2002R1406 — EN — 19.05.2004 — 002.001 — 1
This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
►B REGULATION (EC) No 1406/2002 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE
COUNCIL
of27June2002
establishingaEuropeanMaritime SafetyAgency
(TextwithEEArelevance)
(OJ L 208, 5.8.2002, p. 1)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Regulation (EC) No 1644/2003 of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 22 July 2003L 245 10 29.9.2003
►M2Regulation (EC) No 724/2004 of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 31 March 2004L 129 1 29.4.2004
▼B
REGULATION (EC) No 1406/2002 OF THE EUROPEAN
PARLIAMENTANDOFTHECOUNCIL
of27June2002
establishingaEuropeanMaritime SafetyAgency
(TextwithEEArelevance)
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE
EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and
in particular Article 80(2) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee (2),
Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions(3),
Acting in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 251 of
the Treaty (4),
Whereas:
(1)A large number of legislative measures have been adopted in the
Community in order to enhance safety and prevent pollution inmaritime transport. In order to be effective, such legislation
must be applied in a proper and uniform manner throughout the
Community. Thiswill ens ure a level playing field, reduce thedistortion of competition resulting from the economic advantagesenjoyed by non-complying ships and will reward the seriousmaritime players.
(2)Certain tasks currently done at Community or national levelcould be executed by a specialised expert body. Indeed, there isa need for technical and scientific support and a high level of
stable expertise to properly apply the Community legislation in
the fields of maritime safety and ship pollution prevention, tomonitor itsimplementation and to evaluate the effectivenes softhe measures in place. There is a need therefore, within theCommunity's existing institutional structure and balance ofpowers, to establish a European Maritime Safety Agency (‘the
Agency’).
(3)In general terms, the Agency should represent the technical body
providing the Community with the necessary means to act effec-
tively to enhance overall maritime safety and ship pollution
prevention rules. The Agency should assist the Commission inthe continuousproces sof updating and developing Communitylegislation in the field of maritime safety and prevention ofpollution by ships and should provide the necessary support to
ensure the convergent and effective implementation of such
legislation throughout the Community by assisting the Commis-sion in performing the tasks assigned to the latter by existing andfuture Community legislation on maritime safety and ship pollu-tion prevention.
(4)For the proper achievement of the purposes for which theAgency is established, it is appropriate that the Agency carriesout a number of other important tasks aimed at enhancing mari-time safety and ship pollution prevention in the waters of the2002R1406 — EN — 19.05.2004 — 002.001 — 2
(1) OJ C 120 E, 24.4.2001, p. 83 and
OJ C 103 E, 30.4.2002, p. 184.
(2) OJ C 221, 7.8.2001, p. 64.
(3) OJ C 357, 14.12.2001, p. 1.
(4) Opinion of the European Parliament of 14 June 2001 (OJ C 53 E, 28.2.2002,
p. 312), Council Common Position of 7 March 2002 (OJ C 119 E,
22.5.2002, p. 27) and Decision of the European Parliament of 12 June
2002 (not yet published in the Official Journal) and Council Decision of 25
June 2002.
▼B
Member States. In this respect, the Agency should work with
Member Statesto organis e appropriate training activitiesonport State control and flag State related issues and to provide
technical assistance related to the implementation of Community
legislation. It should facilitate cooperation between the MemberStates and the Commission as provided for in Directive 2002/59/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 June2002 establishing a Community vessel traffic monitoring and
information system and repealing Council Directive 93/75/
EEC (
1), namely by developing and operating any information
system necessary for the objectives of that Directive, and in theactivities concerning the investigations related to serious mari-time accidents. It should provide the Commission and theMember Stateswith objective, reliable and comparable informa-
tion and data on maritime safety and on ship pollution
prevention to enable them to take any necessary initiatives toenhance the measures in place and to evaluate their effective-ness. It should place the Community maritime safety know-howat the disposal of the States applying for accession. It should be
open to the participation of these States and to other third coun-
trieswhich have concluded agreementswith the Communitywhereby they adopt and implement Community legislation inthe field of maritime safety and prevention of pollution by ships.
(5)The Agency should favour the establishment of better coopera-tion between the Member Statesand s hould develop anddisseminate best practices in the Community. This in turn shouldcontribute to enhancing the overall maritime safety system in theCommunity aswell asreducing the ris k of maritime accidents ,marine pollution and the loss of human lives at sea.
(6)In order properly to carry out the tasks entrusted to the Agency,it isappropriate that itsofficialscarry out vis itsto the MemberStatesin order to monitor the overall functioning of the Commu-nity maritime safety and ship pollution prevention system. The
visits should be carried out in accordance with a policy to be
established by the Agency's Administrative Board and shouldbe facilitated by the authoritiesof the Member States .
(7)The Agency should apply the relevant Community legislationconcerning public access to documents and the protection of
individuals with regard to the processing of personal data. It
should give the public and any interested party objective, reliableand easily understandable information with regard to its work.
(8)For the contractual liability of the Agency, which isgoverned by
the law applicable to the contractsconcluded by the Agency, the
Court of Justice should have jurisdiction to give judgmentpursuant to any arbitration clause contained in the contract. TheCourt of Justice should also have jurisdiction in disputes relatingto compensation for any damage arising from the non-contrac-
tual liability of the Agency.
(9)In order to effectively ensure the accomplishment of the func-
tions of the Agency, the Member States and the Commissionshould be represented on an Administrative Board entrustedwith the necessary powers to establish the budget, verify its
execution, adopt the appropriate financial rules, establish trans-
parent working proceduresfor decis ion making by the Agency,approve itswork programme, examine reques tsfor technicalassistance from Member States, define a policy for visits to theMember Statesand appoint the Executive Director. In the light
of the highly technical and scientific mission and tasks of the
Agency, it is appropriate for the Administrative Board to consistof one representative of each Member State and four representa-tivesof the Commis s ion, being memberswith a high level ofexpertise. In order further to ensure the highest level of expertiseand experience in the Administrative Board and with a view to2002R1406 — EN — 19.05.2004 — 002.001 — 3
(1) See page 10 of thisOfficial Journal.
▼B
involving the sectors most closely concerned in the tasks of the
Agency, the Commission should nominate independent profes-sionals from these sectors as board members without the right
to vote, on the basis of their personal merit and experience in
the field of maritime safety and prevention of pollution by shipsand not as representatives of particular professional organisa-tions.
(10)The good functioning of the Agency requiresthat itsExecutiveDirector be appointed on the groundsof merit and documentedadministrative and managerial skills, as well as competence andexperience relevant for maritime safety and prevention of pollu-tion by ships and that he/she performs his/her duties with
complete independence and flexibility asto the organis ation of
the internal functioning of the Agency. To thisend, the Execu-tive Director should prepare and take all necessary steps toensure the proper accomplishment of the working programmeof the Agency, should prepare each year a draft general reportto be submitted to the Administrative Board, should draw up
estimates of the revenues and expenditure of the Agency and
should implement the budget.
(11)In order to guarantee the full autonomy and independence of theAgency, it is considered necessary to grant it an autonomous
budget whose revenue comes essentially from a contribution
from the Community.
(12)Over the past years, as more decentralised agencies have been
created, the budgetary authority haslooked to improve trans par-
ency and control over the management of the Communityfunding allocated to them, in particular concerning the budgeti-sation of the fees, financial control, power of discharge, pensionscheme contributions and the internal budgetary procedure (codeof conduct). In a similar way, Regulation (EC) No 1073/1999 of
the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 May 1999
concerning investigations conducted by the European Anti-FraudOffice (OLAF) (
1) should apply without restriction to the
Agency, which should accede to the Interinstitutional Agreementof 25 May 1999 between the European Parliament, the Councilof the European Union and the Commission of the European
Communitiesconcerning internal inves tigationsby the European
Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) (
2).
(13)Within five yearsfrom the date of the Agency having taken upits responsibilities, the Administrative Board should commission
an independent external evaluation in order to assess the impact
of thisRegulation, the Agency and itsworking practicesonestablishing a high level of maritime safety and prevention ofpollution by ships,
HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
CHAPTER I
OBJECTIVESANDTASKS
Article 1
Objectives
1. This Regulation establishes a European Maritime Safety Agency
(‘the Agency’) for the purpose of ensuring a high, uniform and effec-
tive level of maritime safety, maritime security within the limits of the
tasks defined in Article 2(b)(iv), prevention of pollution and responseto pollution by ships within the Community.2002R1406 — EN — 19.05.2004 — 002.001 — 4
(1) OJ L 136, 31.5.1999, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 136, 31.5.1999, p. 15.▼M2
▼M2
2. The Agency shall provide the Member States and the Commis-
sion with the technical and scientific assistance needed and with ahigh level of expertise, in order to help them to apply the Community
legislation properly in the field of maritime safety, maritime security
within the limitsof the tas ksdefined in Article 2(b)(iv), prevention ofpollution caused by ships, to monitor its implementation and to eval-uate the effectiveness of the measures in place.
3. The Agency shall provide Member States and the Commission
with technical and scientific assistance in the field of accidental ordeliberate pollution by ships and support on request with additionalmeans in a cost-efficient way the pollution response mechanisms ofMember States, without prejudice to the responsibility of coastal States
to have appropriate pollution response mechanisms in place and
respecting existing cooperation between Member States in this field. Itshall act in support of the Community framework for cooperation in thefield of accidental or deliberate marine pollution established by Deci-sion No 2850/2000/EC of the European Parliament and of the Councilof 20 December 2000 setting up a Community framework for coopera-
tion in the field of accidental or deliberate marine pollution (
1) and of
the Community mechanism in the field of civil protection assistanceinterventions established by Council Decision 2001/792/EC, Euratomof 23 October 2001 establishing a Community mechanism to facilitatereinforced cooperation in civil protection assistance interventions (
2).
Article 2
In order to ensure that the objectives set out in Article 1 are met in the
appropriate manner, the Agency shall perform the following tasks:
(a) It shall assist the Commission, where appropriate, in the prepara-
tory work for updating and developing Community legislation inthe fields of maritime safety and maritime security, the preventionof pollution and response to pollution caused by ships, in particularin line with the development of international legislation in that
field. That task shall include the analysis of research projects
carried out in the field of maritime safety and maritime security,the prevention of pollution and response to pollution caused byships.
(b) It shall assist the Commission in the effective implementation of
Community legislation on maritime safety and maritime security,prevention of pollution and response to pollution caused by shipsthroughout the Community. In particular, the Agency shall:
(i) monitor the overall functioning of the Community port State
control regime, which may include visits to the Member
States, and suggest to the Commission any possible improve-
mentsin that field;
(ii) provide the Commission with the technical assistance neces-
sary to take part in the work of the technical bodies of theParisMemorandum of Unders tanding on Port State Control;
(iii) assist the Commission in the performance of any task assigned
to it by existing and future Community legislation on maritimesafety, ship pollution prevention and ship pollution response,notably legislation applicable to classification societies, thesafety of passenger ships, as well as that applicable to thesafety, training, certification and watchkeeping of ships' crews,
including the verification of compliance of third countrieswith
the requirementsof the 1978 International Convention onStandardsof Training, Certification and Watchkeeping, andof the measures taken to prevent fraud involving certificatesof competency.
(iv) provide the Commission with technical assistance in the
performance of the inspection tasks assigned to it pursuant toArticle 9(4) of Regulation (EC) No 725/2004 of the European2002R1406 — EN — 19.05.2004 — 002.001 — 5
(1) OJ L 332, 28.12.2000, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 297, 15.11.2001, p. 7.
▼M2
Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 on enhancing
ship and port facility security (1). This assistance of the
Agency to the Commission will be restricted to ship and rele-
vant companies and Recognised Security Organisations
authorised to undertake certain security-related activities inthiscontext.
(c) It shall work with the Member States to:
(i) organise, where appropriate, relevant training activities in
fields which are the responsibility of the port State and flagState;
(ii) develop technical solutions and provide technical assistance
related to the implementation of Community legislation;
(iii) support with additional means in a cost efficient way, via the
Community mechanism in the field of civil protection estab-
lished by Decision 2001/792/EC, Euratom, their pollutionresponse actions in case of accidental or deliberate pollutioncaused by ships, when such a request has been presented. Inthis respect, the Agency shall assist the affected Member State
under which the cleaning operationsare conducted;
(d) it shall facilitate cooperation between the Member States and the
Commission in the fields covered by Directive 2002/59/EC. In
particular, the Agency shall:
(i) promote cooperation between riparian Statesin the s hipping
areasconcerned in the fieldscovered by that Directive;
(ii) develop and operate any information system necessary for
attaining the objectivesof the Directive;
(e) it shall facilitate cooperation between the Member States and the
Commission in the development, with due regard to the differentlegal systems in the Member States, of a common methodologyfor investigating maritime accidents according to agreed interna-
tional principles, in the provision of support to the Member States
in activities concerning investigations related to serious maritimeaccidents, and in the carrying out of an analysis of existing acci-dent investigation reports;
(f) it shall provide the Commission and the Member States with objec-
tive, reliable and comparable information and data on maritimesafety, on maritime security and on pollution by ships to enablethem to take the necessary steps to improve their actions in these
fields and to evaluate the effectiveness of existing measures. Such
tasks shall include the collection, recording and evaluation of tech-nical data in the fields of maritime safety, maritime security andmaritime traffic, aswell asin the field of marine pollution, bothaccidental and deliberate, the systematic exploitation of existingdatabases, including their cross-fertilisation, and, where appro-
priate, the development of additional databases. On the basis of
the data collected, the Agency shall assist the Commission in thepublication, every six months, of information relating to ships thathave been refused access to Community ports pursuant to CouncilDirective 95/21/EC of 19 June 1995 concerning the enforcement, in
respect of shipping using Community ports and sailing in the
waters under the jurisdiction of the Member States, of internationalstandards for ship safety, pollution prevention and shipboard livingand working conditions(port State control) (
2). The Agency will
also assist the Commission and the Member States in their activ-ities to improve the identification and pursuit of ships making
unlawful discharges.
(g) In the course of negotiations with States applying for accession the
Agency may provide technical assistance as regards the implemen-
tation of Community legislation in the field of maritime safety,maritime security, and prevention of pollution by ships. The2002R1406 — EN — 19.05.2004 — 002.001 — 6
(1) OJ L 129, 29.4.2004, p. 6.
(2) OJ L 157, 7.7.1995, p. 1. Directive aslas t amended by Directive 2002/84/
EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 324, 29.11.2002,
p. 53).
▼M2
Agency may also provide assistance in case of accidental or delib-
erate marine pollution affecting these States, via the Communitymechanism in the field of civil protection established by Decision
2001/792/EC Euratom. These tasks shall be coordinated with the
existing regional cooperation programs and shall include, whereappropriate, the organisation of relevant training activities.
Article 3
VisitstoMember States
1. In order to perform the tasks entrusted to it, the Agency may
carry out visits to the Member States in accordance with the policydefined by the Administrative Board. The national authorities of theMember States shall facilitate the work of the Agency's staff.
2. The Agency shall inform the Member State concerned of the
planned visit, the names of the delegated officials, and the date on
which the visit starts. The Agency officials delegated to carry out
such visits shall do so on presentation of a decision from the ExecutiveDirector of the Agency specifying the purpose and the aims of theirmission.
3. At the end of each visit, the Agency shall draw up a report and
send it to the Commission and to the Member State concerned.
Article 4
Transparencyandprotectionofinformation
1. Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and
of the Council of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to EuropeanParliament, Council and Commission documents (
1) shall apply to
documentsheld by the Agency.
2. The Agency may communicate on itsown initiative in the fields
within its mission. It shall ensure in particular that the public and anyinterested party are rapidly given objective, reliable and easily under-
standable information with regard to its work.
3. The Administrative Board shall adopt the practical arrangements
for implementing Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 within six monthsafter the entry into force of Regulation (EC) No 1644/2003 of the
European Parliament and of the Council of 22 July 2003 amending
Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002 establishing a European MaritimeSafety Agency (
2).
4. The information collected in accordance with thisRegulation by
the Commission and the Agency shall be subject to Regulation (EC)
No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18December 2000 on the protection of individualswith regard to theprocessing of personal data by the Community institutions and bodiesand on the free movement of such data (
3).
5. Decisions taken by the Agency pursuant to Article 8 of Regula-
tion (EC) No 1049/2001 may form the subject of a complaint to theOmbudsman or of an action before the Court of Justice of theEuropean Communities, under Articles 195 and 230 of the EC Treatyrespectively.2002R1406 — EN — 19.05.2004 — 002.001 — 7
(1) OJ L 145, 31.5.2001, p. 43.
(2) OJ L 245, 29.9.2003, p. 10.
(3) OJ L 8, 12.1.2001, p. 1.▼B
▼M1
▼B
▼M1
▼B
▼M1
▼B
CHAPTER II
INTERNALSTRUCTUREANDFUNCTIONING
Article 5
Legalstatus,regionalcentres
1. The Agency shall be a body of the Community. It shall have legal
personality.
2. In each of the Member States, the Agency shall enjoy the most
extensive legal capacity accorded to legal persons under their laws. Itmay in particular, acquire or dispose of movable and immovable prop-erty and may be a party to legal proceedings.
3. At the request of the Commission, the Administrative Board may
decide, with the agreement of the Member Statesconcerned, to es tab-
lish the regional centres necessary in order to carry out tasks related tothe monitoring of navigation and maritime traffic, asprovided for inDirective 2002/59/EC.
4. The Agency shall be represented by its Executive Director.
Article 6
Staff
1. The Staff Regulationsof officialsof the European Communities ,
the Conditionsof employment of other s ervantsof the EuropeanCommunitiesand the rulesadopted jointly by the ins titutionsof the
European Communities for the purposes of the application of those
Staff Regulations and conditions of Employment shall apply to the staffof the Agency. The Administrative Board, in agreement with theCommission, shall adopt the necessary detailed rules of application.
2. Without prejudice to Article 16, the powersconferred on the
appointing authority by the Staff Regulationsand the Conditionsofemployment of other servants shall be exercised by the Agency inrespect of its own staff.
3. The Agency's staff shall consist of officials assigned or seconded
by the Commission or Member States on a temporary basis and of
other servants recruited by the Agency as necessary to carry out itstasks.
Article 7
Privileges andimmunities
The Protocol on the Privilegesand Immunitiesof the European
Communities shall apply to the Agency and to its staff.
Article 8
Liability
1. The contractual liability of the Agency shall be governed by the
law applicable to the contract in question.
2. The Court of Justice shall have jurisdiction to give judgment
pursuant to any arbitration clause contained in a contract concludedby the Agency.
3. In the case of non-contractual liability, the Agency shall, in
accordance with the general principlescommon to the lawsof theMember States, make good any damage caused by its departments orby its servants in the performance of their duties.
4. The Court of Justice shall have jurisdiction in disputes relating to
the compensation for damage referred to in paragraph 3.
5. The personal liability of its servants towards the Agency shall be
governed by the provisions laid down in the Staff Regulations orConditionsof employment applicable to them.2002R1406 — EN — 19.05.2004 — 002.001 — 8
▼B
Article 9
Languages
1. The provisions laid down in Regulation No 1 of 15 April 1958
determining the languagesto be us ed in the European EconomicCommunity (
1) shall apply to the Agency.
2. The translation services required for the functioning of the
Agency shall be provided by the Translation Centre of the bodies of
the European Union.
Article 10
CreationandpowersoftheAdministrativeBoard
1. An Administrative Board is hereby set up.
2. The Administrative Board shall:
(a) appoint the Executive Director pursuant to Article 16;
(b) shall adopt the annual report on the Agency's activities and forward
it by 15 June at the latest to the European Parliament, the Council,
the Commission, the Court of Auditors and the Member States.
The Agency shall annually forward to the budgetary authority all
information relevant to the outcome of the evaluation procedures;
(c) examine, in the framework of the preparation of the work
programme, requests from Member States for technical assistance,asreferred to in Article 2(c)(ii);
(d) adopt, by 30 November each year, and taking the opinion of the
Commission into account, the work programme of the Agency forthe coming year and forward it to the Member States, the European
Parliament, the Council and the Commission; this work programme
shall be adopted without prejudice to the annual Communitybudgetary procedure. In the event that the Commission expresses,within 15 daysfrom the date of adoption of the work programme,its disagreement with the said programme, the AdministrativeBoard shall re-examine the programme and adopt it, possibly
amended, within a period of two months, in second reading either
with a two-thirds majority, including the Commission representa-tives, or by unanimity of the representatives of the Member States;
(e) adopt the final budget of the Agency before the beginning of the
financial year, adjusting it, where necessary, according to theCommunity contribution and any other revenue of the Agency;
(f) establish procedures for decision-making by the Executive
Director;
(g) define a policy for the visits to be carried out pursuant to Article 3;(h) perform itsdutiesin relation to the Agency'sbudget purs uant to
Articles18, 19 and 21;
(i) exercise disciplinary authority over the Executive Director and the
headsof unit referred to in Article 15(3);
(j) establish its rules of procedure;
(k) adopt, following the proceduress et out in (d), a detailed plan for
the Agency's pollution preparedness and response activities, aimingat the optimum use of the financial means available to the Agency.2002R1406 — EN — 19.05.2004 — 002.001 — 9
(1) OJ 17, 6.10.1958, p. 385/58. Regulation aslas t amended by the 1994 Act of
Accession.▼M1
▼B
▼M2
▼B
▼M2
▼B
Article 11
CompositionoftheAdministrativeBoard
1. The Administrative Board shall be composed of one representa-
tive of each Member State and four representatives of theCommission, as well as of four professionals from the sectors mostconcerned, nominated by the Commission, without the right to vote.
Board members shall be appointed on the basis of their degree of rele-
vant experience and expertise in the field of maritime safety, maritime
security, prevention of pollution and response to pollution caused by
ships.
2. Each Member State and the Commission shall appoint their
membersof the Adminis trative Board aswell asan alternate who willrepresent the member in his/her absence.
3. The duration of the term of office shall be five years. The term of
office may be renewed once.
4. When appropriate, the participation of representatives of third
countries and the conditions thereof shall be established in the arrange-
mentsreferred to in Article 17(2).
Article 12
ChairmanshipoftheAdministrativeBoard
1. The Administrative Board shall elect a Chairperson and a Deputy-
Chairperson from among its members. The Deputy Chairperson shall
automatically take the place of the Chairperson if he/she is prevented
from attending to his/her duties.
2. The terms of office of the Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson
shall be three years and shall expire when they cease to be membersof the Administrative Board. The terms of office shall be renewableonce.
Article 13
Meetings
1. The meetings of the Administrative Board shall be convened by
itsChairpers on.
2. The Executive Director of the Agency shall take part in the delib-
erations.
3. The Administrative Board shall hold an ordinary meeting twice a
year. In addition, it shall meet on the initiative of the Chairperson or atthe request of the Commission or of one-third of the Member States.
4. When there isa matter of confidentiality or conflict of interes t,
the Administrative Board may decide to examine specific items of its
agenda without the presence of the members nominated in their capa-
city as professionals from the sectors most concerned. Detailed rulesfor the application of thisprovis ion may be laid down in the rulesofprocedure.
5. The Administrative Board may invite any person whose opinion
can be of interest to attend its meetings as an observer.
6. The members of the Administrative Board may, subject to the
provisions of its rules of procedure, be assisted by advisers or experts.
7. The secretariat for the Administrative Board shall be provided by
the Agency.2002R1406 — EN — 19.05.2004 — 002.001 — 10
▼M2
▼B
▼B
Article 14
Voting
1. The Administrative Board shall take its decisions by a two-thirds
majority of all memberswith the right to vote.
2. Each member shall have one vote. The Executive Director of the
Agency shall not vote.
In the absence of a member, his/her alternate shall be entitled to exer-
cise his/her right to vote.
3. The rules of procedure shall establish the more detailed voting
arrangements, in particular, the conditions for a member to act onbehalf of another member.
Article 15
DutiesandpowersoftheExecutive Director
1. The Agency shall be managed by its Executive Director, who
shall be completely independent in the performance of his/her duties,
without prejudice to the respective competencies of the Commissionand the Administrative Board.
2. The Executive Director shall have the following duties and
powers:
(a) he/she shall prepare the work programme and the detailed plan for
the Agency's pollution preparedness and response activities, andsubmit them to the Administrative Board after consultation of theCommission. He/she shall take the necessary steps for their imple-
mentation. He/she shall respond to any requests for assistance from
the Commission or from a Member State in accordance withArticle 10(2)(c). For information purposes, he/she shall transmitthe plan to the Committee established by Article 4 of Decision No2850/2000/EC aswell asto the Committee referred to in Article 9of Decision 2001/792/EC, Euratom;
(b) he/she shall decide to carry out the visits provided for in Article 3,
after consultation of the Commission and following the policy
established by the Administrative Board according to Article
10(2)(g);
(c) he/she shall take all necessary steps, including the adoption of
internal administrative instructions and the publication of notices,to ensure the functioning of the Agency in accordance with theprovisions of this Regulation;
(d) he/she shall organise an effective monitoring system in order to be
able to compare the Agency'sachievementswith itsoperational
objectives. On this basis the Executive Director shall prepare a
draft general report each year and submit it to the AdministrativeBoard. He/she shall establish regular evaluation procedures thatmeet recognised professional standards;
(e) he/she shall exercise, in respect of the staff, the powers laid down
in Article 6(2);
(f) he/she shall draw up estimates of the Agency's revenue and expen-
diture, in accordance with Article 18, and shall implement the
budget in accordance with Article 19.
3. The Executive Director may be assisted by one or more Heads of
Unit. If the Executive Director is absent or indisposed, one of the headsof unit shall take his place.2002R1406 — EN — 19.05.2004 — 002.001 — 11
▼M2
▼B
▼B
Article 16
AppointmentoftheExecutiveDirector
1. The Executive Director of the Agency shall be appointed by the
Administrative Board on grounds of merit and documented administra-tive and managerial skills, as well as competence and experiencerelevant for maritime safety, maritime security, prevention of pollution
and response to pollution caused by ships. The Administrative Board
shall take its decision by a four-fifths majority of all members withthe right to vote. The Commission may propose a candidate or candi-dates.
Power to dismiss the Executive Director shall lie with the Administra-
tive Board, according to the same procedure.
2. The term of office of the Executive Director shall be five years.
Thisterm of office isrenewable once.
Article 17
Participation ofthirdcountries
1. The Agency shall be open to the participation of third countries,
which have entered into agreementswith the European Community,whereby they have adopted and are applying the Community law inthe field of maritime safety, maritime security, prevention of pollution
and response to pollution caused by ships.
2. Under the relevant provisions of these agreements, arrangements
will be developed which shall, inter alia , specify the nature and the
extent of the detailed rulesfor the participation by thes e countriesin
the work of the Agency, including provisions on financial contributionsand staff.
CHAPTER III
FINANCIALREQUIREMENTS
Article 18
Budget
1. The Agency's revenues shall consist of:
(a) a contribution from the Community;
(b) possible contributions from any third country which participates in
the work of the Agency in accordance with Article 17;
(c) charges for publications, training and/or any other services
provided by the Agency.
2. The Agency's expenditure shall cover staff and administrative,
infrastructure and operational expenses.
3. The Executive Director shall draw up a draft statement of esti-
matesof the Agency'srevenue and expenditure for the following year
and shall forward it to the Administrative Board, together with a draftestablishment plan.
4. Revenue and expenditure shall be in balance.5. Each year the Administrative Board, on the basis of a draft state-
ment of estimates of revenue and expenditure, shall produce a
statement of estimates of revenue and expenditure for the Agency forthe following financial year.
6. This statement of estimates, which shall include a draft establish-
ment plan together with the provisional work programme, shall by 31March at the latest be forwarded by the Administrative Board to the2002R1406 — EN — 19.05.2004 — 002.001 — 12
▼M2
▼B
▼M2
▼B
▼M1
▼M1
Commission and to the States with which the Community has
concluded agreementsin accordance with Article 17.
7. The statement of estimates shall be forwarded by the Commission
to the European Parliament and the Council (hereinafter referred to asthe budgetary authority) together with the preliminary draft generalbudget of the European Union.
8. On the basis of the statement of estimates, the Commission shall
enter in the preliminary draft general budget of the European Union the
estimates it deems necessary for the establishment plan and the amountof the subsidy to be charged to the general budget, which it shall placebefore the budgetary authority in accordance with Article 272 of theTreaty.
9. The budgetary authority shall authorise the appropriations for the
subsidy to the Agency.
The budgetary authority shall adopt the establishment plan for the
Agency.
10. The budget shall be adopted by the Administrative Board. It
shall become final following final adoption of the general budget of
the European Union. Where appropriate, it shall be adjusted accord-ingly.
11. The Administrative Board shall, as soon as possible, notify the
budgetary authority of itsintention to implement any project which
may have significant financial implications for the funding of the
budget, in particular any projectsrelating to property s uch asthe rentalor purchase of buildings. It shall inform the Commission thereof.
Where a branch of the budgetary authority hasnotified itsintention to
deliver an opinion, it shall forward its opinion to the Administrative
Board within a period of six weeks after the date of notification of
the project.
Article 19
Implementationandcontrolofthebudget
1. The Executive Director shall implement the Agency's budget.
2. By 1 March at the latest following each financial year, the
Agency's accounting officer shall communicate the provisionalaccountsto the Commis s ion'saccounting officer together with a reporton the budgetary and financial management for that financial year. TheCommission's accounting officer shall consolidate the provisional
accounts of the institutions and decentralised bodies in accordance
with Article 128 of the general Financial Regulation.
3. By 31 March at the latest following each financial year, the
Commission's accounting officer shall forward the Agency's provisionalaccountsto the Court of Auditors , together with a report on the
budgetary and financial management for that financial year. The report
on the budgetary and financial management for the financial year shallalso be forwarded to the European Parliament and the Council.
4. On receipt of the Court of Auditors' observations on the Agency's
provisional accounts, under Article 129 of the general Financial Regu-
lation, the Executive Director shall draw up the Agency's final accounts
under his own responsibility and submit them to the AdministrativeBoard for an opinion.
5. The Administrative Board shall deliver an opinion on the
Agency'sfinal accounts .
6. The Executive Director shall, by 1 July at the latest following
each financial year, forward the final accountsto the European Parlia-ment, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, togetherwith the Administrative Board's opinion.
7. The final accounts shall be published.2002R1406 — EN — 19.05.2004 — 002.001 — 13
▼M1
8. The Executive Director shall send the Court of Auditors a reply
to its observations by 30 September at the latest. He shall also sendthisreply to the Adminis trative Board.
9. The Executive Director shall submit to the European Parliament,
at the latter's request, all information necessary for the smooth applica-tion of the discharge procedure for the financial year in question, aslaid down in Article 146(3) of the general Financial Regulation.
10. The European Parliament, on a recommendation from the
Council acting by a qualified majority, shall, before 30 April of year
N + 2, give a discharge to the Executive Director in respect of theimplementation of the budget for year N.
Article 20
Combatingfraud
1. In order to combat fraud, corruption and other unlawful activities,
the provisions of Regulation (EC) No 1073/1999 shall apply withoutrestriction to the Agency.
2. The Agency shall accede to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 25
May 1999 concerning internal investigations by OLAF and shall issue,without delay, the appropriate provisions applicable to all of its staff.
3. The decisions concerning funding and the implementing agree-
ments and instruments resulting from them shall explicitly stipulatethat the Court of Auditors and OLAF may carry out, if necessary, on-the-spot checks of the recipients of the Agency's funding and the agentsresponsible for allocating it.
Article 21
Financial provisions
The financial rulesapplicable to the Agency s hall be adopted by the
Administrative Board after the Commission has been consulted. Theymay not depart from Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2343/
2002 of 19 November 2002 on the framework Financial Regulation for
the bodiesreferred to in Article 185 of Council Regulation (EC,Euratom) No 1605/2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to thegeneral budget of the European Communities(
1) unless such a depar-
ture iss pecifically required for the Agency'soperation and theCommission has given its prior consent.
CHAPTER IV
FINALPROVISIONS
Article 22
Evaluation
1. Within five yearsfrom the date of the Agency having taken up its
responsibilities, the Administrative Board shall commission an indepen-dent external evaluation on the implementation of thisRegulation. TheCommission shall make available to the Agency any information thelatter considers relevant to that evaluation.
2. The evaluation shall assess the impact of this Regulation, the
Agency and its working practices. The Administrative Board shall issuespecific terms of reference in agreement with the Commission,following consultations with the parties involved.2002R1406 — EN — 19.05.2004 — 002.001 — 14
(1) OJ L 357, 31.12.2002, p. 72; corrigendum in OJ L 2, 7.1.2003, p. 39.▼B
▼M1
▼B
▼M2
▼B
3. The Administrative Board shall receive the evaluation and issue
recommendationsregarding changesto thisRegulation, the Agencyand its working practices to the Commission. Both the evaluation find-
ings and recommendations shall be forwarded by the Commission to
the European Parliament and the Council and shall be made public.
Article 23
StartoftheAgency'sactivities
The Agency shall be operational within twelve months of the entry into
force of thisRegulation.
Article 24
Entryintoforce
ThisRegulation s hall enter into force on the twentieth day following
that of itspublication in the Official Journal of the European Commu-
nities.
ThisRegulation s hall be binding in itsentirety and directly applicable
in all Member States.2002R1406 — EN — 19.05.2004 — 002.001 — 15