The rapporteur and the European Parliament shadow rapporteurs working on the European Commission's proposal for a directive on port reception facilities for the deposit of ship-generated waste (see EUROPE 11940) were able to reach compromises on the main points, which will be put to the vote on Tuesday 9 October.
These compromise amendments echo the draft report presented by Gesine Meissner (ALDE, Germany) to her fellow MEPs in the European Parliament's transport committee on 10 July and which was well received by them (see EUROPE 12060).
Among these compromise amendments to be put to the vote, the negotiators propose to exempt small non-commercial ports, characterised by only recreational and light traffic, from the obligation to set up a waste reception and treatment plan. This is on the condition that the port reception facilities are integrated into the municipal waste treatment system.
Among the other suggestions considered by MEPs, the Commission should adopt delegated acts to define the environmental requirements that a ship must meet in order to reduce the fees it has to pay to port authorities. This is in contrast to the proposal which only envisaged a right of the Commission to adopt such acts.
The negotiators also want the Commission to appoint a group of experts to work on criteria to determine what a 'green ship' is for waste management, a concept that the institution would like to develop. They also took a position that member states should be able to adopt specific measures to provide financial support to the outermost regions to comply with the future directive.
Several compromise amendments address technical issues and amendments on the table could change the content of the text to a certain degree.
The European Union transport ministers adopted their general approach at the EU Council meeting on 7 June last (see EUROPE 12036). (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)