Brussels, 24/10/2012 (Agence Europe) - Sailors in Europe must now comply with international training, certification and medical standards after the European Parliament voted by 619 to 16 and 16 abstentions a report by Brian Simpson (S&D, UK) reconciling European law with the international convention on sailors' training, certification and waiting time (STCW), recently revised by the International Maritime Organisation. The changes in EU rules will reduce fraudulent certification applications, ensure better training of sailors in how to deal with piracy and other security issues and reduce the abuse of alcohol, but the stricter EU rules on rest times will be maintained. The new rules cover the collation of statistics about sailors. EU Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas said he was pleased that the Parliament had responded rapidly to the need to adjust to the new global rules, which reflect changes in technology and challenges over the past decade. (MD/transl.fl)