
by the postponement of the stricter NOx standards applicable in NOx Emission
Control Areas (NECAs).

EU legislation

Existing legislation covers a wide range of
pollutants, including NOx, and a wide range of sources including all modes of
transport.

The National Emission Ceilings Directive (2001/81/EC)[5] and the Ambient Air
Quality Directive (2008/50/EC)[6]
provide for limit values of NOx in the air. The NEC Directive requires that
emissions from maritime shipping be quantified and reported. Emissions from national
maritime shipping and international shipping on inland waterways count towards
the NEC’s national emission ceilings. However, other emissions from
international maritime shipping do not count towards the ceilings, even though
they impact substantially on air quality in the EU. This exclusion is in view
of the IMO’s role in regulating these emissions.  For this reason the need to
act externally on those emissions is explicitly recognised by Article 11 of the
NEC Directive which states that "To promote the achievement of the
objective set out in Article 1, the Commission and Member States, as
appropriate, shall, without prejudice to Article 300 of the Treaty, pursue
bilateral and multilateral cooperation with third countries and relevant
international organisations such as the United Nations Economic Commission for
Europe (UNECE), the International, Maritime Organization (IMO) and the
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), including through the
exchange of information, concerning technical and scientific research and development
and with the aim of improving the basis for the facilitation of emission
reductions"

Moreover, the Clean Air Quality Package[7], adopted by the
Commission on 18 December 2013, confirms the shipping emissions' impact on air
quality on land and the cost-effectiveness of further measures in this sector.
NOx emissions from shipping are a direct contribution to eutrophication of inland
and marine waters and terrestrial habitats, and to the formation of (secondary)
particulate matter affecting health. Thus failing to address this source would
impair the possibility for Baltic and North Sea riparian states to meet the
objectives set in the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC)[8], the Marine Strategy
Directive (2008/56/EC)[9],
the Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC)[10]
and the Birds Directive (79/409/EEC)[11]
to limit adverse impacts on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems including from
eutrophication.  It would likewise impair their possibility to meet the limit
values for PM10 and PM2,5 of the Ambient Air Quality
Directive 2008/50/EC set to protect human health.

The Tier III NOx emission standards, which
are at issue in the present action, have not yet been the explicit subject of
specific Union legislation, but their current regulation under the IMO, in
accordance with the 2008 Amendment of MARPOL Annex VI, is considered necessary
and consistent with the overall agreed EU policy objectives. In particular, extending
the application date will undermine the scope for Member States to make use of
NECAs for the purpose of addressing air pollution and its impacts.

Council Decision

Article 218(9) TFEU is an appropriate legal
basis for the establishment of the EU position to be expressed at the meeting
as it relates to acts having legal effects. The MEPC 66 decision on the date of
entry into force of the Tier III NOx emission standards has a binding legal
effect as it will determine a date from which the NOx Tier III standards will
apply in the areas designated as NECA to ships of all IMO's MARPOL Annex VI
Parties.

Summary

In view of the relevant EU policy and acquis
referred to above, the Commission considers that the issue covered by the above-cited
amendments expected to be adopted at MEPC 66 meeting is of EU relevance requiring
a common position to be taken by the EU, to be expressed by all Member States
represented in the MEPC in the interest of the Union.

4.           CONCLUSION

The Commission therefore proposes a Council
Decision on the position to be adopted on behalf of the European Union for the amendments
cited in para 2.1 above to be adopted at the 66th session of the
Marine Environment Protection Committee.

2014/0042 (NLE)

Proposal for a

COUNCIL DECISION

on the position to be adopted on behalf of
the European Union at the International Maritime Organization during the 66th
session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee on the adoption of
amendments to MARPOL Annex VI concerning the delay of the Tier III NOx emission
standards

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the
Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Articles 192(1) and 218(9)
thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the
European Commission,

Whereas:

(1)       The initial 2008
Amendment of MARPOL Annex VI set a date of 2016 for the date of application of Tier
III NOx emission standards applying to ships built after that date and sailing
through Nitrogen Oxide Emission Control Areas (NECAs)]

(2)       The International Maritime
Organization Marine Environment Protection Committee at its 65th session in May
2013 approved [draft] amendments to MARPOL Annex VI, Regulation 13, paragraph
5.1. Those amendments are expected to be adopted in the 66th session of the
MEPC, to be held from 31 March to 4 April 2014.

(3)       The amendments to the
MARPOL Annex VI, regulation 13, paragraph 5.1 concerning the postponement of
the Tier III NOx emission standards will introduce a 5-year delay in their
entry into force and will become binding upon the Parties to MARPOL Annex VI 6
months after the date of its acceptance in accordance with Article 16,
paragraph 2 of the MARPOL Convention.

(4)       Environmental protection,
which is the subject-matter of the proposed measures, is in very large measure
regulated by Union legislation. The EU has extensively exercised its competence
in the area of air and water quality policy, both through legislation and
agreed policy objectives. Current legislation covers a wide range of
pollutants, including Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) and a wide range of sources
including all modes of transport. Directive 2000/60/EC establishing a framework
for Community action in the field of water policy[12], Directive 2008/56/EC establishing a framework for community action
in the field of marine environmental policy[13],
Directive 92/43/EEC on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna
and flora[14]
and Directive 79/409/EEC on the conservation of wild birds[15] set objectives to
limit adverse impacts on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems including from
eutrophication, of which NOx is a principle driver. Directive 2008/50/EC on
ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe[16]
sets limit and target values for particulate matter and ozone for which NOx is
a precursor.

(5)       Directive 2001/81/EC on
National Emission Ceilings[17]
requires that emissions from maritime shipping be quantified and reported,
while recognising that regulation of emissions from international maritime
shipping (other than in internal waters) is a matter for the IMO.

(6)       Article 11 in combination
with Article 1 of Directive 2001/81/EC requires the Commission and the Member States to pursue cooperation at international level with the aim of reducing
emissions of certain atmospheric pollutants, including NOx.

(7)       In view of the overall agreed
EU policy objectives and acquis, the postponement of the Tier III NOx emission
standards to be adopted at MEPC 66 meeting is of EU relevance requiring a
common position to be taken by the EU, to be expressed by all Member States
represented in the MEPC in the interest of the Union.

(8)       The Union is neither a
member of the IMO nor a contracting party to the conventions and codes
concerned. It is therefore necessary for the Council to authorise Member States
to express the position set out below, acting in the interest of the Union.

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

1.           The position of the Union at the 66th session of the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee shall be to oppose
the adoption of the amendments to MARPOL Annex VI, Regulation 13, paragraph 5.1
as laid down in Annex 12 of the IMO document MEPC 65/22.

2.           The position of the Union
as set out in paragraph 1 shall be expressed by the Member States, which are
members of IMO, acting jointly in the interest of the Union.

3.           Minor changes to this
position may be agreed without requiring that position to be amended.

Article 2

This
Decision is addressed to the Member States.

Done at Brussels,

For
the Council

The
President

[1]               COM(2005) 446 final

[2]               OJ L 242, 10.9.2002, p. 1

[3]               A General Union Environmental action Programme,
"Living well, within the limits of our planet", COM (2012)710 final.

[4]               COM(2013)918 final

[5]               OJ L 309, 27.11.2001, p.22

[6]               OJ L 152, 11.6.2008, p.1

[7]           All relevant documents are available at:
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/air/clean_air_policy.htm

[8]               OJ L 327, 22.12.2000, p.1

[9]               OJ L 164, 25.6.2008, p.19

[10]             OJ L 206, 22.7.92, p.7

[11]             OJ 103, 25.4.79, p.1

[12]             OJ L 327, 22.12.2000, p.1

[13]             OJ L 164, 25.6.2008. p.19

[14]             OJ L 206, 22.7.92, p.7

[15]             OJ L 103, 25.4.79, p.1

[16]             OJ L 152, 11.6.2008, p.1

[17]             OJ L 309, 27.11.2001, p.22