Brussels, 15/06/2016 (Agence Europe) - MEPs on the committee on transport and tourism (TRAN) held a discussion with experts at the start of the morning on Wednesday 15 June on the draft directive on professional qualifications in inland waterways.
The rapporteur, Gesine Meissner (ALDE, Germany), has yet to submit any kind of text. Quite a clear timetable would appear to have been set, however, according to a Parliamentary source. A text is expected to be presented by the end of September for adoption by the committee in November ahead of inter-institutional negotiations under the Slovakian Presidency.
One of the controversial issues will be the shift from certification based on experience towards skills-centred certification, as proposed by the Commission. This raises a number of questions with regard to skills, including the distinction between general skills and specific skills, such as knowledge of the topography of a river, according to the same source. Peter van Dalen (Netherlands), shadow rapporteur for the EPP, contacted by EUROPE added to this the powers granted to the Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine (CCNR).
Unusually, the Council has adopted a general approach before the European Parliament (see EUROPE 11568). “The issue has not been difficult for the member states which adopted a position by a clear majority”, a source revealed. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)