Members of the European Parliament’s Committee on Transport and Tourism (TRAN) and the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) expressed their desire to extend the powers and resources of the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) on Monday 9 October, when they examined the report by Cláudia Monteiro de Aguiar (EPP, Portuguese) (see EUROPE 13258/4).
In June, the European Commission proposed a package on maritime safety, including an overhaul of EMSA’s mandate (see EUROPE 13192/18 - and see other news). “EMSA has made progress on the tasks set out in its statues; previously, there was real instability in legal terms and a problem in terms of allocating financial and human resources”, said the rapporteur. She proposed “maintaining a degree of flexibility” in this revision, which would give EMSA the opportunity to incorporate these new legislative developments and play a more active role in the modernisation of ports.
The MEPs agreed that, given the broadening of its mandate, the agency needed to be given the necessary resources. “We must ensure that it remains at the forefront of the protection of maritime transport and the marine environment, ensuring protection and balance”, said Sara Cerdas (S&D, Portuguese).
“The EESC recommends reassessing the funding and the staffing needs so that EMSA can carry out its future tasks effectively”, added its representative. In its draft opinion, the European Parliament Committee on Budgets also issued an opinion along these lines.
Ms Monteiro de Aguiar also wants EMSA to play an international role, in particular by giving it a permanent voice within the International Maritime Organization (IMO). However, the Commission was not convinced by this draft amendment: “The EU must speak with one voice and we strongly believe that it is up to the Commission to decide on the modalities of EMSA’s participation in the IMO’s work”, argued the institution’s representative.
The rapporteur also suggested closer links between the European Parliament and EMSA, for “enhanc[ed] transparency and accountability”, but also to ensure “alignment with the interests of the Union’s citizens”. She therefore proposed that a European Parliament representative be appointed to the EMSA management board and that the Parliament be systematically consulted on the multi-annual programme.
The Commission representative was in favour of granting observer status without voting rights, but felt that the rest of the proposals along these lines would be too confusing. The Committee on Budgets, on the other hand, felt that the veto that the Commission can impose on decisions taken by EMSA’s management board should be removed.
MEPs have until Thursday 12 October to table amendments.
The draft report: https://aeur.eu/f/8r2
The draft opinion: https://aeur.eu/f/8z8
The EESC opinion: https://aeur.eu/f/8z9 (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)