Brussels, 27/08/2002 (Agence Europe) - On 27 August, the European Commission launched a procedure for recruiting an executive director for the European Maritime Safety Agency. This new agency, created after the Erika disaster, aims to provide Member States and the Commission with the technical and scientific aid needed to improve standards of maritime safety, to ensure such standards are uniformly applied throughout Europe and to promote their diffusion throughout the world. The agency will be temporarily housed on Commission premises in Brussels, until the site of its head office, like that of the other new agencies, is fixed by the European Council. The executive director of the Agency, which should be operational at the end of the year, will above all be responsible for defining and carrying out the Agency's strategic objectives, and for setting up sustainable cooperation with the relevant Commission services and the Member State bodies responsible for implementing Community legislation in the fields of maritime safety and the prevention of pollution caused by shipping. He/she will also be responsible for managing the staff and budget of the Agency.