CELEX: 51991PC0054(02)
Language: en
Date: 1991-02-22
Title: AMENDED PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) ON A COMMON DEFINITION OF A COMMUNITY SHIPOWNER

COMMISSION OF THE                       ÎOPEAN COMMUNITIES
                                                  C0M(91) 54 final
                                                  Brussels, 22 February 1991
                            Amended proposal for a
                           COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC)
          establishing a Community ship register and providing for
                 the flying of the flag by sea-going vessels
 tea»»
                            Amended proposal for a
                           COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC)
              on a common definition cf a Community shipowner
                            Amended proposal for a
M                         COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC)
           applying the principle of freedom to provide services
                 to maritime transport within Member States
«®B|
          (presented by the Commission pursuant to Article 149(3)
                              of the EEC Treaty)
 ---pagebreak---                           EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
On 3 August 1989 the Commission submitted to the Council proposals for
     a Council Regulation establishing a Community ship register and
     providing for the flying of the Community flag by sea-going
     vessels;
     a Council Regulation on a common definition of a Community
     shipowner; and
     a Council Regulation applying the principle of freedom to provide
     services to maritime transport within Member States.
At its Plenary Session on 26 October 1990 the European Parliament
approved the Commission's proposals with a number of amendments.
The Commission has accepted certain amendments, including many of those
 involving changes of definition or laying down detailed procedures.
Among the amendments accepted are those concerning guidelines to be
 laid down by the Commission as a basis for the issue of minimum manning
certificates for vessels on the Community ship register (EUROS), those
amending nationality requirements for crews on EUROS vessels (and in
particular setting more stringent nationality requirements for
passenger vessels and ferries), and those providing for monitoring of
the availability of seafarers who are nationals of the Member States.
Amendments relating to the introduction of a uniform system of
taxation, based on tonnage, of ships registered in EUROS, and to the
exemption of seafarers domiciled in the Community from income tax in
respect of employment on ships registered in the Community have complex
and potentially far-reaching implications for the fiscal systems of the
Member States, and the Commission is examining these before reaching a
firm conclusion as to their acceptability. Further amendments to the
proposal for a Council Regulation establishing a Community ship
register will be submitted as necessary at a later stage.
A number of amendments are not acceptable, since they would introduce
subjects outside the scope of the regulations, would fall outside
normal budgetary procedures (amendment concerning Community aid for
EUROS vessels) or would subject the implementation of the regulation on
freedom to provide services to permanent derogation or unacceptable
delay.
 ---pagebreak---                  Amended proposal for a Council Regulation
        establishing a Community ship register and providing the
             flying of the Community flag by sea-going vessels
         (Submitted by the Commission pursuant to Article 149(3)
                             of the EEC Treaty)
       INITIAL PROPOSAL                       AMENDED PROPOSAL
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN             THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN
COMMUNITIES,                            COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty             Visas unchanged
establishing the European Economic
Community, and in particular
Article 84(2) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal of
the Commission,
Having regard to the opinion of
the European Parliament,
Having regard to the opinion of
the Economic and Social Committee,
Whereas shipping is an                  Unchanged
 indispensable element in trade
between the Member States and
between Member States and third
countr ies;
Whereas the availability of a high      Whereas the availability of a high
quality and truly competitive            quality competitive fleet depends
 fleet depends, on the one hand,        on the availability of a maritime
on the availability of a maritime        infrastructure within the
 infrastructure within the               Community allowing for the
Community including a reserve of         preservation of a sufficient
 nationals of Member States to           number of nationals of Member
 serve as seafarers and, on the          States to serve as seafarers
other hand, a cost level which           and a cost level which is
 is compet it ive;                       compet it ive;
Whereas the fleet flying Member          Whereas the comparative advantage
 States' flags has suffered a            of Community shipping has been
 considerable decline over the           eroded over the years, and the
                                                                           j>
 ---pagebreak--- years and to the extent that         fleet flying Member' States
ships have been transferred to       flags has suffered a considerable
third country registers, there       decline, and to the extent that
has been a severe loss of            ships have been transferred to
employment for Community             third country registers, there
nat ionaIs                           has been a severe loss of
                                     employment for Community
                                     nationals; and as a result the
                                     invisible earnings of the Member
                                     States of the Community have
                                     dec Iined.
Whereas the efforts to meet the      Whereas the efforts to meet
problem through national measures,   the problem through national
inter alia the establishment of      measures, either by the
second national registers, to which  establishment of second national
more favourable conditions are       registers, to which more
attached, tend to disperse the       favourable conditions are
effects of the actions undertaken    attached, or by granting
and risk a distortion of             operating subsidies or aid to
compet i t ion;                      related sectors, tend to disperse
                                     the effects of the actions
                                     undertaken and risk a
                                     distortion of competition;
Whereas it is in the Community       Whereas it is in the Community
 interest to aim at a structural      interest to aim at a structural
development of a fleet of            development of a fleet of vessels,
vessels, registered in Member        registered in Member States'
States' registers but also           registers but also identifiable
 identifiable as ships serving       as Community vessels which meet
Community needs, which comply        the standards laid down by
with the standards of the             international maritime conventions
maritime conventions, and whose      and to man these vessels, to the
crew includes as a minimum a         highest possible proportion, with
specified number of trained          Community seafarers;
seafarers from Member States;
Whereas this aim cannot be           Unchanged
attained without a reduction of the
cost level ;
Whereas the Commission has developed Unchanged
guidelines for the examination of
State aids to be given by the Member
States to Community shipping companies;
Whereas the establishment of a       Whereas the establishment of a
Community ship register should       Community ship register should
serve the purpose of creating a      serve the purpose of creating a
channel through which national       channel through which national
efforts can be converged, a          efforts can be converged, a
poo! of Community seafarers and <    focus for the employment of
 trade mark guaranteeing shippers    Community seafarers, and a trade
a high quality service;              mark guaranteeing shippers a high
                                     qua Iity service;
Whereas the Community ship register  Whereas the Community ship
will be additional to the national   register will be additional to
register ;                           the national register and
 ---pagebreak---                                       should be introduced
                                      without delay in order to
                                      discourage the trend towards
                                      setting up secondary registers;
Whereas the right to register         Whereas the right to register
vessels in the Community register     vessels in the Community register
should be reserved for natural and    should be reserved for natural
legal persons having a certain link   and legal persons having a genuine
with the Community; whereas,          link with the Community; whereas,
however, this right should also be    however, this right should also be
given under certain conditions to     given under certain conditions and
persons having a link with a given    terms to persons who have a
third country;                        genuine link with third
                                      countr ies;
Whereas the vessel to be registered   Unchanged.
in the Community register should
comply with certain conditions;
whereas, in particular, the vessel
should be and remain registered in
a national register; whereas the
decisions on the admission to the
national register must be taken in
compliance with the provisions of
the Treaty;
Whereas registration in the           Whereas registration in, and
Community register should depend on   continued membership of, the
compliance with the safety measures   Community register should depend
required by the international         on compliance with the safety
conventions in this respect;          measures required by the
                                       international conventions in this
                                      respect and any rules in respect
                                      of vessels, personnel and seamen
                                      established at Community level;
Whereas the number of trained         Whereas the number of qualified
 seafarers from Member States on       seafarers from Member States on
 board vessels registered in           board vessels registered in
 this register should be sufficient    this register should be
 to meet future requirements of the    sufficient to meet present and
 Community fleet;                      future requirements of the
                                       Community fleet, bearing in mind
                                       that in order to ensure
                                       passengers' safety and to
                                       safeguard employment among
                                       seafarers of the Member States,
                                       the crews of passenger vessels and
                                       ferries operating in European
                                       waters must consist entirely of
                                       Community seafarers;
 Whereas seafarers from non-Community  Whereas seafarers from non-
 countries on vessels registered in    Community countries on vessels
 this register should be employed on   registered in this register should
 conditions in conformity with         be employed on conditions which
 internationally agreed standards      have been agreed on by their
 unless otherwise mutually agreed      representative organizations and,
 with their representative              in the absence of such an
 ---pagebreak--- organizations;                        agreement, on conditions which
                                      comply with internationally agreed
                                      standards;
                                      Whereas in order to ensure uniform
                                      crew composition for each category
                                      of vessel and degree of
                                      automation, in view of the
                                      substantial divergences that exist
                                      between national legislations on
                                       this matter, guidelines for the
                                      composition of the crews of
                                       vessels registered in EUROS must
                                       be laid down by the Commission on
                                       the basis of the principles set
                                       out in Resolution A 481 (XII) of
                                       the International Maritime
                                       Organization and ILO Convention
                                       147 concerning minimum standards
                                        in merchant shipping which are
                                        internationally recognized and
                                       accepted;
Whereas all seafarers on vessels       Unchanged,
 registered in this register should at
 least benefit from the social security
 schemes to which they are entitled in
 the country where they are resident;
Whereas vessels, while remaining on Unchanged.
 this register, should be able to
 transfer between the national
 registers of Member States without
 technical hindrance, when they comply
with the essential technical
 requirements to be laid down by
 the CounciI ;
Whereas the right of free movement      Unchanged.
 under Article 48 of the Treaty as
 implemented by Council Regulation
 1612/68 applies to employment of
 nationals of Member States on board
 vessels registered in the Member
 States; whereas therefore this right
 applies to vessels registered in
 EUROS; whereas, however, the effective
exercise of that right may be
 hindered by differences between
 qualifications and licences issued in
 the Member States; whereas it is
 appropriate to provide for recognition
of such qualifications and licences
 for seafarers for the purposes of
 employment on board vessels in the
 Community register subject to minimum
 requirements laid down by the Council;
Whereas registration in this           Whereas registration in this
 register should be reflected in the   register should be reflected in
 ---pagebreak--- right and obligation to fly the         the right and obligation to fly
European flag;                          the European flag which should be
                                        afforded a similar degree of
                                        protection to that enjoyed by the
                                        flags of Member States and third
                                        countr ies;
Whereas the Commission should be        Whereas the Commission should, in
enabled to adopt implementing           application of the provisions of
provisions concerning the               this regulation, be enabled to
establishment of the register and       adopt implementing provisions
concerning procedures of                concerning the establishment of
registration and deregistration;        the register and concerning
                                        procedures of registration and
                                        deregistrat ion;
Whereas there should be cooperation Unchanged
between the Community register and
the national ship registers,
 including an exchange of information;
Whereas the Member States should        Unchanged
take the necessary measures to control
and enforce compliance with the
provisions of this Regulation;
                                        Whereas the Commission will report
                                        annually to the European
                                        Parliament and Council on the
                                        number of vessels registered in
                                        the Community register and the
                                        number of Community seafarers
                                        employed in those vessels, thus
                                        enabling the effectiveness of this
                                        regulation to be assessed, and
                                        whereas the Commission will if
                                        necessary propose any
                                        modifications and improvements
                                        required;
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION             HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION
                     SECTION 1 : Scope of the Regulation
Art icie 1 - Objective                  Unchanged.
This regulation provides for:           This regulation provides for:
 - the establishment of a Community      - the establishment of a Community
    ship register for sea-going            ship register for sea-going
    merchant vessels;                      merchant vessels;
 - t h e conditions for registration;    - the conditions for registration;
 - certain facilities accruing from      - certain facilities accruing from
    such registration;                     such registration;
 - the right to fly the European         - the flying of the European flag
    flag on these vessels in addition      on these vessels in addition to
    to the nat ional flag.                 the national flag;
 ---pagebreak---                                           associated measures aimed at
                                          ensuring the maintenance of
                                          social standards and at
                                          improving environmental and
                                          safety standards.
            SECTION 2 : The register, vessel owners and vessels
Art icie 2     Establishment of        Unchanged
               the register
A Community ship register              Unchanged
(hereafter called "EUROS") is
hereby established in which sea-going
merchant vessels may be registered
in addition to their national
registration in a Member State.
The Commission shall register when     Unchanged
the conditions laid down in
Articles 3, 4 and 5 are met.
 It shall deregister a vessel when
 it no longer conforms to the
provisions of this Regulation.
Art icie 3 - Persons entitled to       Art icie 3 - Community vessel
               have a vessel                         owner
               registered in EUROS
1. The following may apply for         1. The following who are owners
registration of a vessel in EUROS      of a vessel registered in the
                                       national register of a Member
                                       State may apply for registration
                                       of the vessel in EUROS:
(a) nationals of the Member States      (a) nationals of the Member
     established in a Member State          States;
     and pursuing shipping
     act ivit ies;
(b) a shipping company formed in        (b) companies formed in accordance
     accordance with the law of a           with the law of a Member State
     Member State and having its             and having their principal
     principal place of business in,         place of business in, and
     and effective control exercised        effective control exercised
     within, the Community, provided        within, the Community,
     that the majority of the capita         provided that a majority of
     of that company is owned by             the members of the board or
     nationals of the Member States         of the directors of these
     or the majority of the board of         companies are nationals of the
     the company consists of such           Member States having their
     nationals, who have their               domicile or usual residence
     domicile or usual residence in          in the Community.
     the Communi ty.
 (c) Nationals of Member States         (c) Companies formed in accordance
     established outside the                with the law of a Member State
 ---pagebreak---      Communi ty or                         or of a third country in which
     shipping companies established        nationals of Member States
     outside the Community and             participate by more than 50 %
     controlled by nationals of a          or are company shareholders
     Member State, if the vessels          controlling more than 50 %
     owned or operated by them are         of the overall company
     registered in that Member State       capital.
     in accordance with its
     legislat ion.
     For the purpose of this          For the purpose of this
     regulation, a natural or legal   regulation, a natural or legal
     person mentioned in paragraph 1  person mentioned above
     wi I I hereafter be referred to  wi 11 hereafter be referred to
     as a "Community vessel owner";   as a "Community vessel owner";
3. Where it has been agreed           2.   Where it has been agreed
     between a third country and           between a third country and
     the Community that registration       the Community that
     of vessels in each other's            registration of vessels in
     register shall be permitted,          the register of that third
     the term "nationals of the            country and in EUROS shall be
     Member States" shall, for the         permitted, the term "nationals
     purposes only of paragraph 1(a)       of the Member States" shall,
     and (b), include nationals of         for the purposes of
     the third country concerned.          paragraph 1(a) and (b),
                                            include nationals of the third
                                           country concerned.
Art icie 4 - Vessels eligible for     Unchanged
               registrat ion
Eligible for registration in EUROS    Eligible for registration in EUROS
 is any sea-going merchant vessel      is any sea-going merchant vessel
of at least 500 grt, built or under   with a tonnage of at least
construction, which is already        500 grt, built or under
registered in a Member State, and     construction, which is already
entitled to fly the flag of that       registered in a Member State and
Member State and used or to be         is used or to be used for the
used in national or international      transport of cargo or passengers
trade for the transport of cargo      or any other commercial purpose,
or passengers or any other             if it fulfils the following
commercial purpose, if it fulfils      condi t ions:
the following conditions:
(a) the vessel must be and remain      (a) the vessel must be and remain
      registered in the national ship       registered in the national
      register for the duration of          ship register for the duration
      its registration in EUROS;            of its registration in EUROS;
 (b) the vessel must be owned and      (b) the vessel must be owned, and
      for the duration of its               for the duration of its
      registration in EUROS remain          registration in EUROS remain
     owned by the person entitled to        owned, by a Community vessel
      register a vessel in EUROS, or        owner ;
      operated by a Community vessel
     owner on the basis of a bare-
      boat charter in accordance
     with the provisions of
 ---pagebreak---     Art icie 5;
(c) the vessel shall not be more (c) the vessel shall not be more
    than 20 years old.                than 20 years old at the time
                                      of its registration in EUROS
                                      unless it has been completely
                                      refurbished and certified
                                      by a Member State as complying
                                      with the regulations for new
                                      ships defined in the 1974
                                      SOLAS Convent ion.
                                 Art icie 5 - Registration
                                 1.   The Community vessel owner
                                      shall apply to the Commission
                                      for the registration of a
                                      vessel in EUROS. He shall
                                      submit this application either
                                      directly to the Commission or
                                      through the competent national
                                      authorities which shall
                                      forward the application to
                                      the Commission.
                                      This application shall be
                                      accompanied by:
                                        (a)A certificate of ownership
                                            of the vessel issued by
                                             the national registration
                                            authority;
                                       (b) The measurement
                                            cert ificate of the
                                            vessel ;
                                       (c) A certified copy of the
                                            vessel's certificate of
                                            nat ionality;
                                       (d) If the vessel is
                                           mortgaged, a wr itten
                                           statement by the mortgage
                                           creditors that they
                                           consent to the
                                           registrat ion of the
                                           vessel in EUROS.
                                      The Commission may stipulate
                                     other documents or
                                     certificates that must be
                                     submitted in order for a
                                     vessel to be registered in
                                     EUROS.
                                     Registration in EUROS shall
                                     be completed when the
                                     following data is recorded
                                                                       lo
 ---pagebreak---         in the relevant entry of the
        vessel :
        (a) the name or title of the
             Community vessel owner
             and his or its other
            part iculars;
        (b) the name, the
             internat ional cal I
             letters, the dimensions
            the gross and net
            register tonnage, the
            type and power of the
            engine and the age of
            the vessel ;
       (c) the type of the vessel,
            its number and port of
            national registration.
       The Commission may also lay
       down other data concerning
       the vessel which must be
       recorded in EUROS.
      The following data shall also
      be recorded in the register.-
       (a) changes of ownership or
           nat ional flag of the
           vessel ;
      (b) the deregistration of the
           vessel.
      Third parties shall be
      entitled to receive
       information of the data
      concerning a vessel
      registered in EUROS on
      payment of a reasonable fee.
Art icie 6 - Notification
1.    Where a vessel is registered
       in or deregistered from EUROS
      the Commission shall notify
       its national registration
      author i ty.
2.    Where, for any reason, a
      vessô! is deregistered from
      the national register, the
      nnt?onc* •"*:^rs"^:; authority
      she. ! ! ;tv..7<eci ' ,:*te iy notify th^
      Comm i ss i on.
 ---pagebreak---                                     Art icie 7 - Certificates and
                                                   documents of vessels
                                    The following certificates or
                                    documents must be kept on board
                                    the vessel for the entire duration
                                    of its registration in EUROS:
                                     (a)  The certificates or documents
                                          which the vessel is required
                                          to have on board under the
                                           legislation of the Member
                                          State in whose national
                                          register the vessel is
                                          registered;
                                     (b)  The certificate granting the
                                          right to fly the European
                                          f I ag ;
                                     (c)  The certificate of minimum
                                          crew compos it ion;
                                     (d)  The "sea-worthiness"
                                          certificate issued by a
                                          Member State in whose
                                          register the vessel is
                                          registered.
                                    Art icie 8 - Deregistration
                                     1.   A vessel registered in EUROS
                                          shalI be deleted:
                                          (a) by the Commission, acting
                                               ex officio, where the
                                               vessei ceases to comply
                                               with the provisions of
                                               this régulât ion or,
                                          (b) by an application from
                                               the Community vessel
                                               owner.
                                    2.    The deletion of a vessel from
                                          the national register of a
                                          Member State and its
                                          registration in the national
                                          register of another Member
                                          State at the same time, shall
                                          not affect its registration
                                          in EUROS.
Art icie 5 - Bare-boat charters     Art icie 9 - Bare-boat charters
Vessels operated by Community       Vessels operated by Community
vessel owners on the basis of a     shipowners on the basis of a
bare-boat charter may be registered bare-boat charter for a period of
                                                                        fl
 ---pagebreak--- in EUROS during the period of that     at least twelve months may be
charter if the following conditions    registered in EUROS during the
are fulf iI led:                       period of that charter if the
                                       following conditions are
                                       fulfiI led:
     the vessel is registered as a     1.   the vessel is registered as a
     bare-boat chartered vessel in          bare-boat chartered vessel in
     a national ship register of a          a national ship register of a
     Member State;                          Member State;
     the laws of the vessel's          2.   the laws of the vessel's
     initial flag country allow             initial flag state allow the
     bare-boat registration in              registration of a bare-boat
     another country;                       chartered vessel in the
                                            national register of a Member
                                            State;
     the consent of the owner of            the consent of the owner of
     the vessel and of all mortgage         the vessel and of all mortgage
     creditors for the registration         creditors for the registration
     of the bare-boat is obtained;          of the bare-boat in EUROS is
     and                                    obtained; and
4.   the bare-boat charter is duly           the bare-boat charter has
     recorded in the register of the         been duly recorded in the
     vessel's initial flag country.          register of the vessel's
                                              init ial flag state.
                    SECTION 3: Safety, manning and crew
Art icie 6 - Safety                    Art icie 10 - Safety
Throughout the period of registra-     Throughout the period of registra-
tion the vessel must be provided       tion the vessel must be provided
with all certificates required         with all certificates required by
by the Member State concerned.         by the Member State in whose
                                       national register it is
                                       registered.
                                       Art icie 11 - Manning
                                       1.    Guidelines concerning the
                                             manning of vessels registered
                                             in EUROS shall be laid down
                                             by the Commission on the
                                             basis of the principles set
                                             out in Resolution No.A 481
                                             (XI I) of 19.11.1981 of the
                                             Assembly of the International
                                             Maritime Organization (IMO),
                                             after consul tat ion with the
                                             Joint commit too on maritime
                                             transport and Member States.
                                             The Coiiirnissior: shall adopt
                                             time limit mentioned in
 ---pagebreak---    Article 24.
2. The Commission shaI I include
   in the guidelines provisions
   ensuring that insofar as
   requirements concerning safe
   manning are met and the
   necessary automatation
   exists, seafarers with
   multiple qualifications
   certificates may be employed,
   provided that specific
   reference is made to this
   fact in the minimum manning
   cert ificate.
3. Member States shall issue
   minimum manning certificates
    in conformity with paragraphs
   1 and 2 and shall deliver
   them to the persons
   requesting the registration
   of a vessel in EUROS.
   The Member State shall
   specify in the minimum
   manning certificate a
    language or languages as the
    language or languages of the
   crew.
4. At the request of the
   Community vessel owner
   concerned or seafarers
   employed on the vessel who
   consider that the minimum
   manning certificate issued by
   a Member State is not in
   conformity with the
   guidelines laid down by the
   Commission, the Commission
   wiI I carry out an
    investigation and will take a
   decision after consultation
   with the Member State
   concerned. The Commission
   will take the decision within
   two months of the date of
   request.
5. The decision of the
   Commission shall lay down the
   minimum manning scale of the
   vessel. The Member State
   concerned shall issue
    immediately a new certificate
    in conformity with the
   Commission decision.
6. The national authorities
   shall monitor compliance with
                                  4
 ---pagebreak---                                          the provisions or the min
                                         manning certificate and
                                         impose sanctions where
                                         appropriate.
Article 7 - Nationality of crew     Article 12 - Nationality of crew
On vessels registered in EUROS all       On vessels registered in
officers and at least half of the        EUROS all officers and at
rest of the crew shall be nationals      least half of the rest of the
of a Member State.                       crew referred to in their
                                         minimum manning certificates
                                         shall be nationals of a
                                         Member State.
Trainees do not count towards            Trainees do not count towards
meeting the requirements above           meeting the requirements
                                         above.
                                         In particular, passenger
                                         vessels or ferries registered
                                          in EUROS which operate
                                         regular lines for passengers
                                         or vehicles between the ports
                                         of the same Member State or
                                         between (1) Mediterranean
                                         ports or (2) North Sea and
                                         Baltic ports or (3) European
                                         Atlantic ports or operate
                                         cruises with embarkation and
                                         disembarkation at any of the
                                         above ports, all the officers
                                         and the remaining crew
                                         referred to in the minimum
                                         manning certificate of
                                         vessels shall be nationals of
                                         the Member States.
                                    Article 13 - AvallabiIity of
                                                  seafarers
                                    1.   The Member States shall
                                         provide for monitoring on a
                                         permanent basis of the
                                         availability of seafarers who
                                         are nationals of Member
                                         States in their ports, and
                                         make the information so
                                         obtained available to
                                          interested parties.
                                         Where seafarers who are
                                         nationals of the Member
                                         States are not available for
                                         employment in a vessel
                                         registered in EUROS that lies
                                          in the port of a Member
                                         State, under the terms and
 ---pagebreak---                                            conditions of the collective
                                           wage agreements concluded
                                           with their representative
                                           organizations, the Member
                                           State may grant permission to
                                           the master of the vessel to
                                           sail on the forthcoming
                                           voyage with fewer seafarers
                                           who are nationals of the
                                           Member States than those
                                           provided in Article 12.
Art icie 8 - Wages, working hours    Article 14 - Wages, working hours
             and further labour                      and further labour
             condit ions                             condit ions
                                     1.    Labour conditions and working
                                           hours of seafarers, who are
                                           not nationals of a Member
                                           State, on board vessels
                                           registered in EUROS, shall be
                                            in accordance with the laws
                                           and regulations of the Member
                                           State in whose national
                                           register the vessel is
                                           registered and the Community
                                           regulations if any.
Wages, working hours and further           Wages and any other
labour conditions of seafarers, who        remuneration of seafarers who
are not nationals of a Member              are not nationals of a Member
State, on board vessels registered         State on board vessels
in EUROS, shall be in accordance           registered in EUROS shall be
with the ILO Wages, Hours of Work          at least in accordance with
and Manning (Sea) Recommendation           the ILO Wages, Hours of Work
(No. 109), 1958, subject to any            and Manning (Sea)
arrangement on collective wages            Recommendation (No.109),
agreed upon with organizations as          1958, subject to any
referred to in Article 9.                  arrangement on collective
                                           wages agreed upon with
                                           organizations as referred to
                                            in Art icie 15.
Art icie 9 - Co I Iect i ve wage     Art icie 15 - Co I Iect i ve wage
             agreements                              agreements
1.   If Community vessel owners      1.    Seafarers who are not
     who have registered the               nationals of a Member State
     vessels which they own or             may be employed only on the
     operate in EUROS employ               basis of collective wage
     seafarers who are not                 agreements concluded with
     nationals of a Member State           trade unions representing
     such seafarers may be employed        the above seafarers.
     only on the basis of collective
     wage agreements concluded with
     trade unions or similar orga-
     nizations of the country where
     they are resident.
                                                                         A
 ---pagebreak---         No collective wage agreement          No collective wage agreement
        may be concluded with a               may be concluded with a trade
        foreign trade union or similar        union on behalf of nations s s
        organization on behalf of             of a third country if such
        nationals of a third country          union does not satisfy the
        if such trade union or orga-          conditions of ILO Convention
        nization does not satisfy the         No. 87 concerning the freedom
        conditions of ILO Convention          of association and protection
        No. 87 concerning the freedom         of the right to organize.
        of association and protection
       of the right to organize.
3. The law of the Member State of             The law of the Member State
        registration of the vessel or,        of registration of the vessel
        if explicitly referred to in          or, if explicitly referred to
        the agreement, any other Member       in the agreement, any other
        State, shall apply to such            Member State, shall apply to
        collective wage agreements. The       such collective wage
        courts of the Member State            agreements. The courts of the
        concerned shall be competent to       Member States, shall be
        hear and determine disputes           competent to hear and
        arising out of such agreements.       determine disputes arising
                                              out of such agreements and
                                              from individual labour
                                              contracts drawn up in
                                              accordance with and in
                                              implementation of such a
                                              collective wage agreement.
                                              Collective agreements must
                                              not contain discriminatory
                                              rules, based on sex.
Article 10 - Social security            Art icie 16 - Social security
Without prejudice to Article            Without prejudice to Article
1 3 ( 2 ) ( C ) of Council Regulation   13 (2) (c) of Council Regulation
(EEC) No. 1408/71 and unless            (EEC) No. 1408/71 and in the
otherwise mutually agreed at the        absence of a contrary agreement at
level of governments or social          the level of governments or social
partners, social security for           partners, social security for
seafarers on board vessels              seafarers on board vessels
registered in EUROS shall be the        registered in EUROS shall be the
responsibility of the country           responsibility of the country in
in which the seafarer is                which the seafarer has his usual
resident unless the                     residence unless the legislation
legislation of that country             of that country expressly provides
expressly provides otherwise, in        otherwise, in which case the
which case the Member State of          Member State in whose national
registration shall be responsible       register the vessel is registered
but in accordance with the              shall be responsible but in
legislation of the country of           accordance with the legislation
res idence.                             generally applicable to seafarers
                                        of the country of usual residence.
For the purpose of this provision       Unchanged
residence means residence on shore
                                                                             n
 ---pagebreak--- and employment on board a vessel
registered in a Member State shall
not, of itself, be considered as
being residence in that State.
Article 11                            Article 17
Articles 8, 9, and 10 shall apply     Articles 14, 15 and 16 shall apply
subject to any right conferred or     subject to any right conferred or
obligations imposed by any other      obligations imposed by any other
Community legislative act except      Community legislative act except
where such act expressly provides     where such act expressly provides
otherwise.                            otherwise.
         SECTION 4: Facilities attached to registration  in EUROS
Article 12 - Transfer of vessels      Article 18 - Transfer of vessels
Any vessel registered in EUROS and    Any vessel registered in EUROS and
having valid certificates and          having valid certificates and
classification and meeting the         classification and meeting
essential technical                    the essential technical
 requirements to be laid down by       requirements to be laid down by
 the Council according to the          the Council according to the
provisions of the Treaty before        provisions of the Treaty before
 1 July 1991, may be transferred       31 December 1991, may be
 to the register of another Member     transferred to the register of
 State without the imposition of       another Member State without the
additional technical requirements.     imposition of additional technical
                                       requirements.
Art icie 13 - Recognition of           Article 19 - Recognition of
 seafarers' qualifications             seafarers' qualifications
 The qualifications and licences       The qualifications and licences of
of seafarers who are nationals         seafarers who are nationals of a
of a Member State shall be             Member State shall be recognised
 recognised by the competent           by the competent authorities of
 authorities of each Member State      each Member State for the purposes
 for the purposes of employment        of employment on any vessel
on any vessel registered in EUROS,     registered in EUROS, subject to
 subject to minimum requirements       minimum requirements for
for professional training and          professional training and
 experience in the function            experience in the function
 concerned as required in              concerned as required in
 Directives adopted or to be           Directives adopted or to be
 adopted by the Council,               adopted by the Council,
 according to the provisions           according to the provisions
 of the Treaty, before                 of the Treaty, before
 1 July 19S1.                          31 December 1991.
              SECTION 5: European flag, port of registration
 ---pagebreak--- Article 14 - European Flag           Article 20 - European Flag
1.   Vessels registered in EUROS     1.     Unchanged.
     are entitled and obliged to fly
     the European flag in addition
     to their national flag.
2.   Upon registration a certificate       Unchanged
     conveying the right to fly the
     European flag will be delivered
     by the Commission to the
     applicant for registration.
Art icie 15 - Port of registration   Art icie 21 - Port of registration
A vessel registered in EUROS shall   A vessel registered in EUROS shal
bear a relevant identification on    bear a relevant identification on
its stern under the name of the      its stern under the name of the
port of registry in its national     port of registry in its national
register.                            registrat ion.
                                     Article 22 - Rights in rem
                                     Where a vessel flies the European
                                     flag this shall not: affect the
                                     rights in rem and maritime liens
                                     on this vessl and/or matters of
                                     public, administrative or crimina
                                      law which shall continue to be
                                     governed by the laws of the
                                     national flag Member State.
                                     Article 23 - Calculation of the
                                                    age of a vessel
                                      For the purpose of this Regulation
                                      the age of a vessel shall be
                                      calculated from the first of
                                      January of the year following the
                                      year in which the vessel was
                                      delivered by the shipyards ready
                                      for commercial use.
Art icie 16 - Implementing measures   Art icie 24 - Implementing measures
The Commission shall, within six      The Commission shall, within six
months after the adoption of this     months after the adoption of this
 regulation, adopt the necessary      regulation, adopt the necessary
 implementing measures concerning     implementing measures concerning
 the establishment of EUROS, the      the establishment and functioning
 procedures for registration and      of EUROS, the procedures for
 deregistration, the form and         registration and deregistration,
 content of the documents             the system for monitoring
 concerned, including the             compliance with the provisions
 certificate concerning the           of this regulation and the
                                                                          ft
 ---pagebreak--- right to fly the European flag,       sanctions in case of failure to
the form of, and rules                observe them and lay down the
governing the flying of, the           form and content of the documents
flag, and the identification          concerned, including the
of vessels on the register.           certificate concerning the right
                                       to fly the European flag, the form
                                      of, and rules governing the flying
                                      of, the flag, and the minimum
                                      manning cert ificate.
Art icie 17 - Cooperation             Article 25 - Cooperation
1.   National authorities and the     Unchanged.
     Commission shall assist each
     other in applying this
     Regulation and in checking
     compliance therewith.
     Within the framework of this            Within the framework of this
     mutual assistance they shall            mutual assistance they shall
     communicate to each other the           communicate to each other the
     necessary information with              necessary information.
     respect to registration and
     deregistrat ion.
Art icie 18 - Transitional period      Art icie 26 - Transitional period
1.   Member States shall, within six 1.      Member States shall, within
     months after the adoption of this       twelve months of the adoption
     Regulation and after consultation       this Regulation and after
     with the Commission, take the           consultation with the
     necessary measures to:                  Comm i ss i on :
         organize effective controls   (a)   adopt measures to protect the
          to ensure compliance with          European flag and take the
          the requirements laid down         necessary measures to enable
          in Sections 2, 3 and 5;            those vessels registered in
                                             EUROS to exercise their right
                                             to fly it;
          impose sanctions in case of  (b)   take the necessary measures
         non-compliance with those           effectively to control
          requi rements;                     compliance with the relevant
                                             provisions of Sections 2, 3
                                             and 5 of this Regulation and
                                             of the decisions implementing
                                             these provisions which shall
                                             be issued by the Commission
                                             and to introduce the
                                             procedure for imposing
                                             sanct ions.
         enable vessels registered in
         EUROS to exercise the right to
          fly the European flag.
2.   Such measures shall make express    Unchanged
     reference to this Regulation.
 ---pagebreak---     Member States shall forthwith   Unchanged.
    communicate to the Commission
    the measures adopted.
                                  Art icie 27 - Reports and review
                                  The Commission shall make an
                                  annual report to the European
                                  Parliament and Council, beginning
                                  on 1 July 1993, on the number of
                                  vessels registered in EUROS and
                                  the composition of their crews. It
                                  shall also propose to the Council
                                  any amendments to this Regulation
                                  which may be required.
                                  Art icie 28
                                  By 31 December 1995 at the latest
                                  the Council shall decide on a
                                  review of this Regulation on the
                                  basis of a proposal from the
                                  Commission which shall be
                                  submitted by 1 July 1995.
Article 19 - Entry into force     Article 29 - Entry into force
This Regulation shall enter  into This Regulation shall enter into
force on 1 January 1991.          force on 1 January 1992
This Regulation shall be binding  Unchanged
in its entirety and directly
applicable in all Member States.
                                                                     21
 ---pagebreak---                   Amended proposal for a Council Regulation
               on a common definition of a Community shipowner
          (Submitted by the Commission pursuant to Article 149(3)
                              of the EEC Treaty)
            INITIAL PROPOSAL                     AMENDED PROPOSAL
 THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN            THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN
 COMMUNITIES,                           COMMUNITIES,
 Having regard to the Treaty            Visas unchanged
 establishing the European Economic
 Community, and in particular
 Article 84(2) thereof,
 Having regard to the proposal of
  the Commission,
 Having regard to the opinion of
 the European Parliament,
 Having regard to the opinion of
 the Economic and Social Committee,
 Whereas the development of the single Unchanged,
 market makes it desirable to affirm
 the identity of the Community also
  in the field of sea transport
 services;
 Whereas to an increasing degree        Unchanged.
 Community legislation refers to
 Community shipowners and there
 should be a common view on the
 identity of such a shipowner;
 Whereas it is desirable to             Unchanged.
 distinguish between companies
owned by nationals of a third
country or the majority of whose
board consists of nationals of
such a country and those which are
owned or managed by Community
nationals, taking into account
that the former may themselves
have acquired the same status as
companies of the Member States by
their establishment in a Member
State;
                                                                    21
 ---pagebreak---                                    - 2 -
Whereas such a distinction can be        Unchanged.
achieved by defining as Community
shipowners those nationals of a
Member State who have a significant
economic link with a Member State;
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:             HAD ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Art icie 1                               Article 1
This Regulation lays down criteria       Unchanged
establishing a common definition of
a Community shipowner.
Art icie 2                               Art icie 2
Unless otherwise stated, all             Unchanged
references to "Community shipowner",
in regulations, directives and
decisions of the Council are to be
interpreted in accordance with
Art icles 3 and 4.
Art icie 3                               Art icie 3
For the purpose of this Regulation       Unchanged
"a shipowner" means:
a natural or legal person providing
a liner or tramp service in the field
of maritime transport of passengers or
goods by one or more sea-going vessels
which he or it owns or has chartered
on the basis of a bare-boat charter,
time charter or voyage charter.
Art icie 4                               Art icie 4
The following shipowners are             The following shipowners are
regarded as Community shipowners         regarded as Community
                                         shipowners:
1a   a national of a Member State,       1a a national of a Member State,
     who has his domicile or usual          who has his domicile or usual
     residence in a Member State;            residence in a Member State;
1b   a shipping company or firm which    1b a company or firm which is
     is formed in accordance with the        formed in accordance with the
     law of a Member State and which         law of a Member State and
     complies with the following            which complies with the
     requirements:                           following conditions:
     (i) the principal place of           (i) the principal pi ace of
         business is situated and              business is situated and
         the effective control                 the effective control
         exercised in a Member State           e x e r c i r s d hi a Morzlzi.
         and                                   S t a t e and
                                                                               Î3
 ---pagebreak---                                    - 3 -
     (ii)the executive board consists     (ii)a majority of the members
         of persons the majority of            of the board or of the
         whom are nationals of a               directors are nationals
         Member State or the majority          of Member States
         of shares are owned by                having their domicile or
         nationals of a Member State           usual residence in the
         having their domicile or              Community or
         usual residence in a Member           in which nationals of
         State;                                Member States participate
                                               by more than 50 % or are
                                               company shareholders
                                               controlling more than 50 î
                                               of the overall company
                                               capital
2a   a national of a Member State who    2a a national of a Member State
     has his domicile or usual              who has his domicile or usua
     residence outside the Community         residence outside the
     if his vessels are registered in       Community if he is the owner
     that Member State in accordance        of a vessel registered in a
     with its legislation;                  Member State in accordance
                                            with its legislation;
2b   a shipping company or firm          2b a company or firm formed in
     established outside the                 accordance with the law of a
     Community and controlled by             third country in which
     nationals of a Member State if          nationals of Member
     its vessels are registered in          States participate by more
     that Member State in accordance         than 50 % or are
     with its legislation.                  shareholders controlling more
                                             than 50 % of the overalI
                                             company capital provided that
                                             it is the owner of a vessel
                                             registered in a Member State
                                             in accordance with its
                                             legislat ion.
Art icie 5                               Art icie 5
This Regulation shall enter   into       This Regulation shall enter into
force on 1 January 1990.                 force on 1 July 1991.
This Regulation shall be binding         Unchanged.
in its entirety and directly
applicable in all Member States.
                                                                           24
 ---pagebreak---                  Amended proposal for a Council Regulation
    applying the principle of freedom to provide service to maritime
                       transport within Member States
         (Submitted by the Commission pursuant to Article 149(3)
                             of the EEC Treaty)
           INITIAL PROPOSAL                        AMENDED PROPOSAL
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN               THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN
COMMUN ITI ES,                            COMMUN ITI ES,
Having regard to the Treaty               Visas unchanged
establishing the European Economic
Community, and in particular
Article 84 (2) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal of
the Commission,
Having regard to the opinion of
the European Parliament,
Having regard to the opinion of
the economic and Social Committee,
Whereas the principle of freedom          Unchanged
to provide services does not yet
apply to maritime transport within
the Member States;
Whereas it is important to adopt          Unchanged
measures with the aim of progressively
establishing the internal market over
a period expiring on 31 December 1992;
whereas; the internal market shall
comprise an area without internal
frontiers in which the free movement
of goods, persons, services and
capital is ensured;
                                                                      25
 ---pagebreak---                                   - 2 -
                                        Whereas the creation of an
                                        internal market which covers an
                                        area without internal frontiers
                                        will have to take into account
                                        the principles of the Treaty
                                        with regard to the raising of
                                        the standard of living including
                                        the improvement of the
                                        employment opportunities for
                                        workers;
Whereas in accordance with Article      Unchanged
61 of the Treaty freedom to provide
services in the field of maritime
transport is to be governed by the
provisions of the Title relating to
transport ;
Whereas the abolition of restrictions   Unchanged
on the provision of maritime
transport services within Member
States is necessary for the
establishment of the single market;
Whereas therefore the principle of      Unchanged
freedom to provide services should
be applied to maritime transport
within Member States-,
Whereas this freedom should be          Unchanged
subject to conditions in respect
of the vessels used to provide the
services, so as to ensure a degree
of approximation of operating
conditions among the persons and
companies providing such services-,
                                        Whereas the introduction of
                                        public services entailing
                                        certain rights and obligations
                                        for the shipowners concerned may
                                        be justified in order to ensure
                                        regular transport services on
                                        certain links, provided that
                                        there is no distinction on the
                                        grounds of nationality or
                                        residence;
Whereas such conditions are
fulfilled by ships registered in the
Community ship register established
by Council Regulation (EEC) No... and
used in short-sea trades;
 ---pagebreak---                                     3 -
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:            HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Art icie 1                              Article 1
1. Restrictions on freedom to           1. Restrictions on freedom to
provide maritime transport services     provide maritime transport
within Member States shall be           services within Member States
abolished in respect of Community       shall be abolished in respect
shipowners who are established in       of the Community shipowners
a Member State of the Community         referred to in Article 4 of
other than that of the person for       Regulation No.   on a common
whom the services are intended when     definition of a Community
using vessels registered in the         shipowner where, in providing
Community ship register and not         these services, they exclusively
exceeding 6000 grt.                     use vessels registered in the
                                        Community ship register not
                                        exceeding 6000 grt, provided
                                        that these vessels are allowed
                                        to operate in services, if any,
                                        within the State where they are
                                        registered.
2. The provisions of this Regulation Deleted
shall also apply to nationals of the
Member States established outside
the Community and to shipping
companies established outside the
Community and controlled by nationals
of a Member State, if their vessels are
registered in that Member State in
accordance with its legislation and
 in the Community ship register and not
exceeding 6000 grt.
3. For the purposes of this             Unchanged
 Regulation, services shall be
 considered as "maritime transport
 services" where they are normally
 provided for remuneration and shal
 in part icuiar include:
 (a) the carriage of passengers or
     goods by sea between ports in
     any one Member State, including
     overseas deparments of that
     State (cabotage);
 (b) the carriage of passengers or
     goods by sea between any port
      in a Member State and instal-
      lations or structures on the
     continental shelf of that
     Member State (off-shore supply
     services).
                                                                         n
 ---pagebreak--- u
                                    - 4 -
  4. The Member State between whose       4. The Member State between
  ports the maritime transport services   whose ports t he mar i t ime
  are provided may require that the        transport ser vices are
  vessels used for these services are      provided may require that
  manned with nationals of the Member      vessels used for these services
  States to the same degree as is         are manned wi th nat ionals of
  required in respect of the vessels       the Member St ates to the same
  flying its own flag which are used      degree as is required in respect
  for these services.                     of the vessel s flying its own
                                           flag which ar e used for these
                                           services and that they shalI
                                           have similar training to that
                                           required of i ts nat ionals
                                          employed ther ein.
  Art icie 2                              Art icie 2
  1. Notwithstanding Article 1(1)          Unchanged
  and (2), a Member State may, where
  necessary in order to maintain
  sufficient maritime transport services
   in the case of cabotage between the
  mainland and its islands and between its
   islands, impose public service obligations
  as a condition for the right to provide
  the service.
  2. For the purpose of this Regulation Unchanged
  the law, regulations or administrative
  conditions imposed by Member States
  aiming to guarantee the continuity,
  regularity and efficiency of the
  services, and the provision of goods
  of fundamental importance for the
  economic we I I being of such territories
  shall be considered as public service
  obiigat ions.
                                  Article 3
                                           1. In the event of severe market
                                           disruption or serious imbalances
                                           between supply and demand in a
                                           given geographical area, the
                                           Commission shall, either on its
                                           own initiative or at the request
                                           of a Member State, adopt
                                           safeguard measures with a view
                                           to appropriately redressing the
                                           situât ion.
                                                                            >t
 ---pagebreak---                                     5 -
                                            Where a Member State puts a
                                            request to the Commission,
                                            the decision shall be adopted
                                            within thirty days of receipt
                                            of the request duly
                                            accompanied by the
                                            information considered
                                            relevant.
Art icie 3                              Art icie 4
Articles 55 to 58 and 62 of the         Unchanged
Treaty shall apply to the matters
covered by this Regulation.
Art icie 4                              Article 5
Without prejudice to the provisions     Unchanged
of the Treaty relating to the right
of establishment, a person providing
a maritime transport service may, in
order to do so, temporarily pursue
his activity in the Member State where
the service is provided, under the same
conditions as are imposed by that State
on its own nationals.
Art icie 5                              Art icie 6
Member States shall, before adopting    Unchanged
 laws, regulations or administrative
provisions in implementation of
Article 2 consult the Commission.
 They shall send to the latter any
 such measures so adopted.
 Article 6                               Article 7
 This Regulation shall be reviewed       Unchanged
 before 1 January 1993.
 Art icie 7                              Article 8
 This Regulation shall enter into        This Regulation shall enter
 force on 1 January 1991.                 into force on 1 July 1991.
 This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly
 applicable in all Member States.
                                                                          M
 ---pagebreak---  ---pagebreak---                                                                                ISSN 0254-1475
                                                                   COM (91) 54 final
                                                      DOCUMENTS
EN                                                                                        07
                                 Catalogue number : CB-CO-91-076-EN-C
                                                               ISBN 92-77-69508-0
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