Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 251 (2) of the EC Treaty concerning the common position of the Council on the adoption of a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 1999/32/EC as regards the sulphur content of marine fuels
Date: 2004-12-10
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: environmental protection, fuel, maritime transport, sulphur, vessel

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 10.12.2004 
COM(2004) 801 final 

2002/0259 COD 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 
TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 

pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 251 (2) of the EC Treaty 

concerning the 

common position of the Council on the adoption of a Directive of the European 
Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 1999/32/EC as regards the sulphur 
content of marine fuels 

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2002/0259 COD 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 
TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 

pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 251 (2) of the EC Treaty 

concerning the 

common position of the Council on the adoption of a Directive of the European 
Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 1999/32/EC as regards the sulphur 
content of marine fuels 

(Text with EEA relevance) 

1- 

BACKGROUND 

Date of transmission of the proposal to the EP and the Council 
(document COM(2002)595 final – 2002/0259COD): 

20 November 2002 

Date  of  the  opinion  of  the  European  Economic  and  Social 
Committee: 

14 May 2003 

Date of the opinion of the European Parliament, first reading: 

4 June 2003 

Date of transmission of the amended proposal: 

1 August 2003 

Date of adoption of the common position (qualified majority): 

09.12.2004 

2- 

OBJECTIVE OF THE COMMISSION PROPOSAL 

The aim of the proposal is to reduce the impact of ships’ emissions of sulphur dioxide (SO2 or 
SOx)  and  particulate  matter  (PM)  on  environmental  acidification  and  human  health.  Ship 
emissions  of  SOx  and  PM  are  directly  related  to  fuel  sulphur  content.  Marine  heavy  fuel 
currently  has  an  average  sulphur  (S)  content  of  2.7%  or  27,000  parts  per  million  (ppm), 
compared with road fuel which has a new sulphur limit of 10 ppm. The proposal contained 
new limits on the maximum sulphur content of marine fuels, specifically: 

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A 1.5% fuel S limit for all ships in the North Sea, Channel & Baltic Sea, in line with 
the  SOx  Emission  Control  Area  agreed  at  the  International  Maritime  Organization. 
This will help reduce acidification and improve air quality; 

A  1.5%  fuel  S  limit  for  passenger  vessels  on  regular  services  to  or  from  any  EU 
ports, in line with established EU policy of high standards for passenger vessels. This 
will improve air quality around coasts, and help ensure an EU-wide supply of low S 
fuel; 

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– 

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A 0.2% fuel S limit for ships at berth in EU ports, and all inland vessels, to reduce 
local emissions of SOx and PM, and improve local air quality. 

COMMENTS ON THE COMMON POSITION 

3.1 

General comments 

In its amended proposal, the Commission accepted in full, in part or in principle 30 of the 36 
amendments proposed by the European Parliament in its first reading. 21 amendments have 
now been incorporated, either verbatim or in spirit, in the common position. 

The  Commission  accepted  all  the  amendments  which  sought  to  clarify  the  scope  of  the 
proposal  and  its  environmental  benefits,  the  amendments  which  introduced  more  explicit 
arrangements  for  trials  of  alternative  exhaust  gas  abatement  technologies,  and  most  of  the 
amendments  which  brought  forward  implementation  dates.  The  Commission  did  not  accept 
the  amendments  which  introduced  a  second  phase  of  lower  marine  fuel  sulphur  limits  for 
ships in all Community waters, believing this to be premature at this stage. 

The  Council  has  now  agreed  to  incorporate  most  of  the  Parliamentary  amendments  which 
offered clarifications, and which proposed trials for exhaust gas cleaning. On implementation 
dates  there  has  been  an  important  development  since  the  Parliament’s  first  reading:  the 
International  Maritime  Organization’s  air  pollution  convention,  MARPOL  Annex  VI,  has 
received  enough  ratifications  to  enter  into  force.  The  implementation  dates  in  the  Common 
Position  have  therefore  been  rescheduled  to  correspond  with  the  implementation  dates  in 
MARPOL Annex VI. With regard to second phase limits, the Council has agreed to include 
more specific text in the review clause (Article 7), proposing to press for tighter limits at the 
IMO in the context of a revision of MARPOL Annex VI, and also proposing to bring forward 
the Commission’s report on economic instruments as a possible complementary measure. 

The  Commission  considers  that  the  Common  Position  adopted  by  qualified  majority  on 
09.12.2004 does not alter the approach or aims of the Proposal and can thus support it as it 
stands. 

3.2 

Detailed comments 

3.2.1 

Parliamentary amendments accepted by the Commission and incorporated in full, in 
part or in principle in the common position 

Amendments 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 18, 23, 27, 29, 30, 31, 33, 38, 39, 40, 43 and 44 have been 
incorporated to varying degrees. They provided clarifications, changed derogation provisions 
and set out rules for the trials and use of exhaust gas cleaning. 

3.2.2 

Parliamentary amendments rejected by the Commission but incorporated in full, in 
part or in principle in the common position 

Amendment  13  was  rejected  by  the  Commission,  but  has  been  partly  incorporated  in  the 
common position. This amendment proposed bringing forward the entry into force date of the 
passenger vessel provision. The Council decided earlier implementation was logical, so as to 
be in line with the entry into force of MARPOL Annex VI.  

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3.2.3 

Parliamentary  amendments  rejected  by  the  Commission  and  the  Council  and  not 
incorporated in the common position 

Amendments  22,  25,  26,  32  and  42  were  rejected  by  both  institutions  and  not  incorporated. 
These amendments proposed second phase limits, and other additions felt to be unnecessary. 

3.2.4 

Parliamentary  amendments  accepted  in  full,  in  part  or  in  principle  by  the 
Commission but not incorporated in the common position 

Amendments 2, 14, 15, 16, 17, 21, 24, 28, 37 and 41 were accepted in part or in principle by 
the  Commission  but  not  incorporated.  Most  proposed  tighter  deadlines,  which  do  not 
correspond to the implementation schedule now drawn up in line with MARPOL Annex VI. 

3.2.5 

Additional changes made by the Council to the Proposal 

In Article 1(1), four new exemptions have been introduced for fuels used by ships which are: 
involved in military activities, securing the safety of life at sea, damaged, or using approved 
abatement technologies. 

In Article 1(2), a number of new definitions are added, for MARPOL, Annex VI, warships, 
“placing on the market”, “outermost regions”, and “abatement technology”.  

In  Article  1(4),  the  repeal  of  the  existing  marine  gas  oil  provisions  is  delayed  until  2010 
(including the derogation for Greece and the outermost regions which will remain until then). 

In  Article  1(5)  on  SOxECAs  and  passenger  ships,  Member  States’  enforcement 
responsibilities are clarified, the provision requiring Member States to ensure the availability 
of  compliant  fuel  is  deleted,  and  application  dates  are  generally  altered  to  be  in  line  with 
MARPOL Annex VI, or 12 months after entry into force of the directive, whichever is later. 

In  Article  1(6)  the  low  sulphur  fuel  requirement  for  ships  at  berth  and  inland  vessels  is 
delayed until 1 January 2010. For ships at berth, flexibility is introduced “allowing sufficient 
time”  for  fuel  switching,  short-stay  vessels  are  exempted,  and  a  two-year  derogation  is 
allowed for 16 Greek passenger vessels. Inland waterway vessels are exempted while at sea. 

In  Article  1(7),  much  fuller  text  is  included  on  the  trials  and  use  of  new  abatement 
technologies, including revised comitology procedures for their approval. 

Article 1(8) on sampling and analysis is slightly shortened and the drafting is clarified. 

In Article 1(9), the Commission report is brought forward to 2008, and its basis is revised to 
include trends in fuel costs, modal shift, progress at IMO and a new cost-benefit analysis of 
the passenger vessel provision. It may be accompanied by proposals for second stage sulphur 
limit values. A separate report on economic instruments is called for by 2005. The scope of 
the comitology procedure is limited. 

Article 1(10) establishing the regulatory committee is slightly redrafted. 

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4- 

CONCLUSION 

The  changes  introduced  by  the  Council  help  to  clarify  the  proposal  and  to  bring  its 
implementation into line with the IMO convention MARPOL Annex VI. They also promote 
the development of alternative technologies and economic instruments, and the consideration 
of tighter second phase limits at IMO and in the EU. The Commission therefore supports the 
Common Position adopted by qualified majority on 09.12.2004. 

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