Brussels, 22/03/2004 (Agence Europe) - With the 11 March attacks in Madrid demonstrating the need to toughen up security measures in all sectors of the European Union, the General Affairs and External Relations Council on Monday adopted, without debate, the regulation to improve security on ships and port facilities in Community territory. From 1 July 2004, Member States will be compelled to impose new security measures adopted in December 2002 by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) on international maritime traffic. These measures (ship equipment containing the ship's permanent identity marking, automatic identification systems, ship alarm security) will also have to be imposed on certain kinds of ships carrying out national maritime services from 1 July 2005. To get the regulation adopted, the Council agreed to all the amendments adopted by the EP in first reading (EUROPE 21 November p 12). When it presented its draft regulation in May 2003, the European Commission aimed to go further than the IMO's field of application, which only covers international maritime traffic, and make all intra-Community and national maritime traffic subject to the new IMO security measures (EUROPE 9 May p 11). The Council and Parliament, while supporting such an objective, nevertheless, decided to not impose these measures on all the ships performing national services. If the regulation adopted on Monday obliges Member States to impose these measures on passenger ships sailing nationally and belonging to class A (the largest ships which sail the furthest away from the shore) from 1 July 2005, it will still be up to Member States to decide whether to impose these measures on other categories of boats carrying out national services (and the ports they serve) from July 2007. Member States will, on the other hand, be obliged to demand all ships entering their ports to obtain information attesting to the compliance of the ships to international provisions on security (exemptions will be allowed for intra-Community and regular national services). They will have to set up national plans for implementing the regulation and nominating two bodies in charge of providing support: a maritime security authority for co-ordinating and monitoring the application of security measures contained in the regulation and a "contact point" enabling maritime security to facilitate follow-up and information on the application of the measures. Member States will have to carry out inspections to check the levels of security on boats and in port facilities. The Commission could be called on to ensure the correct implementation of the regulation.