COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT pursuant to Article 294(6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union concerning the position of the Council at first reading on the adoption of a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the monitoring, reporting and verification of carbon dioxide emissions from maritime transport and amending Regulation (EU) N° 525/2013
Date: 2015-03-10
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: International Maritime Organisation, disclosure of information, environmental monitoring, greenhouse gas, pollution from ships, reduction of gas emissions, vessel

EUROPEAN 
COMMISSION 

Brussels, 10.3.2015  
COM(2015) 128 final 

2013/0224 (COD) 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 
TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 

pursuant to Article 294(6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union 

concerning the 

position of the Council at first reading on the adoption of a Regulation of the European 
Parliament and of the Council on the monitoring, reporting and verification of carbon 
dioxide emissions from maritime transport and amending Regulation (EU) N° 525/2013 

(Text with EEA relevance) 

EN 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
2013/0224 (COD) 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 
TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 

pursuant to Article 294(6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union 

concerning the 

position of the Council at first reading on the adoption of a Regulation of the European 
Parliament and of the Council on the monitoring, reporting and verification of carbon 
dioxide emissions from maritime transport and amending Regulation (EU) N° 525/2013  

1. 

Background 

(Text with EEA relevance) 

Date of proposal to the European Parliament and to the Council 
(document COM (2013) 480 final – 2013/0224 COD): 

28 June 2013. 

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

16 October 2013 

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

16 April 2014  

Date of transmission of the amended proposal: 

Date of adoption of the position of the Council: 

n/a 

5 March 2015 

2. 

Objective of the proposal from the Commission 

The  Commission  proposes  to  create  an  EU-wide  legal  framework  for  collecting  and 
publishing verified annual data on CO2 emissions and energy efficiency from all large ships 
(over 5 000 gross tons) that use EU ports, irrespective of where the ships are registered. This 
is the first step of the EU strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from maritime transport 
as outlined by the Commission Communication adopted in June 20131 and should also bring a 
valuable contribution to ongoing debates in the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). 

The  key  features  of  the  monitoring,  reporting  and  verification  scheme  resulting  from  this 
proposal are as follows: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

1 

Scope:  ships  above  5000  gross  tons  calling  at  ports  under  the  jurisdiction  of  a 
Member  State  fall  under  the  MRV  rules.  Exclusion  of  small  emitters  (small  and 
medium size ships below 5000 GT) which represent about 40% of the fleet, but only 
10% of the total emissions. 

A  few  categories  of  ships  are  exempted:  warships,  fish  catching  and  processing 
ships, wooden ships and government ships used for non-commercial purposes. 

In accordance with the principles of international maritime law, MRV rules apply in 
a non-discriminatory manner to all ships calling at EU ports, regardless of their flag. 

Commission Communication on "Integrating maritime transport emissions in the EU's greenhouse gas 
reduction policies" COM (2013) 479 final. 

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(d) 

(e) 

(f) 

(g) 

(h) 

(i) 

(j) 

(k) 

Coverage of journeys from and to EU ports: from 1 January 2018, ships will need to 
monitor their CO2 emissions and other relevant efficiency parameters for their intra-
EU Union voyages (those between ports of call under the jurisdiction of a Member 
State), for their incoming voyages (from the last non-EU port of call to the first port 
of  call  under  the  jurisdiction  of  a  Member  State)  and  for  their  outgoing  voyages 
(from a port of call under the jurisdiction of a Member State to the first non-EU port 
of call). 

Emissions  from  vessels  within  ports  will  also  need  to  be  monitored,  reported  and 
verified.  This  is  intended  to  encourage  the  use  of  available  shore-based  emission-
reduction technologies. 

Already available data from log books, noon reports and bunker delivery notes will 
be used. 

After  being  monitored,  this  data  will  need  to  be  independently  verified  and  then 
annually reported in an aggregated manner to the Commission and to the ship's flag 
state. 

The Commission will report on verified annual aggregated data on a "per ship" basis, 
including both CO2 emission and efficiency parameters. 

A limited number of tasks will be assigned to the European Maritime Safety Agency 
(EMSA),  mainly  related  to  the  enforcement  database,  in  line  with  its  founding 
regulation. 

Enforcement  by  MSs  acting  either  as  Flag  States  or  as  Port  States  (either  through 
Port State Control (under 19§2) or through MRV specific inspections (under 19§3)) 
are to check that a valid Document of Compliance (DoC) is on board of ships when 
visiting ports under their jurisdiction, and to follow-up by sanctions, if appropriate. 

international  developments  by 

Link  with 
the  Regulation  and 
proposing/aligning,  if  appropriate,  relevant  amendments  based  on  internationally 
agreed developments, notably in IMO. 

reviewing 

3. 

Comments on the position of the Council 

3.1. 

General comments on the Council Position 

The  Commission  point  of  view  is  that  the  informal  negotiations  led  to  a  balanced  package 
with  satisfactory  solutions  on  a  number  of  important  issues  such  as  the  scope  of  the 
Regulation,  the  monitoring  and  reporting  of  cargo,  data  confidentiality  and  transparency  of 
information  or  the  enforcement  provisions.  The  Commission  is  therefore  in  a  position  to 
support the outcome as reflected in the Council position. 

The  Commission  nevertheless  makes  a  specific  statement  relating  to  the  use  made  by  the 
Council  of  the  possibility  foreseen  under  Article  5(4)  of  Regulation  182/2011  (the  "no 
opinion" clause) for implementing acts. The Commission does not oppose it, but it strongly 
believes  that  the  use  of  such  a  provision  needs  to  be  justified  and  will  therefore  make  the 
statement in Annex to this Communication. 

3.2. 

European Parliament's amendments at first reading (in brief) 

The  Council  did  not  explicitly  consider  a  number  of  EP's  amendments.  The  Commission's 
views on these EP's amendments is described below.  

The EP first reading opinion put forward the following main amendments: 

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(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

(e) 

Inclusion of broader references to "greenhouse gas emissions" instead of "CO2 
emissions" (Ams. 1, 9, 10, 12, 17, 21, 23, 24, 29, and 31). Partly accepted by the 
Commission. The EP first reading opinion substitutes in several instances the words 
"CO2 emissions" by "GHG emissions" so as to highlight the need to address "other 
than  CO2"  maritime  emissions  over  time.  The  Commission  is  of  the  view  that  the 
objective  of  the  proposed  Regulation  shall  remain  focused  on  CO2  which  is  by  far 
the most significant GHG emission from the maritime sector. However, and as long 
as  the  scope  of  the  Regulation  remains  untouched,  some  wider  wording  along  the 
EP's  amendments  can  be  acceptable.  The  Council  has  retained  CO2  as  the  only 
emission  covered,  as  in  the  Commission  proposal,  while  accepting  some  broader 
wording  on  GHG  emissions  and  air  pollutants  in  the  recitals  (recital  1a  new)  and 
others). 

Including fishing and processing ships under the MRV (Am. 26) Rejected by the 
Commission The EP is in favour of including under the MRV scheme "fishing and 
processing ships" which were excluded from the proposal. The Commission view is 
that  these  categories  represented  a  negligible  amount  of  emissions  and  presented 
some  enforcement  problems.  The  Council  finally  kept  these  categories  out  of  the 
Regulation as in the Commission proposal  

Inclusion of a lightened MRV monitoring obligations for vessels operating only 
EU-related  voyages  and  performing  multiple  voyages  per  day:  "short  sea 
shipping regime" (Am. 58). Partly accepted by the Commission. The EP includes 
an exemption from "per voyage" monitoring obligations for ships only operating EU-
related  journeys  and  performing  multiple  voyages  a  day  (such  as  ferries).  The 
objective is to streamline required monitoring obligations for ships performing a high 
number  of,  potentially  similar,  journeys  every  day.  In  order  to  avoid  that  in  those 
cases, monitoring becomes unnecessarily too onerous, "per voyage" monitoring will 
not  be  strictly  required  as  an  intermediate  step  while  annual  reporting  obligations 
remain untouched. As a matter of principle, the Commission supports the inclusion 
of  such  a  lightened  regime  which  seeks  a  balance  between  the  need  to  base  ship's 
annual  reporting  on  accurate  data  existing  on  board  and  the  administrative  burden 
this  would  entail  for  a  particular  type  of  trade  or  circumstances  defined  in  an 
objective  manner.  The  Council  retained  the  EP's  idea  while  preferred  setting  a 
threshold related to the number of voyages scheduled annually so as to provide for 
more legal certainty for the operators. 

Deletion  of  'cargo  carried'  and  'transport  work'  from  the  scope  of  data 
monitored as well as related energy efficiency calculations (Ams. 29, 30, 43, 53-
55,  59,  73,  91  and  93).  Rejected  by  the  Commission.  The  EP  has  proposed  the 
deletion  of  "cargo  carried"  and  related  operational  energy  efficiency  calculations, 
based on "transport work". The Council has retained them as monitoring parameters 
as put forward in the Commission's proposal.  

Strengthening  technical  efficiency  by  requiring  certified  Energy  Efficiency 
Design  Index  (EEDI)  also  for  existing  ships  (Ams.  61  and  71)  Rejected  by  the 
Commission.  The  EP  has  proposed  to  require  certification  of  EEDI  for  all  ships 
categories  under  the  MRV  to  which  the  EEDI  applies,  as  a  counterproposal  to  the 
deletion  of  cargo  and  the  weakening  of  operational  efficiency.  The  Council  has 
retained the Commission proposed scope of EEDI, only applying to new ships (built 
or repaired after 2013).  

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(f) 

(g) 

(h) 

(i) 

Adding  ships'  'ice  class'  and  information  on  severe  winter  conditions  to  the 
information  included  in  the  Monitoring  plan  and  emissions  reports  (Ams.  33, 
40, 44, 60 and 70). Accepted by the Commission. The EP is in favour of adding a 
package  of  amendments  aiming  at  ensuring  that  "ice  class"  (indicating  whether  the 
ship has been specifically designed for navigation in sea-ice conditions) is part of the 
core information to be reported under the MRV. The Council has retained the EP's 
main idea but has converted such a reporting into a voluntary one. 

Introduction  of  a  reference  to  Directive  2003/4/EC  on  public  access  to 
environmental  information  (Am.  69).  Rejected  by  the  Commission.  The  EP's 
concerns  about  MRV  collected  data,  giving  undue  insights  into  commercially 
protected  information,  has  led  the  EP  to  introduce  a  reference  to  existing  EU 
legislation on access to environmental information (namely Directive 2003/4/EC on 
access  to  information)  applicable  only  to  MS.  The  Commission  understands  that 
MRV annual aggregated data do not typically give an insight into business secrets; it 
could however show some openness so as to assess whether in a concrete case and 
due to specific  circumstances,  protection of a  legitimate  commercial interest  would 
be undermined. The Council has reformulated the EP's idea and developed it into a 
reference to Regulation 1367/2006 on access to environmental information applying 
to  EU  institutions  and  bodies  (Aarhus  Regulation)  which  contains  a  clause  on 
protected commercially interest to be assessed against public interest in disclosure. 

24 

(1)). 

Tacit  extension  of  the  Commission's  empowerment  to  adopt  delegated  acts 
(Article 
Commission. 
The EP proposes that delegation of powers last five years and is tacitly extended for 
periods of identical duration, unless the EP or the Council oppose this extension. The 
Commission  can  accept  this  clause  which  indeed  represents  standard  wording.  The 
Council has also retained the usual tacit extension formula. 

Accepted 

the 

by 

Biennual  assessment  of  non-CO2 
impacts  (Am.  82).  Accepted  by  the 
Commission. The EP has proposed a new obligation for the Commission under the 
Monitoring  Mechanisms  Regulation  (MMR)  to  biennually  assess  the  maritime 
transport  sector's  overall  impact  on  the  global  climate  including  through  non-CO2 
emissions.  The  Commission  could  accept  the  EP  proposal  subject  to  some 
reformulation.  The  Council  has  retained  the  EP's  idea  but  converting  it  into  a 
(biennual)  obligation  to  be  carried  out  at  the  time  the  general  report  on  reported 
MRV emissions will be produced by the Commission pursuant to Article 21(3). 

3.3. 

New provisions introduced by the Council and the Commission's stance. 

The Council has inserted a number of changes which do not significantly weaken the proposal 
and also a number of new provisions into the text which the Commission can accept. These 
provisions are as follows: 

(a) 

Inclusion of a lighter regime of monitoring for "short sea shipping" (Article 9 
(2)  new)  The  Council  has  included  new  provisions  enabling  for  ships  exclusively 
operating  journeys  within  the  scope  of  the  proposal  and  having  more  than  300 
scheduled  voyages  per  year,  to  benefit  from  an  exemption  from  the  "per  voyage" 
monitoring obligations (Article 9§ 2 new). The wording of the Council exception is 
quite similar to the amendment put forward by the EP (Am. 58) and the Commission 
can  go  along  such  a  lightened  regime  as  described  in  the  Council  text  (which 
provides  more  legal  certainty  in  the  form  of  an  annual  threshold).  "Per  voyage" 
monitoring  of  fuel  consumption  and  CO2  for  ships  performing  a  high  number  of 
potentially  similar  activities  (as  ferries)  exclusively  within  the  scope  of  the  MRV 

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Regulation is not absolutely necessary as other documents and data existing on board 
(as BDN) can be used by the verifier to assess the way CO2 and fuel consumption 
annual  data  have  been  calculated.  It  is  therefore  not  an  intermediate  step  strictly 
necessary to fulfil the ship's main annual reporting obligations under Article 10 of the 
MRV Regulation which remain applicable in the same way. Per voyage" exemption 
relies also on the condition that it is not necessary to clearly distinguish and separate 
data on a "per voyage" basis (so as to avoid covering data from journeys outside the 
scope  e.g.:between  two  non  EU  ports  of  call).  Ships  not  fulfilling  the  two 
abovementioned objective criteria which apply regardless of the flag of the ships will 
not be able to benefit from such an exception. 

Voluntary  reporting  by  companies  on  the  basis  of  criteria  defined  in  the 
monitoring  plan  (Article  10(3)  new)  The  Council  has  introduced  new  provisions 
allowing  ships  to  monitor  and  later  get  published  fuel  consumption  and  CO2 
emission  data  according  to  different  criteria  (i.e.:  laden/ballast  voyages).  The 
Commission can go along with the Council's text 

MRV  regime  of  inspections  (Article  19  (3)).The  Council  has  proposed  to  lessen 
MS  authorities'  obligations  regarding  ships  not  having  notified  a  Document  of 
compliance and not covered by other enforcement mechanisms, and entering a port 
under MS' jurisdiction. The Commission can go along with the Council's text as this 
would  align  the  mechanisms  for  enforcement  to  levels  traditionally  applied  in  this 
sector. 

Expulsion  order  (Article  20  (3)).The  Council  has  watered  down  the  conditions 
under which Member States may issue an expulsion order in case of ships in breach 
of the MRV obligations for "two or more consecutive reporting periods" (instead of 
"more  than  one  reporting  period")  and  "where  other  enforcement  measures  have 
failed  to  ensure  compliance".  Also  a  reference  to  international  maritime  law 
applicable  in case of distress  of ships has been added. The Commission can accept 
the Council's text. 

National rules on sanctions and penalties and information on national remedies 
(Article 20 (3a) and (4))A derogation allowing landlocked MS without ships flying 
their  flag  to  be  excluded  from  the  obligation  to  set  national  rules  on  penalties  and 
sanctions  has  been  included  as  20  (3a)  new.  Also  a  new  reference  on  the  need  to 
inform  companies  on  the  national  effective remedies  available  in  case  of  expulsion 
order has been added under Article 20(4) new. The Commission can go along with 
the Council's text on these points. 

Publication  of  annual  data  aggregated  data  and  commercial  interest  protected 
pursuant  Regulation  1367/2006/EC 
to  EU 
institutions and bodies (Article 21(2a) new). The Council has proposed to reword the 
EP  clause  regarding  protection  of  commercial  interest  by  inserting  a  reference  to 
Regulation  1367/2006  on  access  to  environmental  information  held  by  EU 
institutions  and  bodies  (the  "Aarhus  Regulation").  The  Commission  can  go  along 
with the Council's text. 

(Aarhus  Regulation)  applicable 

Delegated  acts  on  verification  and  accreditation  and  new  Annex  III  on  the 
elements to be taken into account by the Commission when adopting these delegated 
acts  (Articles  15(5)  and  16(3)  and  Annex  III  new).  The  Council  has  added  some 
further  specification  of  the  content  of  the  delegated  acts  on  verification  and 
accreditation  originally  foreseen  under  Articles  15  and  16  of  the  Commission 
proposal  by  adding  a  list  of  non-essential  elements  to  be  taken  into  account  when 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

(e) 

(f) 

(g) 

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(h) 

(i) 

(j) 

(k) 

developing these delegated acts under a new Annex III to the Regulation. This helps 
to circumscribe the scope of the delegated acts and can therefore be accepted by the 
Commission. 

Deletion  of  MS'  reporting  obligations  on  maritime  emissions  under  the 
Monitoring  Mechanism  Regulation  (MMR) (Article  26).The  Council  has  deleted 
any  additional  MS'  reporting  obligation  to  be  fulfilled  under  the  Monitoring 
Mechanism Regulation (MMR) based on data gathered under the MRV. MS annual 
reports of data are no strictly necessary as the Commission will directly receive the 
data  from  companies  and  will  also  establish  annual  reports.  Therefore  the 
Commission could accept the Council position. 

Development  of  parameters  for  monitoring  cargo  "per  ship  type"  including 
through  additional  implementing  acts  (Annex  II  part  B).In  the  Council  text 
"cargo" and "transport work" are part of the parameters to be monitored and reported, 
as  in  the  Commission  proposal.  However,  the  Council  has  introduced  a  number  of 
proposals regarding parameters for monitoring cargo and transport work adapted by 
specific  ship  type  to  be  part  of  the  MRV.  Annex  II  part  B  contains  therefore  a 
number  of  additional  provisions  reflecting  existing  the  state  of  the  art  regarding 
parameters for monitoring cargo for ro-ro and container ships (in addition to the ones 
for passenger ships from the Commission proposal).  

For other ships, the Council suggests that weight and volume are taken into account 
as  monitoring  parameters  as  appropriate,  and  enables  the  Commission  through 
implementing acts to further specify, and if necessary revise, how the obligation to 
monitor cargo is to be implemented. The Commission can accept this approach. The 
inclusion of ship-specific parameters for monitoring of cargo is relevant also to foster 
international developments, and notably progress in IMO. 

Amendment to Directive 2009/16/EC Directive of the European Parliament and 
of the Council on Port State Control ("PSC Directive) (Art. 26a). The Council has 
proposed to amend Annex IV of the Port State Control Directive in order to add the 
Document of compliance issued under the MRV Regulation, to the list of documents 
to be checked by Port State Control officers when carrying out PSC inspections. This 
would facilitate the implementation of the enforcement mechanisms foreseen under 
the Regulation, and shall be accepted by the Commission. 

No opinion clause Article (Art. 25(2)) The Council had recourse to the possibility 
foreseen under Regulation 182/2011 to introduce a "no-opinion clause" in relation to 
the  implementing  acts  under  the  MRV  Regulation.  The  Commission  will  keep  its 
standard position indicating that the inclusion of such a clause shall be accompanied 
by explanations on the specific reasoning justifying it in the present case: e.g. in the 
form of a recital. 

4. 

Conclusion 

The  Commission  considers  that  the  text  agreed  by  the  Council  remains  close  to  the  initial 
Commission  proposal  while  including  a  number  of  amendments  that  the  Commission  can 
support  in  order  to  facilitate  an  agreement  to  be  reached  with  the  EP  at  the  level  of  the 
Council's common position. 

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STATEMENT 
Statement by the Commission on the revision of Regulation e 20xx/xx/EC 

The  Commission  underlines  that  it  is  contrary  to  the  letter  and  to  the  spirit  of  Regulation 
182/2011  (OJ  L  55  of  28.2.2011,  p.  13)  to  invoke  Article  5,  paragraph  4,  second 
subparagraph, point (b) in a systematic manner. Recourse to this provision must respond to a 
specific need to depart from the rule of principle which is that the Commission may adopt a 
draft  implementing  act  when  no  opinion  is  delivered.  Given  that  it  is  an  exception  to  the 
general rule established by Article 5, paragraph 4, recourse to second subparagraph, point (b) 
cannot be simply seen as a "discretionary power" of the Legislator, but must be interpreted in 
a restrictive manner and thus must be justified. 

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