Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on reciprocal recognition of navigability licences for inland waterway vessels (Codified version)
Date: 2008-01-30
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: carriage of goods, carriage of passengers, codification of EU law, inland waterway shipping, inland waterway transport, technical regulations, transport document

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 30.1.2008 
COM(2008) 37 final 

2008/0021 (COD) 

Proposal for a 

DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

on reciprocal recognition of navigability licences for inland waterway vessels 

(Codified version) 

(presented by the Commission) 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

In  the  context  of  a  people’s  Europe,  the  Commission  attaches  great  importance  to 
simplifying  and  clarifying  Community  law  so  as  to  make  it  clearer  and  more 
accessible to the ordinary citizen, thus giving him new opportunities and the chance 
to make use of the specific rights it gives him. 

This aim cannot be achieved so long as numerous provisions that have been amended 
several times, often quite substantially, remain scattered, so that they must be sought 
partly  in  the  original  instrument  and  partly  in  later  amending  ones.  Considerable 
research work, comparing many different instruments, is thus needed to identify the 
current rules. 

For  this  reason  a  codification  of  rules  that  have  frequently  been  amended  is  also 
essential if Community law is to be clear and transparent. 

On  1  April  1987  the  Commission  therefore  decided1  to  instruct  its  staff  that  all 
legislative acts should be codified after no more than ten amendments, stressing that 
this  is  a  minimum  requirement  and  that  departments  should  endeavour  to  codify  at 
even  shorter  intervals  the  texts  for  which  they  are  responsible,  to  ensure  that  the 
Community rules are clear and readily understandable. 

The  Conclusions  of 
the  Edinburgh  European  Council 
(December 1992) confirmed this2, stressing the importance of codification as it offers 
certainty as to the law applicable to a given matter at a given time. 

the  Presidency  of 

Codification  must  be  undertaken  in  full  compliance  with  the  normal  Community 
legislative procedure. 

Given  that  no  changes  of  substance  may  be  made  to  the  instruments  affected  by 
codification, the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission have agreed, 
by  an  interinstitutional  agreement  dated  20  December  1994,  that  an  accelerated 
procedure may be used for the fast-track adoption of codification instruments. 

is 

this  proposal 

to  undertake  a  codification  of  Council 
The  purpose  of 
Directive 76/135/EEC  of  20  January  1976  on  reciprocal  recognition  of  navigability 
licences for inland waterway vessels3. The new Directive will supersede the various 
acts  incorporated  in  it4;  this  proposal  fully  preserves  the  content  of  the  acts  being 
codified  and  hence  does  no  more  than  bring  them  together  with  only  such  formal 
amendments as are required by the codification exercise itself. 

COM(87) 868 PV. 
See Annex 3 to Part A of the Conclusions. 
Carried out pursuant to the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the 
Council – Codification of the Acquis communautaire, COM(2001) 645 final. 
See Annex II, Part A of this proposal. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

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5. 

The codification proposal was drawn up on the basis of a preliminary consolidation, 
in  all  official  languages,  of  Directive  76/135/EEC  and  the  instrument  amending  it, 
carried out by the Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, by 
means  of  a  data-processing  system.  Where  the  Articles  have  been  given  new 
numbers,  the  correlation  between  the  old and  the  new  numbers  is  shown  in  a  table 
contained in Annex III to the codified Directive. 

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(cid:208) 76/135/EEC (adapted) 

2008/0021 (COD) 

Proposal for a 

DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

on reciprocal recognition of navigability licences for inland waterway vessels 

 (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 ⌦ 71 ⌫ thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee1, 

Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions2, 

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty3, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

Council  Directive  76/135/EEC  of  20  January  1976  on  reciprocal  recognition  of 
navigability licences for inland waterway vessels4 has been substantially amended5. In 
the interests of clarity and rationality the said Directive should be codified. 

(cid:208) 

(2) 

Reciprocal recognition of navigability licences for inland waterways vessels should be 
achieved  ⌦ with  a  view  to ⌫  improving  the  safety  of  inland  navigation  in  the 
Community. 

(cid:208) 76/135/EEC Recital 1 (adapted) 

1 
2 
3 
4 

5 

OJ C […], […], […]. 
OJ C […], […], […]. 
OJ C […], […], […]. 
OJ  L  21,  29.1.1976,  p.  10.  Directive  as  amended  by  Directive  78/1016/EEC  (OJ  L  349,  13.12.1978, 
p. 31). 
See Annex II, Part A. 

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(3) 

It is necessary to establish under what circumstances and on what conditions Member 
States may interrupt the passage of a vessel. 

(cid:208) 76/135/EEC Recital 2 

(cid:208) 2006/87/EC Recital 10 
(adapted) 

(4) 

It is necessary that the measures provided for in ⌦ this ⌫ Directive ⌦ apply to ⌫ 
those  vessels  not  covered  by  Directive  ⌦ 2006/87/EC  of  the  European  Parliament 
and  of  the  Council  of  12  December  2006  laying  down  technical  requirements  for 
inland waterway vessels and repealing Council Directive 82/714/EEC6 ⌫. 

(5) 

This  Directive  should  be  without  prejudice  to  the  obligations  of  the  Member  States 
relating to the time-limits for transposition into national law of the Directives set out in 
Annex II, Part B, 

(cid:208) 

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE: 

Article 1 

(cid:208) 76/135/EEC (adapted) 

⌦ In accordance with Article 21 of Directive 2006/87/EC, ⌫ this Directive shall  apply to 
vessels used for goods transport ⌦ on inland waterways ⌫ and having a total dead weight 
of 20 metric tons or more: 

⌦ (a)  having a length of 20 metres or more; or ⌫ 

⌦ (b)  for  which  the  product  of  length  (L),  breadth  (B)  and  draught  (T)  is  a  volume  of 

100m3 or more. ⌫ 

This Directive shall not prejudice the provisions laid down in the Regulation on inspection of 
shipping  on  the  Rhine  and  in  the  Agreement  on  transport  of  dangerous  goods  on  the 
Rhine (ADNR). 

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OJ L 389, 30.12.2006, p. 1. 

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(cid:208) 76/135/EEC 

Article 2 

1.  Member  States  shall,  to  the  extent  required,  lay  down  any  necessary  procedures  for  the 
issue of navigability licences. 

However,  a  Member  State  may  exempt  from  this  Directive  vessels  which  do  not  leave  the 
inland waterways of its territory. 

2. Navigability licences shall be issued by the Member State in which the vessel is registered 
or has its home port or, failing that, by the Member State in which the owner of the vessel is 
domiciled.  Any  Member  State  may  request  another  Member  State  to  issue  navigability 
licences  for  vessels  operated  by  nationals  of  the  former.  Member  States  may  delegate  their 
powers to approved bodies. 

3.  Navigability  licences  shall  be  made  out  in  ⌦ one  of  the  official ⌫  Community 
⌦ languages; they ⌫ shall provide at least the information and use the system of numbering 
specified in Annex ⌦ I ⌫. 

(cid:208) 76/135/EEC (adapted) 

Article 3 

1.  Subject  to  paragraphs  3  to  6,  each  Member  State  shall  recognise  for  navigation  on  its 
national  waterways  the  navigability  licences  issued  by  another  Member  State  in  accordance 
with Article 2 on the same basis as if it had issued the licences itself. 

2. Paragraph 1 shall apply only if the licence was issued or last extended not more than five 
years previously and has not expired. 

The certificate issued pursuant to the Regulation on inspection of shipping on the Rhine shall 
be accepted as evidence, within the meaning of paragraphs 3 and 5, for its full duration. 

3. Member States may require that the technical specifications laid down in the Regulation on 
inspection  of  shipping  on  the  Rhine  are  complied  with.  They  may  require  the  certificate 
referred to in ⌦ the second subparagraph of ⌫ paragraph 2 as proof of this. 

4. Member States may require vessels carrying dangerous goods as defined in the ADNR to 
comply with the requirements laid down in that Agreement. As proof of this, they may require 
that the authorisation provided for in that Agreement be produced. 

5. Vessels which fulfil the requirements laid down in the Regulation on inspection of shipping 
on  the  Rhine  shall  be  admitted  to  all  inland  waterways  in  the  Community.  Evidence  of 
compliance with these requirements may be provided by the certificate referred to in ⌦ the 
second subparagraph of ⌫ paragraph 2. 

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Special  conditions  for  the  transport  of  dangerous  goods  shall  be  considered  fulfilled  in  all 
Community  waterways  if  the  vessels  meet  the  requirements  of  the  ADNR.  ⌦ Proof  of 
compliance with  those requirements ⌫ may  be provided  by  the authorisation referred to in 
paragraph 4. 

6. Member States may require fulfilment in maritime shipping lanes of additional conditions 
equivalent  to  those  required  for  their  own  vessels.  Member  States  shall  inform  the 
Commission of their maritime shipping lanes, the list of which ⌦ shall be ⌫ drawn up by 
the Commission. 

(cid:208) 76/135/EEC  

Article 4 

1. Any Member State may withdraw a navigability licence which it has issued. 

2.  Any  Member  State  may  interrupt  the  passage  of  a  vessel,  where  the  vessel  is  found  on 
inspection to be in a condition which clearly constitutes a danger to the surroundings, until the 
defects have been corrected. It may also do so where the vessel or its equipment is found on 
inspection  not  to  satisfy  the  requirements  set  out  in  the  navigability  licence  or  in  the  other 
documents referred to in Article 3 as the case may be. 

3. A Member State which has interrupted the passage of a vessel, or has indicated its intention 
to do so if the defects are not corrected, shall inform the competent authorities of the Member 
State  where  the  navigability  licence  or  the  other  documents  referred  to  in  Article  3  were 
issued of the reasons for the decision it has taken or it intends to take. 

4.  All  decisions  to  interrupt  the  passage  of  a  vessel  taken  pursuant  to  measures  adopted  in 
implementation of this Directive shall state in detail the reasons on which they are based. A 
decision shall be notified to the party concerned, who shall at the same time be informed of 
the  remedies  available  to  him  under  the  laws  in  force  in  the  Member  States  and  of  the 
time-limits allowed for the exercise of such remedies. 

(cid:208)  

Article 5 

Directive  76/135/EEC,  as  amended  by  the  Directive  listed  in  Annex  II,  Part  A,  is  repealed, 
without  prejudice  to  the  obligations  of  the  Member  States  relating  to  the  time-limits  for 
transposition into national law of the Directives set out in Annex II, Part B. 

References  to  the  repealed  Directive  shall  be  construed  as  references  to  this  Directive  and 
shall be read in accordance with the correlation table in Annex III. 

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

Article 6 

(cid:208) 76/135/EEC Art. 8 

Article 7 

This Directive is addressed to the Member States. 

Done at Brussels, 

For the European Parliament 
The President 

For the Council 
The President 

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(cid:208) 76/135/EEC Annex (adapted) 

ANNEX I 

Minimum information to appear on the licences 

⌦ (referred to in Article 2(3)) ⌫ 

The information is divided into three categories: 

(cid:208) 76/135/EEC  

Compulsory: 

no special sign 

I. 

II. 

required if applicable: 

III. 

useful but optional: 

(x) 

(+) 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 

Name of the authority or approved body issuing the document 

(a)  Title of document 

(b) 

(+) Number of document 

Issuing State 

Name and domicile of the owner of the vessel 

Name of vessel 

(x) Place and number of registration 

(x) Home port 

(+) Construction type 

(+) Utilisation 

10. 

Main characteristics: 

(a) 

overall length in metres 

(b)  overall breadth in metres 

(c) 

depth below waterline at maximum draught(s) in metres 

11. 

(x)  Dead  weight(s)  in  metric  tons  or  displacement(s)  in  cubic  metres  at  maximum 
draught(s) 

12. 

(x) Indication of draught marking 

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13. 

14. 

15. 

16. 

(x) Maximum authorised number of passengers 

(x) Total power of propelling engines in HP or kW 

Minimum freeboard(s) in centimetres 

(a)  Declaration:  The  vessel  indicated  above  is  certified  as  being  suitable  for 

navigation 

(b) 

(x) Subject to the following conditions 

(c) 

(x) Indication of navigation restrictions 

17. 

(a)  Date of expiry 

(b)  Date of issue 

18. 

Stamp and signature of the authority or approved body issuing the licence. 

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(cid:207) 

ANNEX II 

Part A 

Repealed Directive with its amendment 
(referred to in Article 5) 

Council Directive 76/135/EEC  

(OJ L 21, 29.1.1976, p. 10) 

Council Directive 78/1016/EEC 

(OJ L 349, 13.12.1978, p. 31) 

Part B 

List of time-limits for transposition into national law 
(referred to in Article 5) 

Directive 

Time-limit for transposition 

76/135/EEC 

78/1016/EEC 

19 January 1977 

24 November 1978 

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ANNEX III 

CORRELATION TABLE 

Directive 76/135/EEC 

This Directive 

Article 1, introductory wording and point (a)  Article  1, 

first  paragraph, 

introductory 

Article 1(b) 

— 

wording 

— 

Article 1, first paragraph, points (a) and (b) 

Article 1, last sentence 

Article 1, second paragraph 

Articles 2 to 4 

Articles 2 to 4 

Article 5 

Article 6 

Article 7 

— 

— 

Article 8 

Annex 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

Article 5 

Article 6 

Article 7 

Annex I 

Annex II 

Annex III 

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