CELEX: 51991PC0483
Language: en
Date: 1991-12-12
Title: Amended proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION ( EEC ) establishing a Community ship register and providing the flying of the Community flag by sea­going vessels

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
                                  COM(91) 483 final
                                  Brussels, 12 December 1991
        Communication by the Commission to the Council
      Amendment to a proposal for the establishment of a
                     Community ship register
                     Amended proposal for a
                    COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC)
   establishing a Community ship register and providing the
       flying of the Community flag by sea-going vessels
    (presented by the Commission pursuant to Article 149(3)
                        of the EEC Treaty)
 ---pagebreak---  ---pagebreak---               Communication by the Commission to the Council
Subject :    Amendment to a proposal for the establishment of a
             Community ship register.
1. On 3 August 1989 the Commission presented to the Council its
proposal on the establishment of the Community ship register, EUROS,
within the framework of "positive measures" for the benefit of the
European flag fleet.
2. In the previous 10 years the 29 % share of the Twelve in the world
tonnage has been halved, while the number of Community nationals
employed on board Member States' fleets has equally declined, from
300.000 to 150.000 seafarers. The main cause has been the relatively
high costs of operating under EC flags, the result to a large extent of
the difference in social and fiscal charges between EC flag vessels and
those flying the flags of some other countries, a difference which
could amount to 400.000 ECU per ship per year.
3. The Economic and Social Committee in its opinion of November 1989,
found the EUROS proposal "imaginative", but criticized the absence of
tangible, in particular fisea I/finaneiaI advantages.
4. On 26 October 1990 the European Parliament adopted an opinion
inviting the Commission to amend its original proposal on some points.
The suggestions made by the Parliament provide for a slight relaxation
of the conditions concerning the nationality of the crew for vessels
transporting goods, more stringent requirements for passenger vessels
and the introduction of direct fiscal and financial benefits. The
latter would consist of:
    1)   the introduction, for EUROS-registered vessels, of a variable
         tonnage tax in place of company and other revenue taxes, on
         lines similar to the system already operating in Greece;
    2)   the introduction of an exemption for the wages of seafarers
         from income tax in so far as they are employed on ships
         registered in EUROS. According to the Parliament this
         exemption should be extended, after one year, to the income of
         seafarers on board all vessels which are registered in the
         national register of a Member State, but not in EUROS. The
         intention is that the exemption would result in a reduction in
        operating costs for the shipowner, and not in an increase in
         the net wages of seafarers;
 ---pagebreak---                                    - 2 -
     3)   supplementary aid from Community funds for the modernisation of
          the fleet, restructuring plans, training of seafarers and
          repatriation of seafarers, in so far as they are registered in
          EUROS;
     4)   supplementary aid from Community funds in the form of
         contributions to the pension fund institutions in the Member
         States.
5. The Commission accepted the amendments concerning the nationality
of the crew, but could not, at that moment, accept the fiscal and
 financial proposals. However, the Commission left open the possibility
 that it could still accept the proposals concerning the tonnage tax and
 the income tax of seafarers, and Mr. Van Miert announced that the
Commission would study these proposals in depth. There were important
practical questions as to feasibility which required consultation with
Member States experts. As far as the proposals concerning Community
aid were concerned, the Commission referred to the existence of a
budget line for "specific actions in the field of maritime transport",
containing a very modest sum, although larger provisions in the future
should not be ruled out. The aid in question might be considered at
the appropriate time in accordance with normal budgetary procedures.
6. A consultation of Member States' experts on the fiscal proposals
took place on 3 and 4 December 1990. Some experts questioned the
Community's competence in this respect and the compatibility of these
proposals with the trend towards abolition of special tax treatment of
particular sectors or classes of individuals. Although the main pur-
pose of the meeting had been to consider questions of feasibility, an
appropriate answer to these general comments will also have to be given
 if the proposals of the European Parliament are to be followed up.
7. As to the introduction of a tonnage tax, there are certain
practical complications (for example, in relation to double-taxation
treaties) which would require to be resolved. The differences between
tax treatment of vessels registered in EUROS and other vessels
registered in a Member State, and, in multi-function companies, between
their shipping and other activities, would complicate the process of
assessment and might lead to opportunities for evasion. There is also
the consideration that in the event of a non-profit situation the tax
would need to be paid anyhow, and the possibility of offsetting tax
 liability against new investment would be lost. For the present, it is
not proposed to pursue such a tax, although the possibility of
returning to the matter at a later stage should be reserved.
8. As far as the exemption of seafarers from income tax is concerned,
relevant precedents already exist in a number of Member States. In the
UK and GR there is already a general system of partial exemption for
employees working outside the country. In Italy and Portugal similar
systems exist for those who work outside the territory. In three
Member States, specific benefits exist for seafarers: Danish seafarers
employed on ships plying in international trade are fully exempted from
income tax and Dutch seafarers for 35 % of their wages. In Belgium
there is a small rebate per day.
9. As to feasibility, three particular areas of difficulty have been
identified. Firstly, it is necessary to ensure that, as far as
possible, the benefit of tax exemption accrues fully to the shipowners,
since it is in the reduction of their operating costs that
 ---pagebreak---                                   - 3 -
justification of the proposal lies. The amendment adopted by the
European Parliament includes no adequate mechanism for ensuring this.
Secondly it seems difficult to request Member States to introduce a
general exemption from income tax for seafarers, because the trend in
the general taxation policy is to limit specific exemptions as far as
possible. Thirdly, it is necessary to ensure that the exemption does
not have unfavourable consequences for seafarers by reducing their
potential for mortgage relief or other tax concessions, or by affecting
the progressiveness of the tax system. These three areas of difficulty
can be addressed if the arrangement takes the form not of an exemption
from tax but a reimbursement of tax paid. The amendment attached to
this Communication provides for such reimbursement, with different
provisions depending on whether or not a system of withholding by
employers is in operation.
10. Following the results of the feasibility study, the Commission has
taken account of the idea contained in the Parliament's proposal
concerning the exemption of seafarers from income tax (in the form of a
reimbursement to shipowners), with a view to facilitating the adoption
of the EUROS proposal by the Council. The following arguments may be
advanced:
         shipowners and seafarers, Member States, the Economic and
         Social Committee and the European Parliament have urged the
         adoption of positive measures as soon as possible. The
         situation of the European flag fleet is continuing its rapid
         decline and if nothing is done there will be an accelerated
         flagging out of ships, meaning a further decrease of EC
         employment and tax income.
         Furthermore, during the recent period of international tension
         the availability of an EC fleet with a body of qualified
         seafarers proved to be essential for our own supplies and those
         of our a I I ies;
         if shipowners are placed in a better position to employ
         Community nationals as seafarers by means of fiscal measures -
         which are related to the employment of Community nationals - an
         important contribution will be made to employment in the
         European context while the need to flag out will be removed;
         ancillary industries in Europe, such as research, maritime
         training institutes, ports, shipbuilding, etc will remain in a
         position to benefit from the existence of national or rather
         Community flag shipping;
         since the exemption of seafarers from income tax is a measure
        which already fully or partly applies in various Member States,
         it is sensible with a view to avoiding distortion of
         competition to substitute these measures by a mandatory
         Community scheme as a common, coordinated action within the
         framework of positive measures for the Community fleet;
11. As far as the the question of Community competence in the fiscal
field - see point 6 above - is concerned: it concerns a measure for
the sake of coordination, on the basis of Article 8 4 ( 2 ) ( E E C ) , of
divergent policies of the Member States.
 ---pagebreak---                                       - 4 -
According to an opinion of the Legal Service of the Commission of 20
March 1990, it is not possible to exclude fiscal (or social) measures
from the scope of Article 84(2) if they are limited to the needs of a
common shipping policy and if they are Justified, in particular, by the
concern to secure in a coordinated manner the survival of the Community
fleet in the world market, while avoiding distortion of competition
between Community shipowners. Otherwise, according to the Legal
Service, in the extreme, transport policy would be made meaningless.
12. As stated above, in various Member States measures concerning
exemption of seafarers from income tax already exist. In some cases
these measures have been taken from the point of view of shipping
policy, with a view to the protection of the national fleet. It
appears that they make an important contribution to the survival of
these fleets. These measures may be considered as state aids and the
Commission has started to investigate them and may prohibit them if
they are not in conformity with the common interest. However, the
Commission is aware that political complications would be likely to
arise if it were to forbid these measures in the present situation
(although they would of course be removed by introduction of a scheme
at Community level). On the other hand it is obvious that in other
Member States the national fleets do not benefit from the measures in
question, which would promote distortion of competition. Other Member
States, in their turn, are taking measures of a different nature with
the consequent danger of a divergence in conditions of competition.
Therefore the Commission will not be able to stay its hand
 i ndef i n i te I y.
13. In this context it seems to be appropriate to introduce a non-
discriminatory Community framework which respects the principles of
Article 9 2 ( 3 ) . The European Parliament has put forward the following
argument, which the Commission can accept: if the Community wishes to
put an end to the flagging out of Community ships, then it must
 inevitably seek to reduce the disparity in operating conditions between
Community shipping as a whole and ships under flags of convenience or
shipping companies in some DAE's (Dynamic Asian Economies). Although
the latter companies, which are acquiring an ever increasing part of
the market, benefit from a combination of other hidden advantages, a
reduction of wage-related costs would undoubtedly help Community
shipowners quite a long way. Even if in most cases the net wages of
Community seafarers would remain higher, it is likely to be the case
that part of the difference can be compensated by the higher quality of
the European seafarers. Besides, if common measures, taken at the
level of the Community, to bridge the gap in operational costs compared
with third countries, were adopted, the problem of distortion of
competition would be solved. State aids involved in the amended EUROS
proposal should be considered compatible with the Treaty,
exceptionally, with a view to arriving at a Community system to be
developed further in the future which provides Community shipowners
with adequate and harmonized conditions of operation, putting them on
an equal footing with third country shipping companies.
 ---pagebreak---                                   - 5 -
14. The European Parliament proposal was that the exemption of income
tax should not be limited to seafarers on ships registered in EUROS but
should be extended to all ships under the flag of a Member State. The
argument reiied on by the European Parliament that such extension is
necessary to avoid discrimination amongst seafarers is not however
valid, since the objective is not to affect the net wages of the
seafarers. The possibility of state aids at national level, including
exemption of seafarers from income tax, being granted for ships
registered under the flag of a Member State, but not in EUROS, is not
excluded, but consistent application of Community competition law
should result in notification of all such aids to the Commission, and
their examination in accordance with the guidelines laid down by the
Commission. Naturally, if the beneficiaries operate under exactly the
same conditions as vessels registered in EUROS such examination will be
on the basis of equal treatment.
15. Whatever the position at national level, a number of
considerations, in addition to those referred to above, provide a
strong justification for granting a special facility for a complete
reimbursement to the shipowner of the income tax on the wages of
seafarers working on board ships registered in EUROS:
    a)  a mechanism, a point of reference, is needed with a view to
        channelling national efforts, to avoid distortion of
        competition between Community shipowners and to achieve the
        objectives of Community shipping policy, i.e. the continued
        existence of ships under Community flag and the employment, to
         the highest possible extent, of Community seafarers-, EUROS
        will provide for a minimum of operating conditions under which
        advantages such as those on tax exemption may be given;
    b)   the register will make a major contribution to the furthering
        of the Community interest by reinforcing the image and the
        commercial attraction of a high quality service Community
         fleet ;
    c)   the register will be the only means to create some sort of
         identity in the European transport system-,
    d)   the facility in question will be more easily identified as
        meeting a clear shipping objective (see para 10 above) and as
        such there will be no chance of a knock-on effect on other
        sectors or other groups of people who work outside the
        Community: the Community shipping industry cannot be protected
         in any other way and there is no other industry in which the
        workers are so long employed outside the Community-,
    e)   the restriction of the facility to EUROS will enable Member
        States which are flexible as to the nationality of the crew to
        offer their shipowners the choice between operations with the
         tax facility but on the EUROS manning conditions or operations
        without tax facility but with continued flexibility as to the
        nationality of the crew. This requires, however, the political
        will to be consistent in the application of Community
        competition law (state aids) if the facility is granted to
         ships which do not meet the objective of employment of
        Community seafarers.
 ---pagebreak---                                              -  6  -
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          b© thaunM»asure* wo*td n e e d to be considered to mahe the
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16. There is o n e proviso that should be added concerning this facility
for EUROS ships-, it is proposed that EUROS vessels" engaged in regular
cabotage trades should not be eligible for the f a c i N t y , to the extent
that such cabotage trades are restricted to ships registered in the
register of a Member State. This reflects the fact that such vessels
are not subject to competition from carriers operating ships under
flags of third countries. Ships which pick up cargoes in cabotage
 incidentally as part of an international voyage will however be
eligible for the facility, since to exclude them would be
administratively difficult.
17. Under the circumstances the Commission presents the proposed
amendment concerning the reimbursement of seafarers' income tax to the
shipowner with a view to re-starting the debate in the Council,
because :
         the call for common action by Member States and the
         organisations of shipowners and seafarers becomes ever                      louder,
         confidence in a European shipping policy is clearly at stake:
         the adoption of the amendment is a first important step in
         reversing this trend and serves as a catalyst for the
         development of further proposals,
         the chance of a speedy adoption of an evenly balanced proposal
         concerning liberalisation of maritime cabotage becomes greater
          if a linkage with EUROS can be m a d e , as proposed by the
         Comission from the outset.
18. The amended proposal and an explanatory memorandum are annexed to
this Communication.
 ---pagebreak---                          EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
On 3 August 1989 the Commission presented a proposal to the Council to
establish a Community ship register (EUROS), within the framework of
"positive measures" to improve the competitiveness of the Community
fIag f leet .
At its Plenary session on 26 October 1990 the European Parliament
approved the Commission's proposal with a number of amendments. The
Commission accepted certain amendments, including those concerning the
nationality requirements for crews on EUROS vessels. These amendments
have meanwhile been published (C0M(91) 54 final of 22 February 1991).
Two proposed amendments, intended to make the EUROS register a more
attractive option for Community shipowners, were not accepted at that
time since they needed further study and discussion with Member
States'experts. The amendments concerned related to the introduction
of a tonnage tax on ships registered in EUROS in lieu of company tax
and the exemption of seafarers from income tax to the benefit of
shipowners employing those seafarers on EUROS registered vessels and
after one year on all ships registered in the Community.
The Commission has discussed these proposed amendments with Member
States' experts and on the basis of these discussions, it is now
proposed to amend the proposal on the Community register taking account
of the Parliament's idea on the exemption of seafarers from income tax,
but only for seafarers employed on board EUROS ships. The practical
complications to be resolved if the tonnage tax were to be introduced
have led the Commission to decide not to pursue the possibility of such
a tax at the present time.
The Commission has decided to take account of the Parliament's idea on
taxation of seafarers, taking also into account that such a system
already applies in various Member States, albeit in different forms.
By linking the system to be applied in all Member States to ships
registered on EUROS and providing for free and non-discriminatory
access to the Community register, certain objectives of Community
shipping policy could be attained while avoiding distortion of
competition. Since one of the objectives is to stop the decline of the
Community flag fleet the facility should accrue to shipowners, but any
unfavourable consequences for seafarers should be avoided. The
Commission therefore proposes to put the amendment not in the form of
a general tax exemption of the seafarers' income tax but rather in the
form of a reimbursement to the shipowner of the amount of income tax
due from the seafarer. Experience shows that such measures are
necessary and that they are effective in achieving the aim of
promoting both registration in the Community register and employment of
Community seafarers.
 ---pagebreak--- State aids involved in this measure should be considered compatible
with the Treaty, exceptionally, with a view to arriving at a Community
system, to be developed further in the future, which provides Community
shipowners with adequate and more harmonised conditions of operation,
putting them on an equal footing with third country shipping companies.
It should be noted that, given the expected increase in the national
fleet of a Member State as a result of the measures proposed, the
reimbursement of seafarers' income tax would not lead to a
corresponding reduction in global tax revenue, and that in any case any
such loss would be less than that which would follow from the
continuing decline of the EC fleet as a result of the failure to take
measures of the sort proposed.
In order to avoid any discrimination or distortion of competition
because of the different levels of income tax in the Member States it
is proposed to make sure that equal access of shipowners to all the
registers of Member States is granted for ships to be registered in
EUROS along the lines of the Court judgement of 25 July 1991 in case C
221/89 (Factortame).
The attached amended proposal is the reproduction of COM (91) 511 final
but now includes the proposal on the reimbursement of seafarers' income
tax, i.e. Section 4, Article 18, as well as the relevant recitals.
 ---pagebreak---                                         Uv
                  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
COMMUN ITI ES,                           COMMUN ITI ES,
Having regard to the Treaty              Having regard to the Treaty
establishing the European Economic       establishing the European Economic
Community, and in particular             Community, and in particular
Article 84(2) thereof,                   Articles 84(2) and 92(3)(d)
                                         thereof,
Having regard to the proposal of         Unchanged
the Commission,
Having regard to the opinion of          Unchanged
the European Parliament,
Having regard to the opinion of          Unchanged
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 i t ive;                      compet it ive;
Whereas the fleet flying Member          Whereas the comparative advantage
States' flags has suffered a             of Community shipping has been
 ---pagebreak---                                   y40
considerable decline over the        eroded over the years, and the
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
lias 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
pool 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
                                     qualIty service;
Whereas the Community ship register  Whereas the Community ship
will be additional to the national   register will be additional to
 ---pagebreak--- register ;                           the national register and
                                     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 v/hich
 internationally agreed standards    have been agreed on by their
unless otherwise mutually agreed     representative organizations and,
 ---pagebreak---                                    > * *
with their representative            in the absence of such an
organizat ions;                      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 some Member States have
                                    already adopted measures at na-
                                     tional level exempting seafarers
                                     from income tax either totally or
                                    partially, such measures being
                                     Justified in particular by the
                                     fact that seafarers work largely
                                    outside their country; and that
                                     these measures have had a favour-
                                    able influence on wage costs and
                                    have thus contributed to the
                                    revival of the fleets of the
                                    Member States concerned, and to
                                     increased employment of national
                                    seafarers;
                                    Whereas the granting of such aids
                                     in only some Member States
                                    may involve distortion of
                                    competition between shipping
                                    companies in the Community-,
                                    Whereas a Community system
                                     involving the same advantages
                                    all over the Community would lead
                                     to a greater harmonisation of the
                                    operational conditions within the
                                    Community and compensation for the
 ---pagebreak---                                     Jà
                                      competitive disadvantages of the
                                      Community fleet in the
                                      international shipping market;
                                      Whereas Member States are bound to
                                      grant equal access to their
                                      registers to shipowners of any
                                      Member State, thus allowing them
                                      to register their ships in the
                                      register of their choice;
                                      Whereas for these reasons the
                                      aids involved in the Community
                                      system, based on the
                                      Community shipregister, are
                                      compatible with the common market;
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
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
 ---pagebreak---                                      M
registration and deregistratIon ;       the register and concerning
                                        procedures of registration and
                                        dereg istrat 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 icle 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;
- the conditions for registration;      - the conditions for registration;
- certain facilities accruing from      - certain facilities accruing from
   such registrat ion;                    such registrat ion;
- 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 nat ional flag;
                                        - 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 icle 2 : Establishment of           Unchanged
              the register
 ---pagebreak---                                            > >
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 icle 3 - Persons entitled to      Art icle 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 ivi t 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 capital
     of that company is owned by
     nationals of the Member States
     or the majority of the board of
     the company consists of such
     nationals, who have their
     domicile or usual residence in
     the Community.
 (c) Nationals of Member States        (c) Companies formed in accordance
     established outside the               with the law of a Member State
     Community 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.
 2.  For the purpose of this           For the purpose of this
      regulation, a natural or legal   regulation, a natural or lega
 ---pagebreak---      person mentioned in paragraph 1  person mentioned above
     wilI hereafter be referred to    wiI I hereafter be referred to
     as a "Community vessel owner";   as a "Community vessel owner";
     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 ) , Includo nationals of      for the purposes of
     the third country concerned.          paragraph 1(a) include
                                           nationals of the third
                                           country concerned.
Art icle 4 - Vessels el igible for    Unchanged
                registrat ion
Eligible for registration in EUROS    Eligible for registration in
is any sea-going merchant vessel      EUROS is any sea-going
of at least 500 grt, built or under   merchant vessel with a ton-
construction, which is already        nage of at least 500 grt,
registered in a Member State, and     built or under construction
entitled to fly the flag of that      which is already registered
Member State and used or to be        in a Member State and is
used in national or international     used or to be used for the
trade for the transport of cargo      transport of cargo or pas-
or passengers or any other            sengers or any other com-
commercial purpose, if it fulfils     mercial purpose, if it fulfils
the following conditions:             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 ship
     register for the duration of          register of a Member State
     its registration in EUROS;            for the duration 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
     Art icle 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.
 ---pagebreak---  Jft
Art icle 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
           author i ty-,
      (b) The measurement
           cert if icate of the
           vesse I -,
       (c) A certified copy of the
           vessel's certificate of
           nat ional i ty-,
       (d) If the vessel is
           mortgaged, a written
           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.
 2.    Registration in EUROS shall
       be completed when the
       following data is recorded
       in the relevant entry of the
       vessel -.
       (a) the name or title of the
           Community vessel owner
            and his or its other
            particulars;
       (b) the name, the
            internat ional cal I
            letters, the dimensions
 ---pagebreak--- A$
          the gross and net
          register tonnage, the
          type and power of the
          engine and the age of
          the vesseI ;
      (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.
3.    The following data shall also
      be recorded in the register:
      (a) changes of ownership or
          nat ional flag of the
          vesseI ;
      (b) the deregistration of the
          vesseI.
4.    Third parties shall be
      entitled to receive
      information of the data
      concerning a vessel
      registered in EUROS on
      payment of a reasonable fee.
Art icle 6 - Notification
1.    Where a vessel is registered
      in or deregistered from EUROS
      the Commission shall notify
      its national registration
      author ity.
2.    Where, for any reason, a
      vessel is deregistered from
      the national register, the
      national register authority
      shall immediately notify the
      Commission.
Art icle 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
 ---pagebreak---                                      A*>
                                          legislation of the Member
                                          State in whose national
                                          register the vessel is
                                          registered;
                                    (b)   The certificate granting the
                                          right to fly the European
                                          flag;
                                    (c)   The certificate of minimum
                                          crew composition;
                                    (d)   The "sea-worthiness"
                                          certificate issued by a
                                          Member State in whose
                                          register the vessel is
                                          registered.
                                    Art icle 8 - Deregistration
                                    1.    A vessel registered in EUROS
                                          shalI be deleted:
                                          (a) by the Commission, acting
                                               ex officio, where the
                                               vessel 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 icle 5 - Bare-boat charters     Art icle 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
in EUROS during the period of that  at least twelve months may be
charter if the following conditions registered in EUROS during the
are fuif iI led:                    period of that charter if the
                                    following conditions are
                                     fulf11 led:
1.   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-,
 ---pagebreak---                                         lo
     the laws of the vessel's               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
     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
                                              initial flag state.
                    SECTION 3: Safety, manning and crew
Art icle 6 - Safety                    Art icle 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.
                                       Article 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 consultation with the
                                             Joint committee on maritime
                                             transport and Member States.
                                             The Commission shall adopt
                                             the guidelines within the
                                             time limit mentioned in
                                             Art icle 25.
                                       2.    The Commission shall include
                                              in the guidelines provisions
                                             ensuring that insofar as
                                             requirements concerning safe
                                             manning are met and the
                                             necessary automatisation
                                             exists, seafarers with
                                             multiple qualifications
                                             certificates may be employed,
 ---pagebreak---                                        2LA
                                         provided that specific
                                         reference is made to this
                                          fact in the minimum manning
                                         cert If icate.
                                    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
                                          wi I 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
                                           the provisions of the minimum
                                          manning certificate and
                                           impose sanctions where
                                          appropr iate.
Art icle 7 - Nat ionalIty of crew   ArtIcle 12 - Nat ionality of crew
On vessels registered in EUROS all   1.   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
 ---pagebreak---                                   tx
 if 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.
                               2.    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.
                               Art icle 13    Ava ilabiIi ty of
                                              seafarers
                                     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 part ies.
                                     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
                                     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.
 ---pagebreak---                                      V)
Art icle 8 - Wages, working hours    ArtIcle 14 - Wages, working hours
              and further labour                     and further labour
              condi t 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     2.    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 icle 15.
Article 9     Collect ive wage       Art icle 15 - Collect ive wage
              agreements                             agreements
      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.
     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 nationals
     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
 ---pagebreak---                                       *H
     of the right to organize.
     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.
Art icle 10 - Social security        Article 16 - Social security
Without prejudice to Article         Without prejudice to Article
13(2)(c) of Council Regulation       13 (2) (c) of Council Regulation
(EEC) No. 1408/71 1) and unless      (EEC) No. 1408/71 i: 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
residence.                           generally applicable to seafarers
                                     of the country of usual residence.
For the purpose of this provision    Unchanged
residence means residence on shore
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
O.J. No. L 149, of 5.7.1971, p.2
 ---pagebreak---                                          îto
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 18 - Reimbursement of
                                      seafarers' income tax to employer
                                      1. Income tax due from those
                                      seafarers who have their fiscal
                                      residence in a Member State, in
                                      respect of wages received for the
                                      period of their employment as
                                      members of the crew of a vessel
                                      registered in EUROS (including
                                      statutory leave periods and any
                                      periods of sick leave) shall be
                                      reimbursed by the competent
                                      national authorities to the
                                      employer of the seafarers
                                      concerned not later than three
                                      months after the wages have been
                                      paid.
                                       2. Such reimbursement shall not be
                                      made in respect of ships
                                       registered in EUROS which are
                                      engaged in regular cabotage
                                       services in a Member State, to
                                       the extent that such cabotage
                                       trades are restricted to ships
                                       registered in a register of
                                      Member State and/or EUROS.
                                       3. The amount of income tax to be
                                       reimbursed is equivalent to the
                                       tax withheld by the employer in
                                       accordance with the national
                                       provisions that apply. Where
                                       income tax is not deducted at
                                       source, the reimbursement shall be
                                       effected on the basis of a calcu-
                                       lation solely in respect of tax on
                                       wages related to the relevant
                                       employment.
Art icle 12 - Transfer of vessels      Art icle 19 - 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 1992, may be
 ---pagebreak---                                                       fr
t o the r e g i s t e r of another Member           transferred to the register of
S t a t e w i t h o u t the i m p o s i t i o n of  another Member State without the
a d d i t i o n a l t e c h n i c a l requirements. imposition of additional technica
                                                    requirements.
Art icle 13 - Recognition of                        Article 20 - 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 1991.                                        31 December 1992.
                       SECTION 5: European flag, port of registration
Article 1-4 - European Flag                         Art icle 21 - 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             2.    Unchanged.
        conveying the right to fly the
        European flag will be delivered
        by the Commission to the
        applicant for registration.
Art icle 15 - Port of registration                  Art icle 22 - Port of registration
A vessel registered in EUROS shall                  A vessel registered in EUROS shall
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.
                                                    Art icle 23 - 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
 ---pagebreak---                                       XV
                                     public, administrative or crimina
                                     law which shall continue to be
                                     governed by the laws of the
                                     national flag Member State.
                                     Article 24 - 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.
Article 16 - Implementing measures   Art icle 25 - 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
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 certificate.
Art icle 17 - Cooperation            Art icle 26 - Coopérât ion
1.   National authorities and the     Unchanged.
     Commission shall assist each
     other in applying this
     Regulation and in checking
     compliance therewith.
2,   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.
Article 18 - Transitional period      Article 27 - Transitional period
 1.  Member States shall, within six  1.   Member States shall, within
 ---pagebreak---                                       n
     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:                  Commission:
         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
         requirements;                       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.
     Such measures shall make express    Unchanged,
     reference to this Regulation.
     Member States shall forthwith       Unchanged
     communicate to the Commission
     the measures adopted.
                                       Article 28 - 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 EUftOS and
                                       the composition of their crews. It
                                       shall also propose to the Council
                                       any amendments to this Regulation
                                       which may be required.
                                       Art icle 29
                                       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.
Art icle 19 - Entry into force         Art icle 30 - Entry into force
 ---pagebreak---                                     t^
This Regulation shall enter  into This Regulation shall enter into
force on 1 January 1991.          force on 1 January 1993
This Regulation shall be binding  Unchanged
in its entirety and directly
applicable in all Member States.
 ---pagebreak---                                                                      ISSN 0254-1475
                                                              COM(91) 483 final
                                                     DOCUMENTS
EN                                                                              07
                                Catalogue number : CB-CO-91-535-EN-C
                                                            ISBN 92-77-77925-X
Office for Official PabHcations of the European Communities
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