Negotiators from the European Parliament and the EU Council are due to meet (trilogue) on Tuesday 27 February to reach agreement on two texts in the maritime safety package: port state control and compliance with flag state obligations (see EUROPE 13309/5).
The two trilogues will take place in Strasbourg, alongside the European Parliament plenary session. In the morning, the negotiators will begin with the port state negotiations, “the most technical dossier”, according to a European source contacted on Monday 26 February. In particular, they will address: - the Cape Town Agreement; - the Port State Control regime for fishing vessels; - the Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) and environmental parameters; - e-certificates; - training provided by the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA); - quality management systems; - revision clauses.
The negotiators will continue in the afternoon with flag states, “the most complicated dossier”, according to the source. In particular, they will discuss: - social provisions; - the risk-based approach; - digitisation; - the sharing of flag state inspection reports. They will also debate Article 91 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which stipulates that there must be a genuine link between a vessel and its flag state. The European Parliament amendment on this point is expected to be rejected.
Finally, for both texts, the negotiators will discuss the transposition deadlines. The source revealed that it should be set at 30 months, as this seems “the most obvious solution in line with previous agreements”.
These two texts are part of the maritime safety package, which has already been the subject of two provisional agreements, on combating pollution from ships (see EUROPE 13352/6) and investigating maritime accidents (see EUROPE 13348/15). (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)