Brussels, 06/12/2005 (Agence Europe) - On 5 December, the Transport Council adopted conclusions on ways to stimulate job prospects in the maritime and shipping sector and to attract young people into the profession. The Commission had proposed a directive (COM (1998) 251), aiming to improve the social conditions for ship crews providing regular passenger transport services and transporter bridge services, but due to a lack of agreement at the Council, it was forced to withdraw its proposal on 6 August 2004, and discussions have continued in the framework of European social dialogue.
In these conclusions, the Council states that 40% of intra-community trade is carried out by sea, whereas the number of seafarers active within the EU is on the slide, a trend which is partly related to the image of the sector in the view of the general public. Therefore, the Council stresses the need to improve the image of the profession of seafarer and of the shipping sector as a whole, and also to encourage greater involvement by women, and the integration of less-favoured groups. In order to achieve this, life-long education and training are key elements in preserving European knowledge, adapting staff qualifications to new needs, but also to help those who want a career in the sector to be able to move easily from activities at sea to a job in a land-based maritime industry. The Council encourages maritime training establishments to offer "flexible and affordable" training, and to create partnerships with their counterparts, firstly within the EU, then in the European Economic Area. In order to anticipate these needs, the Member States are encouraged to tackle the shortage of qualified labour. The Council calls on the Commission for its help in summarising and analysing the data sent in by the Member States, and in producing reports on changes within the supply and demand of labour. The creation of "maritime clusters", poles of activity related to the maritime sector, should help to reinforce the competitiveness of the whole of the shipping and maritime sector.
The Council also calls upon the Member States to promote the quality of maritime transport, notably by the correct implementation of quality standards laid down at international level by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO). It urges the social partners to make progress in European social dialogue to guarantee the adoption of the ILO's Consolidated Convention on maritime employment, and to deal with employment prospects in the sector, including for seafarers employed on board passenger ships providing regular services on short-distance sea routes within the EU. The Commission would have liked the Council to go further on this point, calling on the social partners to seek an agreement.
As for funding, the Council recommends the optimum use of European funds, and calls upon the Member States to examine the possibilities opened up by directives on State aid in Maritime transport. The Commission is also called upon to support forms of partnerships between training establishments, using Community funding, "on the basis of a proposal from the Member States".
Still within the domain of maritime affairs, the Council adopted a partial general orientation (pending a decision on the financial perspectives) on the proposed regulation concerning the funding of actions of the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA), for the period 2007-2013, in case of pollution of Community waters by an oil tanker, technical and scientific assistance, and operations at sea by anti-pollution ships.