Brussels, 08/07/2004 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday the European Commission sent reasoned opinions to nine Member States for failure to communicate national measures transposing legal instruments adopted by the EU in the wake of the Erika accident. Directive 2002/59/EC sets out the obligation to notify the maritime authorities, in particular in case a ship is carrying dangerous or polluting goods. It also sets out the obligation for Member States to drawn up plans to accommodate ships in distress in the waters. The pupils at the bottom of the class are Belgium, Greece, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, Finland and the United Kingdom, which had to adopt the necessary legislation before 5 February 2004.