WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3440/97 by Nel van DIJK to the Commission. Free movement of captains
Date: 1997-10-31
Institutions: European Parliament, VAN DIJK
Subjects: EU national, Netherlands, application of EU law, competence of the Member States, free movement of workers, maritime transport, public authorities, public order, ship's flag, transport staff

8. 6. 98

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 174/57

An  environmental  impact  assessment  was  carried  out  for  this  project  according  to  the  Greek  legislation
transposing Directive 85/337/EEC. This study, which constitutes the first study in the evaluation procedure, was
also  part-financed  under  the  programme  mentioned  above  (budget  of  DRA  5  million,  approximately
ECU 17 000).

According to Directive 85/337/EEC and the related Greek legislation, it is the job of the national authorities to
analyse the impact of the project in the context of the environmental assessment procedure and to put forward
any measures required to avoid, reduce or compensate for major negative effects.

The ministerial decision issued by the Minister for the Environment and Public Works in Greece authorising the
project and finalising the assessment procedure usually contains such measures.

The Commission, having fixed the objectives and priorities of the operational programme in question in 1994, in
partnership  with  the  Greek  authorities,  is  not  making  a  systematic  analysis  of  the  impact  of  all  the  projects
submitted within this framework, especially if an assessment has already been carried out in accordance with
Community legislation; this would normally take into consideration all the environmental factors, including the
impact on the coastal areas.

(98/C 174/97)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3440/97

by Nel van Dijk (V) to the Commission

(31 October 1997)

Subject: Free movement of captains

Under  Netherlands  law,  a  ship  sailing  under  the  Netherlands  flag  must  have  a  Netherlands  captain.  Can  the
Commission indicate in which other Member States such a provision exists?

Is this exception to the ban on discrimination in Article 6 justified by Article 48(4), Article 55 or any other article
of the EC Treaty?

Is the Commission willing to take steps to bring about (cid:145)free movement of captains(cid:146) in the European Union?

Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission

(16 December 1997)

The Commission has always recognised that on board ships flying the flag of a Member State, the functions of
master and chief officer as deputy master require the exercise of public authority in the sense of Article 48(4) of
the EC Treaty.

The responsibility of the master for the exercise of public authority on board ships is particularly related to the
safety of the crew or passengers and their life, as well as protection of the marine environment. Member States
can require that the posts of the ship(cid:146)s master and first officers are reserved to their own nationals and Article
48(3) of the EC Treaty specifies that freedom of movement for workers could be subject to limitation on grounds
of public policy, public security or public health.

According  to  the  Commission(cid:146)s  information,  Belgium,  Danmark,  Germany,  Greece,  Spain,  France,  Italy,
Netherlands,  Portugal,  Finland  and  the  United  Kingdom  (for  certain  vessels),  have  legislation  requiring  the
master  to  be  a  national  and  Greece,  Spain,  France,  Italy  and  Portugal  also  require  the  deputy  master  to  be  a
national.

Given that current arrangements comply with Community law, the Commission will not be proposing change.