COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
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Brussels, 26 November 1993 
BB¥;:^K*ll)vHJtV-..':.'i1iiS' RE-EXAMINED PROPOSAL FOR 
A COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 
CONCERNING THE MINIMUM SAFETY 
AND HEALTH REQUIREMENTS 
FOR WORK 
ON BOARD FISHING VESSELS 
SES?'-. " 13th individual Directive 
within the meaning of Directive 89/391/EEC 
(presented by :he Commission pursuant to Article 189C, paragraph d 
of the EC Treaty). 
I 
The initial proposal for this Directive was forwarded to the Council by 
the Commission en 3 December 1991*. 
The proposal, which is based on Article 118a of the Treaty, aims to 
ensure better working and living conditions for fishermen by laying down 
minimum health and safety requirements for work on board fishing 
vessels, which were excluded from the scope of Council Directive 
89/654/EEC because of their particular characteristics as workplaces. 
The European Parliament (first reading) and the Economic and Social 
Committee gave their opinions on 8 July 1992 and 29 April 1992. 
The Commission forwarded an amended proposal to the Council on 12 
October 19922. 
On 30 June 1993, the Council adopted a common position which the 
European Parliament examined (second reading) on 25 October 1993 and 
adopted on 27 October 1993, subject to eight amendments. 
The Commission agreed to incorporate four of these amendments, Nos. 2, 
6, 7 and 8, Into its re-examined proposal. 
The Commission has the following comments on these four amendments: 
Amendment No 2 
Subject; Requires the activities of self-employed workers not covered 
by this Directive to be dealt with in a separate directive. 
Comment : The same amendment with a similar formula has been accepted 
for other directives (e.g. means of transport). 
Amendment No 6 
Subject; Reduces to four years the frequency with which the Member 
States must report to the Commission on implementation. 
Comment ; Reinstates the Commission's amended proposal. The same period 
has been accepted by the Council for several individual 
Directives. 
Amendments Nos 7 and 8 
Subject: Require the main electricity switchboard and the emergency 
switchboard on both new and existing vessels to be installed 
in such a way that they are not simultaneously exposed to 
fire or flooding. 
Comment ; Reinstate the original Commission proposal, fully justified 
by several losses of vessels involving numerous fatalities. 
The Commission rejected four amendments, Nos. 1, 3, 4 and 5. 
1 COM(91) 466 final - SYN 369 
2 COM(92) 409 final - SYN 369 
i 
The Commission has the following comments on these four amendments: 
Amendment No 1 
Subject: Requires Member States to adopt appropriate measures for 
vessals of a smaller size. 
Comment ; The amendment cannot be accepted because it introduces a new 
recital which is not supported by the enacting terms of the 
Directive. 
Amendment No 3 
Subject: Makes it compulsory for all vessels covered by the Directive 
to carry a ship's log. 
Comment : The an r-ndment does not add anything to the requirement that 
any occurrences at sea that affect or could affect the safety 
and health of workers be recorded and reported. 
Amendment No 4 
Subject: Reduces from seven to five years the transitional period for 
existing vessels to comply with the provisions of Annex I I. 
Comment : The Commission considers that, despite its reservations about 
the common position, the Council's compromise nan to bo 
accepted as the only possible solution still ensuring 
adequate protection for fishermen. This amendment affects one 
of the key points of the compromise on which the common 
position was agreed and would have no practical effect in the 
final text adopted by the Council. 
Amendment No 5 
Subject: Requires any person likely to command a vessel to have a 
sufficient knowledge of languages to be able to communicate 
with the crew. 
Comment : This amendment is too stringent and would make it compulsory 
for anyone likely to command a vessel to communicate not only 
in the nine official languages of the Community, but also in 
those of third countries, an unrealistic requirement. Article 
8(2) of the common position already takes account of the main 
thrust of this amendment. 
% 
COMMON POSITION RE-EXAMINED PROPOSAL 
(Unless otherwise indicated, 
the common position is 
unchanged 
New fourth recital: 
Whereas the activities of self-employed 
workers who are not covered by this 
directive must be dealt with in another 
directive relating to, in general terms, 
the health and safety of self-employed 
workers in all sectors of activities.; 
Article 13 Article 13 
3. The Member States shall report to 
the Commission every five years on the 
practical implementation of the 
provisions of this directive, indicating 
the points of view of employers and 
workers. 3. The Member States shall report to the 
Commission every four years on the 
practical implementation of the 
provisions of this directive, indicating 
the points of view of employers and 
workers. 
Annex I, new last paragraph of 2.2 
The main electricity switchboard and the 
emergency switchboard must be installed 
in such a way as to ensure that they are 
not both exposed to water or fire at the 
same time. 
Annex II, new last paragrapn of 2.2 
The main electricity switchboard and the 
emergency switchboard must be installed 
in such a way as to ensure that they 
are not both exposed to water or fire at 
the same time. 
h 
ISSN 0254-1475 
COM (93) 581 final 
DOCUMENTS 
EN 07 04 
Catalogue number : CB-CO-93-617-EN-C 
ISBN 92-77-61539-7 
Office for Official Publications of the European Communities 
L-2985 Luxembourg