On Tuesday 11 April, MEPs on the transport and tourism committee (TRAN) adopted three legislative texts for three directives to modernise maritime passenger transport. This effectively gives the go-ahead to the start of the inter-institutional negotiations.
It should be pointed out that the European Commission presented three initiatives in June 2016 to simplify the legal framework for passenger boat safety (see EUROPE 11566), as part of the programme to develop appropriate and effective regulation (REFIT).
None of the texts were controversial and were adopted without any difficulty. The report by Daniela Aiuto (EFDD, Italy) on the directive relating to security rules and standards for passenger boats was supported by 46 votes in favour, with no votes against or any abstentions. It now includes aluminium boats, in an effort to remove any ambiguity regarding this kind of vessel, as certain states applied the European regulatory framework in this regard (directive 2009/45/EC), whilst others applied their respective national rules. One parliamentary source explained to us that the only difficulty involved taking the case of France into account. This would be the only country to have these kinds of boats. MEPs also supported the proposal to exclude vessels that are less than 24m long from the directive’s scope.
The report by Izaskun Bilbao Barandica (ALDE, Spain) on the registration of passenger boats also received strong support (44 for, 1 vote against, no abstentions) and seeks to amend directives 2010/65/EU and 98/41/EC. It introduces the digitalisation of passenger data by including references to nationality and the setting up of a one-stop shop and automatic identification system. The objective is to immediately provide information on the passengers on a boat that are experiencing difficulty in member states, in the event of rescue operations.
The final report delivered by Dominique Riquet (ALDE, France) on the inspection systems for the safe operation of scheduled ro-ro ferry and high-speed passenger craft services (45 votes for, 1 vote against, no abstentions) seeks to abrogate the 1999/35/EC directive and amend directive 2009/16/EC. In the latter case, MEPs clarified the European regulatory framework, in an effort to streamline inspections on a biannual and separate basis over a sufficient period of time, namely three to six months.
All the negotiating briefs were subsequently adopted, which paves the way to opening inter-institution negotiations by the beginning of May. These negotiations should not create any particular difficulties, explained a number of different parliamentary sources. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)