WRITTEN QUESTION E-2992/02 by Rosa Miguélez Ramos (PSE) to the Commission. Measures to reduce fisheries accidents.
Date: 2002-10-23
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: fishing vessel, maritime safety, maritime transport, occupational disease, statistical method, statistics, transport accident

8.5.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 110 E/145

(2003/C 110 E/163)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2991/02

by Rosa Miguélez Ramos (PSE) to the Commission

(23 October 2002)

Subject: Measures to reduce fisheries accidents

Paragraph 13 of the EP’s resolution of 5 April 2001 on Fisheries: safety and causes of accidents (1) ‘calls on
the Commission to compel Member States to establish a computerised life-raft service database to ensure
that all fishing vessel owners are automatically notified to service their life-rafts on an annual basis as well
as a similar reminder system for EPIRB and SART batteries’.

Paragraph 14 ‘calls on Member States to ensure that all fishing vessels are inspected annually to ensure that
their obligatory lifesaving equipment is on board and in date’.

Has the Commission taken any steps in this connection?

What measures does the Commission think should be adopted with regard to life-saving to help reduce the
number of fisheries accidents?

(1) OJ C 21 E, 24.1.2002, p. 359.

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(6 December 2002)

Paragraph 13 of the resolution to which the Honourable Member refers has not given rise to any approach
by the Commission to Member States for the purpose of their establishing computerised life-raft service
databases designed to ensure that all fishing vessel owners are automatically notified each year of the need
to have their rafts serviced and similar reminder systems for the batteries of emergency position-indicating
radio beacons and search and rescue radar transponders. This would involve a very considerable amount of
work where there is no equivalent for merchant shipping and responsibility for it would fall directly on the
Member States.

Turning to paragraph 14 of the resolution, where Parliament calls on Member States to ensure ‘that all
fishing vessels are inspected annually to ensure that their obligatory life-saving equipment is on board and
in date’, it should be stated that Directive 97/70/EC (1) makes regular inspection by the flag Member State
compulsory only for vessels more than 24 metres long. Other vessels are subject to national inspection
arrangements. There is no provision, whatever
for any audit of national
administrations by the Commission on this matter.

the size of

the vessel,

(1) Council Directive 97/70/EC of 11 December 1997 setting up a harmonised safety regime for fishing vessels of

24 metres in length and over, OJ L 34, 9.2.1998.

(2003/C 110 E/164)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2992/02

by Rosa Miguélez Ramos (PSE) to the Commission

(23 October 2002)

Subject: Measures to reduce fisheries accidents

Paragraph 17 of the EP’s resolution of 5 April 2001 on Fisheries: safety and causes of accidents (1) ‘calls on
the Commission to speed up the process of harmonising statistical data and concepts relating to
occupational accidents with a view to establishing uniform criteria which will make it possible to identify

C 110 E/146

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

8.5.2003

the causes of fishing accidents and developments in that field, and therefore calls for a regulation designed
to ensure that the Member States apply the various stages of the European statistics on fishing accidents
and European statistics on occupational diseases’.

Has the Commission taken any steps in this connection?

(1) OJ C 21 E, 24.1.2002, p. 359.

Answer given by Mr Solbes Mira on behalf of the Commission

(29 November 2002)

Since 1990, the Commission, Eurostat and the Directorate-General for Employment and Social Affairs,
together with the competent national authorities, have been engaged in the harmonisation of European
statistics relating to accidents at work (ESAW Project (1)). The aim of the project is to coordinate the
criteria and methodologies applicable to the registration and transmission to the Commission of
occupational accident data. ESAW statistics covering all the Member States are currently available for the
period 1993-2000.

With a view to stimulating a more vigorous policy for the prevention of occupational accidents in Europe,
a final phase (ESAW III) allowing the identification and analysis of the causes and circumstances of such
accidents, has just been initiated. Phase III data will gradually become available for the reference years
2001 to 2004.

In the case of occupational diseases, data collection for the first phase of EODS (2) statistics has commenced
for the reference year 2001. Collection is based on a harmonised list of 69 medical diagnoses, coded in
accordance with the WHO ICD-10 (3), and a list of related agents. These data will be available annually
from 2003.

(1) ESAW: European Statistics on Accidents at Work.
(2) EODS: European Occupational Diseases Statistics.
(3)

ICD: International Statistical Classification of Diseases.

(2003/C 110 E/165)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2993/02

by Rosa Miguélez Ramos (PSE) to the Commission

(23 October 2002)

Subject: Measures to reduce fisheries accidents

Paragraph 18 of the EP’s resolution of 5 April 2001 on Fisheries: safety and causes of accidents (1) ‘urges
the Commission to require transparency as regards the information provided by Member States on ships
and their operation so that it can be incorporated into the real-time information system Equasis now being
set up by the Commission’.

Has the Commission taken any steps in this connection?

(1) OJ C 21 E, 24.1.2002, p. 359.