Brussels, 08/07/2004 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday the European Commission decided to lodge a complaint with the Court of Justice against five countries: Belgium, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Finland for failure to respect EU maritime legislation on safe loading and unloading of bulk carriers, Directive 2001/96/EC. This Directive establishes aims to enhance the safety of bulk carriers calling at terminals in the Member States by reducing the risks of excessive stresses and physical damage to the ship's structure during loading and unloading. Member States had to adopt the necessary legislation before 5 August 2003.