REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the delegation of the power to adopt delegated acts conferred on the Commission pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2019/1239 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a European Maritime Single Window environment and repealing Directive 2010/65/EU
Date: 2024-04-25
Institutions: Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport, European Commission
Subjects: EU Member State, European Commission, administrative cooperation, delegated legislation, exchange of information, maritime safety, maritime transport, ports policy, powers of the institutions (EU), transfer of competence

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 25.4.2024  COM(2024) 175 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the delegation of the power to adopt delegated acts conferred on the Commission pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2019/1239 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a European Maritime Single Window environment and repealing Directive 2010/65/EU  
 
 
1. Introduction 

To support the maritime sector’s digitalisation efforts, Regulation (EU) 2019/1239 of the European 
Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 establishing a European Maritime Single Window 
environment  and  repealing  Directive  2010/65/EU1  (the  EMSWe  Regulation)  includes  a  set  of 
measures  to  achieve  harmonisation  and  simplification  in  maritime  reporting.  The  EMSWe 
Regulation  entered  into  force  on  15  August  2019  but  its  provisions  are  to  apply  only  from 
15 August 2025. 

The EMSWe Regulation establishes a single-entry point in each Member State for fulfilling all 
reporting  obligations  linked  to  a  port  call.  The  Regulation’s  goal  is  to  enable  a  fully  digital 
business-to-government exchange of the information required from ships when calling at a port in 
the  EU.  To  ensure  minimum  costs  and  protecting  previous  investments,  the  new  reporting 
environment is built largely on the existing legacy systems of maritime National Single Windows 
established by Directive 2010/65/EU. 

Cornerstones of the EMSWe Regulation are the harmonisation of data definitions and formats, and 
measures to improve data flows for increased efficiency.  To this end,  Article 3 of the EMSWe 
Regulation  empowers  the  Commission  to  adopt  delegated  acts  to  amend  the  Annex  to  the 
Regulation for the purpose of introducing, deleting or adapting references to national legislation 
or requirements, Union or international legal acts, and to establish and amend the EMSWe data 
set. Inter alia, the EMSWe data set also requires regular updates, to guarantee its alignment with 
customs  data  requirements  set  in  Annex  B  to  Regulation  (EU)  2015/24462  and  Annex  B  to 
Regulation (EU) 2015/24473 and the related EU Customs Data Model, and with the IMO FAL 
Compendium4 under the Convention on Facilitation of International Maritime Traffic, facilitating 
inter-operability between different authorities. 

The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Article 3 of the EMSWe Regulation is conferred 
on the Commission for a period of 4 years from 14 August 2019. The delegation of power is tacitly 
extended  for  periods  of  an  identical  duration  unless  Parliament  or  the  Council  opposes  such 
extension no later than 3 months before the end of each period. 

In accordance with Article 23(2), the Commission is required to draw up a report in respect of the 
delegation of power. This report covers this obligation. 

1 OJ L 198, 25.7.2019, p.64. 
2 OJ L 343, 29.12.2015, p. 1. Link to the latest consolidated version: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_del/2015/2446/2023-03-14 
3 OJ L 343, 29.12.2015, p.558. Link to the latest consolidated version: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2015/2447/2023-03-15 
4 https://imocompendium.imo.org/public/IMO-Compendium/Current/index.htm. 

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2. Exercise of delegated powers  

Since Regulation (EU) 2019/1239 entered into force on 15 August 2019 until the publication of 
this  report,  the  Commission  exercised  once  its  power  to  adopt  delegated  acts.  On  7 November 
2022,  it  adopted  Commission  Delegated  Regulation  (EU)  2023/205  supplementing  Regulation 
(EU) 2019/1239 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the establishment of the 
European Maritime Single Window environment data set and amending its Annex5 (the Delegated 
Regulation).  

The Delegated Regulation was adopted after the deadline of 15 August 2021 set in Article 3(3) of 
the  EMSWe  Regulation.  The  reasons  for  the  delay  in  adopting  the  Delegated  Regulation  were 
related to the complexity of the data modelling activities resulting from a multitude of legal bases 
and, at the same time, the difficulty for Member State authorities to submit to the Commission in 
good  time  the  list  of  the  national  reporting  obligations  with  the  corresponding  data  elements 
requested  from  declarants  in  their  ports.  The  COVID-19  crisis  also  had  an  impact  on  the  data 
collection process, as Member State authorities in the maritime transport sector were engaged in 
multiple crisis management situations and therefore had to prioritise health-related issues. 

The  Delegated  Regulation  established  the  EMSWe  data  set,  meaning  the  complete  list  of  data 
elements stemming from reporting obligations listed in the Annex to the EMSWe Regulation. The 
data set is extensive and comprehensive, divided into 92 data groups, each of which contains one 
or more data elements.  In total,  the  data set lists more than 1120  data elements including  their 
identifier,  name,  description,  and  format.  In  addition,  each  data  element  has  a  reference  to  the 
mapping of the EU Customs Data Model and to the IMO Compendium (where relevant), and to 
any relevant code list or applicable business rule. 

In addition, the Delegated Regulation made amendments to the Annex to the EMSWe Regulation 
which details as regards reporting obligations. The need for these changes arose from updates in 
the underlying legislation, including the amendment or replacement of existing EU, national and 
international laws, and the inclusion of more specific references to current legislative texts. Due 
to the multiple changes, the Annex was integrally comprehensively replaced.  

In accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 
on Better Law-Making6, before adopting a delegated act, the Commission  must consult experts 
designated by each Member State.  When preparing the  Delegated  Regulation, the Commission 
consulted  Member  State  experts  and  maritime  business  sector  operators  participating  in  the 
EMSWe  expert  subgroup  of  the  High-Level  Steering  Group  for  Governance  of  the  Digital 
Maritime System and Services7, who supported the provisions included in the delegated act.  

5 OJ L 33, 3.2.2023, p.24. 
6 OJ L 123, 12.5.2016, p.1. 
7 https://ec.europa.eu/transparency/expert-groups-register/screen/expert-groups/consult?lang=en&groupID=3450. 

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Throughout the procedural and decision-making process, the Commission ensured the appropriate 
transmission  of  relevant  documents  to  both  Parliament  and  the  Council.  Parliament  and  the 
Council did not object to the adoption of the Delegated Regulation. 

To  ensure  a  rapid  update  of  the  list  of  relevant  obligations  listed  in  the Annex  to  the  EMSWe 
Regulation  and  of  the  EMSWe  data  set,  the  Commission  considers  that  the  power  to  adopt 
delegated acts conferred on it by the EMSWe Regulation should be kept in place for as long as the 
EMSWe Regulation remains applicable. In this context, the Commission expects the amendment 
of the EMSWe data set to be a recurrent necessary activity, considering the strong dependencies 
with  the  constant  evolution  of  the  EU  legislation,  international  conventions,  and  national 
legislation. The empowerment to adopt or amend delegated acts will therefore remain necessary 
to  ensure  proper  implementation  and  functioning  of  the  European  Maritime  Single  Window 
environment.  In  this  regard,  the  Commission  services,  with  the  assistance  of  the  European 
Maritime Safety Agency, are already discussing with Member State experts the need for a new 
Commission  delegated  regulation  in  2024 to  amend the EMSWe  data  set  and adjust the list  of 
relevant reporting obligations under the EMSWe Regulation. 

3. Conclusion 

With  this  report,  the  Commission  complies  with  its  obligation  to  report  to  Parliament  and  the 
Council  on  its  use  of  delegated  powers  under  Article 23  of  the  EMSWe  Regulation.  The 
Commission presents this report on the use of delegated its powers to Parliament and the Council 
as foreseen in Article 23 of the EMSWe Regulation. 

The Commission has actively and appropriately exercised the delegated powers conferred on it by 
the EMSWe Regulation. At the same time, the Commission considers that  an extension of this 
delegation  of  power  to  adopt  delegated  acts  was  and  remains  appropriate,  in  accordance  with 
Article 23 of the EMSWe Regulation (tacit extension). Such extension will enable the Commission 
to continue to supplement the EMSWe Regulation and update periodically the scope of application 
of the EMSWe Regulation and EMSWe data set, which define the scope of what is reported in 
each maritime National Single Window, ensuring a harmonised implementation of the EMSWe 
Regulation.  

The Commission invites the European Parliament and the Council to take note of this report. 

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