Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 June 2002 establishing a European Maritime Safety Agency (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 2002-06-27
Institutions: Council of the European Union, European Parliament
Subjects: European Maritime Safety Agency, accident prevention, marine pollution, maritime safety, pollution from ships, prevention of pollution

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I

(Acts whose publication is obligatory)

REGULATION (EC) No 1406/2002 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

of 27 June 2002

establishing a European Maritime Safety Agency

(Text with EEA relevance)

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
Committee (2),

the Economic and Social

(3)

Having regard to the opinion of
Regions (3),

the Committee of

the

Acting in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article
251 of the Treaty (4),

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

A large number of
legislative measures have been
adopted in the Community in order to enhance safety
and prevent pollution in maritime transport. In order to
be effective, such legislation must be applied in a proper
and uniform manner throughout the Community. This
will ensure a level playing field, reduce the distortion of
competition resulting from the economic advantages
enjoyed by non-complying ships and will reward the
serious maritime players.

(4)

Certain tasks currently done at Community or national
level could be executed by a specialised expert body.
Indeed,
technical and scientific
support and a high level of stable expertise to properly
apply the Community legislation in the fields of
to
maritime safety and ship pollution prevention,

there is a need for

(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.

its

implementation and to evaluate

monitor
the
effectiveness of the measures in place. There is a need
therefore, within the Community’s existing institutional
structure and balance of powers, to establish a European
Maritime Safety Agency ((cid:145)the Agency(cid:146)).

terms,

the Agency should represent

In general
the
technical body providing the Community with the
necessary means to act effectively to enhance overall
maritime safety and ship pollution prevention rules. The
Agency should assist the Commission in the continuous
process of updating
developing Community
and
legislation in the field of maritime safety and prevention
of pollution by ships and should provide the necessary
effective
support
implementation of
the
Community by assisting the Commission in performing
the tasks assigned to the latter by existing and future
Community legislation on maritime safety and ship
pollution prevention.

such legislation throughout

to ensure

convergent

and

the

it

is appropriate that

For the proper achievement of the purposes for which
the Agency is established,
the
Agency carries out a number of other important tasks
aimed at enhancing maritime safety and ship pollution
prevention in the waters of the Member States. In this
respect, the Agency should work with Member States to
organise appropriate training activities on port 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 Member States and the Commission as
provided for in Directive 2002/59/EC of the European
Parliament and of
the Council of 27 June 2002
establishing a Community vessel traffic monitoring and
information system and repealing Council Directive
93/75/EEC (5), namely by developing and operating any
information system necessary for the objectives of that
the
Directive,
It
investigations related to serious maritime accidents.

concerning

activities

and

the

in

(5) See page 10 of this Official Journal.

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their

safety

should provide the Commission and the Member States
with objective, reliable and comparable information and
data on maritime
and on ship pollution
prevention to enable them to take any necessary
initiatives to enhance the measures in place and to
the
evaluate
Community maritime safety know-how at the disposal
of the States applying for accession. It should be open
to the participation of these States and to other third
countries which have concluded agreements with the
implement
they
Community whereby
Community legislation in the field of maritime safety
and prevention of pollution by ships.

should place

effectiveness.

adopt

and

It

and

disseminate

The Agency should favour the establishment of better
cooperation between the Member States and should
develop
the
to
Community. This
enhancing the overall maritime safety system in the
Community as well as reducing the risk of maritime
accidents, marine pollution and the loss of human lives
at sea.

in
contribute

in turn should

practices

best

In order properly to carry out the tasks entrusted to the
Agency, it is appropriate that its officials carry out visits
to the Member States in order to monitor the overall
functioning of the Community 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 should be facilitated
by the authorities of the Member States.

transparent working procedures for decision making by
the Agency, approve its work programme, examine
requests for technical assistance from Member States,
define a policy for visits to the Member States and
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 consist
of one representative of each Member State and four
representatives of the Commission, being members with
a high level of expertise. In order further to ensure the
in the
highest
Administrative Board and with a view to involving the
sectors most closely concerned in the tasks of
the
Agency, the Commission should nominate independent
professionals
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
as
representatives of particular professional organisations.

and experience

pollution

expertise

level of

ships

and

not

by

of

(10)

The good functioning of the Agency requires that its
Executive Director be appointed on the grounds of
merit and documented administrative and managerial
skills, as well as competence and experience relevant for
maritime safety and prevention of pollution by ships
and that he/she performs his/her duties with complete
independence and flexibility as to the organisation of
the internal functioning of the Agency. To this end, the
Executive Director should prepare and take all necessary
steps
the
to ensure the proper accomplishment of
the Agency, should prepare
working programme of
each year a draft general report to be submitted to the
Administrative Board, should draw up estimates of the
revenues and expenditure of
the Agency and should
implement the budget.

The Agency should apply the relevant Community
legislation concerning 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, reliable and easily
understandable information with regard to its work.

(11)

to

guarantee

In order
and
independence of the Agency, it is considered necessary
to grant it an autonomous budget whose revenue comes
essentially from a contribution from the Community.

autonomy

full

the

to the

the Agency, which is
liability of
For the contractual
governed by the
contracts
law applicable
concluded by the Agency, the Court of Justice should
have jurisdiction to give judgment pursuant
to any
arbitration clause contained in the contract. The Court
of
Justice should also have jurisdiction in disputes
relating to compensation for any damage arising from
the non-contractual liability of the Agency.

In order to effectively ensure the accomplishment of the
functions of the Agency, the Member States and the
Commission
an
be
Administrative Board entrusted with the necessary
powers to establish the budget, verify its execution,
establish
adopt

appropriate

represented

financial

should

rules,

the

on

(12) Over the past years, as more decentralised agencies have
been created,
the budgetary authority has looked to
improve transparency and control over the management
of
in
the Community funding allocated to them,
particular concerning the budgetisation of
the fees,
financial control, power of discharge, pension scheme
contributions and the internal budgetary procedure
(code of conduct). In a similar way, Regulation (EC) No
1073/1999 of
the
Council of 25 May 1999 concerning investigations
conducted by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) (1)
should apply without restriction to the Agency, which
should accede to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 25
May 1999 between the European Parliament,
the
Council of the European Union and the Commission of

the European Parliament and of

(1) OJ L 136, 31.5.1999, p. 1.

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

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European

the
investigations by
(OLAF) (1).

Communities

internal
the European Anti-Fraud Office

concerning

(b)

shall

assist

it
effective
the Commission
implementation of Community legislation on maritime
safety and prevention of pollution by ships throughout the
Community. In particular, the Agency shall:

the

in

(13) Within five years from the date of the Agency having
taken up its responsibilities, the Administrative Board
should commission an independent external evaluation
in order to assess the impact of this Regulation, the
Agency and its working practices on establishing a high
level of maritime safety and prevention of pollution by
ships,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

CHAPTER I

OBJECTIVES AND TASKS

Article 1

Objectives

(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 improvements in that field;

(ii) provide the Commission with the technical assistance
necessary to take part in the work of the technical
bodies of the Paris Memorandum of Understanding on
port State control;

(iii) assist the Commission in the performance of any task
assigned to the Commission by existing and future
Community legislation on maritime safety and ship
pollution prevention, notably legislation applicable to
classification societies, the safety of passenger ships, as
training,
well
certification and watchkeeping of ships’ crews;

applicable

to the

safety,

that

as

(c)

it shall work with the Member States to:

This Regulation establishes a European Maritime Safety
1.
Agency (the Agency)
for the purpose of ensuring a high,
uniform and effective level of maritime safety and prevention
of pollution by ships within the Community.

(i) organise, where appropriate, relevant training activities
in fields which are the responsibility of the port State
and flag State;

2.
The Agency shall provide the Member States and the
Commission with the technical and scientific assistance needed
and with a high level of expertise, in order to help them to
apply Community legislation properly in the field of maritime
safety and prevention of pollution by ships, to monitor its
implementation and to evaluate the effectiveness of
the
measures in place.

Article 2

Tasks

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)

for

updating

it shall assist the Commission, where appropriate, in the
preparatory works
developing
Community legislation in the field of maritime safety and
prevention of pollution by ships, in particular in line with
the development of international
legislation in that field.
include the analysis of research projects
That task shall
carried out in the field of maritime safety and prevention
of pollution by ships;

and

(1) OJ L 136, 31.5.1999, p. 15.

(ii) develop technical

technical
assistance related to the implementation of Community
legislation;

solutions and provide

(d)

it shall facilitate cooperation between the Member States
and the Commission in the field covered by Directive
2002/59/EC. In particular the Agency shall:

(i) promote cooperation between riparian States in the
shipping areas concerned in the fields covered by that
Directive;

(ii) develop and operate any information system necessary

for attaining the objectives of that Directive;

(e)

it shall facilitate cooperation between the Member States
and the Commission in the development, with due regard
to the different legal systems in the Member States, of a
common methodology for investigating maritime accidents
according to agreed international principles,
in the
provision of the support of the Member States in activities
concerning investigations
related to serious maritime
accidents, and in the carrying out of an analysis of existing
accident investigation reports;

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(f)

appropriate,

it shall provide the Commission and the Member States
with objective, reliable and comparable information and
data on maritime safety and on pollution by ships to
enable them to take the necessary steps
to improve
maritime safety and prevention of pollution by ships and
to evaluate the effectiveness of existing measures. Such
tasks shall include the collection, recording and evaluation
of
technical data in the fields of maritime safety and
maritime traffic, as well as in the field of marine pollution,
both accidental and deliberate, the systematic exploitation
of existing databases, including their cross-fertilisation, and,
where
additional
databases. On the basis of the data collected, the Agency
shall assist the Commission in the publication, every six
months, of information relating to ships that have been
refused access to Community ports pursuant to Council
Directive 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 international standards for ship safety,
pollution prevention and shipboard living and working
conditions (port State control) (1). The Agency will also
assist
the Commission and the Member States in their
activities to improve the identification and pursuit of ships
making unlawful discharges;

development

the

of

(g)

in the course of negotiations with States applying for
accession the Agency may provide technical assistance as
regards the implementation of Community legislation in
the field of maritime safety and prevention of pollution by
ships. That
task shall be coordinated with the existing
regional cooperation programmes and shall include, where
appropriate, the organisation of relevant training activities.

Article 3

Visits to Member 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 policy defined by the Administrative Board. The national
authorities of the Member States shall facilitate the work of the
Agency’s staff.

The Agency shall inform the Member State concerned of
2.
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 Executive Director of
the Agency specifying the
purpose and the aims of their mission.

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.

(1) OJ L 157, 7.7.1995, p. 1. Directive as last amended by Directive
the Council

the European Parliament and of

2001/106/EC of
(OJ L 19, 22.1.2002, p. 17).

Article 4

Transparency and protection of information

The Agency shall apply the principles of Regulation (EC)
1.
No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council
of 30 May 2001 regarding public access
to European
Parliament, Council and Commission documents (2), when
handling applications for access to documents held by it.

2.
The Agency may communicate on its own initiative in
the fields within its mission. It shall ensure in particular that
the public and any interested party are rapidly given objective,
reliable and easily understandable information with regard to
its work.

The Administrative Board shall

3.
internal rules for the application of paragraphs 1 and 2.

lay down the necessary

The

4.
information collected in accordance with this
Regulation by the Commission and the Agency shall be subject
to Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament
and of the Council of 18 December 2000 on the protection of
individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by
the Community institutions and bodies and on the free
movement of such data (3).

CHAPTER II

INTERNAL STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONING

Article 5

Legal status, regional centres

The Agency shall be a body of the Community. It shall

1.
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. It may in particular, acquire or dispose of movable
and immovable property 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 States
concerned, to establish the regional centres necessary in order
to carry out tasks related to the monitoring of navigation and
maritime traffic, as provided for in Directive 2002/59/EC.

The Agency shall be

4.
Director.

represented by its Executive

(2) OJ L 145, 31.5.2001, p. 43.
(3) OJ L 8, 12.1.2001, p. 1.

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Article 6

Staff

5.
The personal liability of its servants towards the Agency
shall be governed by the provisions laid down in the Staff
Regulations or Conditions of employment applicable to them.

The Staff Regulations of officials of

1.
the European
Communities, the Conditions of employment of other servants
of the European Communities and the rules adopted jointly by
the institutions of the European Communities for the purposes
of the application of those Staff Regulations and conditions of
Employment shall apply to the staff of
the Agency. The
Administrative Board,
in agreement with the Commission,
shall adopt the necessary detailed rules of application.

Article 9

Languages

1.
The provisions laid down in Regulation No 1 of 15 April
1958 determining the languages to be used in the European
Economic Community (1) shall apply to the Agency.

2. Without prejudice to Article 16, the powers conferred on
the appointing authority by the Staff Regulations and the
Conditions of employment of other servants shall be exercised
by the Agency in respect of its own staff.

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.

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 its tasks.

Article 10

Creation and powers of the Administrative Board

1.

An Administrative Board is hereby set up.

Article 7

2.

The Administrative Board shall:

Privileges and immunities

(a) appoint the Executive Director pursuant to Article 16;

The Protocol on the Privileges and Immunities of the European
Communities shall apply to the Agency and to its staff.

Article 8

Liability

The contractual liability of the Agency shall be governed

1.
by the law applicable to the contract in question.

The Court of

Justice shall have jurisdiction to give
2.
judgment pursuant to any arbitration clause contained in a
contract concluded by the Agency.

In the case of non-contractual liability, the Agency shall,
3.
in accordance with the general principles common to the laws
of the Member States, make good any damage caused by its
departments or by its servants in the performance of their
duties.

(b) adopt, by 30 April each year, the general report of the
Agency for
to the
Member States, the European Parliament, the Council and
the Commission;

the previous year and forward it

(c) examine, in the framework of the preparation of the work
programme, requests from Member States for technical
assistance, as referred to in Article 2(c)(ii);

(d) adopt, by 31 October each year, and taking the opinion of
the Commission into account, the work programme of the
Agency for the coming year and forward it to the Member
States,
the Council and the
Commission;

the European Parliament,

said programme,

This work programme shall be adopted without prejudice
to the annual Community budgetary procedure. In case the
Commission expresses, within 15 days from the date of
adoption of the work programme its disagreement with
the Administrative Board shall
the
it, possibly
re-examine
adopt
amended, within a period of
in second
including the
reading either with a two-thirds majority,
the
Commission representatives, or by unanimity of
representatives of the Member States;

and
two months,

the programme

4.
The Court of Justice shall have jurisdiction in disputes
relating to the compensation for damage referred to in
paragraph 3.

(1) OJ 17, 6.10.1958, p. 385/58. Regulation as last amended by the

1994 Act of Accession.

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the

(e) adopt the final budget of the Agency before the beginning
financial year, adjusting it, where necessary,
of
according to the Community 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 its duties in relation to the Agency’s budget

pursuant to Articles 18, 19 and 21;

(i) exercise disciplinary authority over the Executive Director

and the heads of unit referred to in Article 15(3);

(j) establish its rules of procedure.

Article 11

Composition of the Administrative Board

1.
The Administrative Board shall be composed of one
representative of each Member State and four representatives
of the Commission, as well as of four professionals from the
sectors most concerned, nominated by the Commission,
without the right to vote.

Board members shall be appointed on the basis of their degree
of relevant experience and expertise in the field of maritime
safety and prevention of pollution by ships.

Each Member State and the Commission shall appoint
the Administrative Board as well as an

2.
their members of
alternate who will represent the member in his/her absence.

The duration of the term of office shall be five years. The

3.
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 arrangements referred to in Article 17(2).

Article 12

Chairmanship of the Administrative Board

The Administrative Board shall elect a Chairperson and a
1.
Deputy-Chairperson from among its members. The Deputy
Chairperson shall
the
Chairperson if he/she is prevented from attending to his/her
duties.

the place of

automatically

take

The terms of office of

2.
the Chairperson and Deputy
Chairperson shall be three years and shall expire when they
cease to be members of the Administrative Board. The terms
of office shall be renewable once.

Article 13

Meetings

1.
The meetings of
convened by its Chairperson.

the Administrative Board shall be

The Executive Director of the Agency shall take part in

2.
the deliberations.

3.
The Administrative Board shall hold an ordinary meeting
twice a year. In addition, it shall meet on the initiative of the
Chairperson or at
the Commission or of
one-third of the Member States.

the request of

4. When there is a matter of confidentiality or conflict of
the Administrative Board may decide to examine
interest,
the
specific items of
members nominated in their capacity as professionals from the
sectors most concerned. Detailed rules for the application of
this provision may be laid down in the rules of procedure.

its agenda without

the presence of

The Administrative Board may invite any person whose
to attend its meetings as an

interest

5.
opinion can be of
observer.

The members of the Administrative Board may, subject
its rules of procedure, be assisted by

6.
to the provisions of
advisers or experts.

The secretariat
7.
provided by the Agency.

for the Administrative Board shall be

Article 14

Voting

The Administrative Board shall take its decisions by a

1.
two-thirds majority of all members with the right to vote.

Each member shall have one vote. The Executive Director

2.
of the Agency shall not vote.

In the absence of a member, his/her alternate shall be entitled
to exercise his/her right to vote.

The rules of procedure shall establish the more detailed
for a

3.
voting arrangements,
member to act on behalf of another member.

the conditions

in particular,

Article 15

Duties and powers of the Executive Director

1.
The Agency shall be managed by its Executive Director,
who shall be completely independent in the performance of
his/her
respective
competencies of
the Commission and the Administrative
Board.

duties, without

prejudice

the

to

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The Executive Director shall have the following duties

2.
and powers:

Article 17

Participation of third countries

(a) he/she shall prepare the work programme and submit it to
the
the Administrative Board after
Commission. He/she shall take the necessary steps for its
implementation. He/she shall respond to any requests for
assistance from the Commission or from a Member State
in accordance with Article 10(2)(c);

consultation of

The Agency shall be open to the participation of third
1.
countries, which have entered into agreements with the
European Community, whereby they have adopted and are
applying Community law in the field of maritime safety and
prevention of pollution by ships.

(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 the provisions of this Regulation;

(d) he/she shall organise an effective monitoring system in
order to be able to compare the Agency’s achievements
with its operational objectives. On this basis the Executive
Director shall prepare a draft general report each year and
to the Administrative Board. He/she shall
submit
that meet
regular
establish
recognised professional standards;

procedures

evaluation

it

Under

the relevant provisions of

2.
these agreements,
arrangements will be developed which shall, inter alia, specify
the nature and the extent of
the
participation by these countries in the work of the Agency,
including provisions on financial contributions and staff.

the detailed rules

for

CHAPTER III

FINANCIAL REQUIREMENTS

Article 18

Budget

1.

The Agency’s revenues shall consist of:

(e) he/she shall exercise, in respect of the staff, the powers laid

down in Article 6(2);

(a) a contribution from the Community;

(f) he/she shall draw up estimates of the Agency’s revenue
and expenditure, in accordance with Article 18, and shall
implement the budget in accordance with Article 19.

The Executive Director may be assisted by one or more
is absent or
the Executive Director

3.
Heads of Unit.
indisposed, one of the heads of unit shall take his place.

If

Article 16

Appointment of the Executive Director

The Executive Director of the Agency shall be appointed
1.
by the Administrative Board on the grounds of merit and
documented administrative and managerial skills, as well as
competence and experience relevant for maritime safety and
prevention of pollution by ships. The Administrative Board
shall take its decision by a four-fifths majority of all members
with the right
to vote. The Commission may propose a
candidate or candidates.

Power to dismiss the Executive Director shall
Administrative Board, according to the same procedure.

lie with the

The term of office of the Executive Director shall be five

2.
years. This term of office is renewable once.

(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.

The Agency’s

2.
administrative, infrastructure and operational expenses.

expenditure

cover

shall

staff

and

3.
The Executive Director shall draw up an estimate of the
Agency’s revenues and expenditure for the following financial
year and shall forward it to the Administrative Board together
with an establishment plan.

4.

Revenue and expenditure shall be in balance.

The Administrative Board shall each year, by 30 April at
5.
the latest, adopt
the draft budget, accompanied by the
preliminary work programme, and forward them to the
Commission and to the third countries which participate in
the work of the Agency in accordance with Article 17.

that draft budget,

the Commission shall
On the basis of
establish the relevant estimates in the preliminary draft general
budget of the European Union, which it shall put before the
Council pursuant to Article 272 of the Treaty. The scope of
the approved budget outlook of
the
coming years has to be observed.

the Community for

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the Administrative Board shall adopt

6.
After the adoption of the general budget of the European
the Agency’s
Union,
budget and final work programme, adjusting them where
necessary to the Community contribution.
forward
them without delay to the Commission,
to the budgetary
authority and to the third countries which participate in the
work of the Agency.

It shall

Article 19

Implementation and control of the budget

The Executive Director shall

1.
budget.

implement

the Agency’s

2.
Control of commitment, payment of all expenditure and
control of the existence and recovery of all Agency revenue
shall be carried out by the Financial Controller of
the
Commission.

By 31 March each year at

3.
the Executive
Director shall submit to the Commission, the Administrative
Board and the Court of Auditors the detailed accounts of all
revenue and expenditure from the previous year.

the latest,

The Court of Auditors
in
accordance with Article 248 of the Treaty. They shall publish a
report on the Agency’s activities each year.

shall examine these accounts

4.
The European Parliament shall, on a recommendation
from the Administrative Board, give a discharge to the
Executive Director of
the
implementation of the budget.

in respect of

the Agency

Article 20

Combating fraud

Article 21

Financial provisions

The Administrative Board, having received the agreement of
the Commission and the opinion of the Court of Auditors,
shall adopt the Agency’s Financial Regulation. This Financial
Regulation shall in particular specify the procedure to be used
for drawing up and implementing the Agency’s budget,
in
accordance with Article 142 of the Financial Regulation of 21
the
December 1977 applicable to the general budget of
European Communities (1).

CHAPTER IV

FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 22

Evaluation

1. Within five years from the date of the Agency having
the Administrative Board shall
taken up its responsibilities,
commission an independent
evaluation on the
implementation of
this Regulation. The Commission shall
make available to the Agency any information the latter
considers relevant to that evaluation.

external

2.
The evaluation shall assess the impact of this Regulation,
the Agency and its working practices on establishing a high
level of maritime safety and prevention of pollution by ships.
The Administrative Board shall issue specific terms of reference
in agreement with the Commission,
following consultations
with the parties involved.

3.
The Administrative Board shall receive the evaluation and
issue recommendations regarding changes to this Regulation,
the Agency and its working practices to the Commission. Both
the
shall be
forwarded by the Commission to the European Parliament and
the Council and shall be made public.

and recommendations

evaluation findings

Article 23

Start of the Agency’s activities

In order to combat fraud, corruption and other unlawful
the provisions of Regulation (EC) No 1073/1999

1.
activities,
shall apply without restriction to the Agency.

The Agency shall be operational within twelve months of the
entry into force of this Regulation.

shall

The Agency

2.
Interinstitutional
accede
Agreement of 25 May 1999 concerning internal investigations
by OLAF and shall
the appropriate
provisions applicable to all of its staff.

issue, without delay,

to the

and instruments

The decisions concerning funding and the implementing
3.
agreements
from them shall
explicitly stipulate that 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 agents responsible for allocating
it.

resulting

Article 24

Entry into force

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day
following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the
European Communities.

(1) OJ L 356, 31.12.1977, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by
Regulation (EC, ECSC, Euratom) No 762/2001 (OJ L 111,
20.4.2001, p. 1).

5.8.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 208/9

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Luxembourg, 27 June 2002.

For the European Parliament

The President

P. COX

For the Council

The President

M. ARIAS CA(cid:209)ETE