WRITTEN QUESTION E-0833/01 by Christopher Huhne (ELDR) to the Commission. Safety standards on passenger ships.
Date: 2001-03-20
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: application of EU law, carriage of passengers, maritime transport, national implementing measure, safety standard, transport safety

4.12.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 340 E/105

(2001/C 340 E/120)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0833/01

by Christopher Huhne (ELDR) to the Commission

(20 March 2001)

Subject: Safety standards on passenger ships

1.
Is the Commission satisfied with the current state of implementation and application in the Member
States, and in Greece in particular of existing legislative requirements for safety standards on passenger
ships?

2. What measures does the Commission intend to take in order to ensure that its forthcoming proposal
on maritime safety for passengers will be swiftly and effectively implemented and applied?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(31 May 2001)

Over the last decade, the Community has adopted a number of important measures relating to the safety
of passenger vessels and of their passengers. More specifically, the following measures, which establish
operational and technical standards for roll on, roll off (ro-ro) ferry and high speed crafts operating in the
Community, are presently in force: Council Regulation (EC) 3051/95 of 8 December 1995 on the safety
management of ro-ro passenger ferries (1), Council Directive 1998/18/EC of 17 March 1998 on safety rules
and standards for passenger ships (2), Council Directive 1998/41/EC of 18 June 1998, on the registration
of persons sailing on board passenger ships operating to or from ports of the Member States (3) and
Council Directive 1999/35/EC of 29 April 1999 on the safe operation of regular ro-ro ferry and high
speed passenger craft services (4).

In relation to the application of the above instruments, the Commission has to recognise that some
problems still exist. Therefore the Commission has initiated legal proceedings against a number of Member
States in cases of non-communication of the national transposition measures and of non-compliance with
the Community requirements laid down therein. Since the Honourable Member expressed particular
concern about Greece the Commission can confirm that with the exception of Directive 1999/35/EC,
which had a transposition deadline of 1 December 2000, all other instruments have been fully transposed
by Greece.

Indeed, according to the Working Programme for this year, the Commission will present towards the end
of 2001 its new proposal for higher safety standards in the field of passenger vessels. The Commission will
seek to co-operate closely with the Council Presidency to give this proposal the high priority it deserves.

The Commission wishes also to stress the relevance of its recent proposal for the establishment of
a European Maritime Safety Agency (5), which will have among its tasks to assist the Commission in the
control of the application of maritime safety legislation by Member States. With the establishment of this
Agency, the effective application of existing and future instruments on the safety of passenger vessels will
be monitored much more closely than is presently possible.

(1) OJ L 320, 30.12.1995.
(2) OJ L 144, 15.5.1998.
(3) OJ L 188, 2.7.1998.
(4) OJ L 138, 1.6.1999.
(5) COM(2000) 802 final.