Brussels, 09/10/2013 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 8 October, the European Parliament adopted the agreement between institutions on the proposal for a directive to homogenise minimum standards for decent working and living conditions for European seafarers, on the basis of the 2006 International Maritime Organisation (IMO) convention on working at sea. Once the Council of the EU has approved the informal agreement, the member states will have 15 months to bring their national legislation into line, like for the obligation of conducting regular inspections on ships flying the member state flag.
The report by Pervenche Berès (S&D, France) on this text was adopted by 599 votes in favour, 54 against and 15 abstentions. “The Parliament has obtained that clearer and more detailed provisions were introduced at the EU level on how member states must guarantee seafarers' decent working and living conditions”, she said after the vote. The IMO convention which came into force on 20 August is now to be applied. There will thus be checks that seafarers' rights listed in the convention are respected and inspections will be carried out by the competent national authorities. The Parliament has stated the objectives and range of these inspections. Inspectors will be empowered to prohibit a ship from leaving the port if there is an infringement. The Parliament also gives details of the on-board complaint procedures, the handling of complaints and corrective measures. (JK/transl.fl)