Brussels, 06/10/2008 (Agence Europe) - The transport ministers, meeting in Luxembourg on Thursday 9 October, can expect a Council with a less than packed agenda, which will nonetheless be of decisive importance for maritime transport in Europe. Before going on to discuss energy issues the next day, they will aim to reach a political agreement on the two final proposals of the third maritime package (the proposed directive on flag state obligations and the proposed directive on the civil liability of ship owners), thus allowing them to start off the conciliation procedure on the whole package. A guideline debate on the proposed directive facilitating the cross-border application of legislation on road safety, the adoption of a resolution on the launch of the development phase of the SESAR programme and the adoption of a mandate for the European Commission to negotiate an aviation agreement with Lebanon will also be on the agenda.
The session given over to transport will start on Thursday at 10 a.m. under the chairmanship of Dominique Bussereau, French Secretary of State for Transport. The Council will start with a session on road safety. During public discussions, the ministers will decide on what happens next with the proposed directive on cross-border sanctions for certain road infractions (speeding, drunk-driving, failing to wear a seatbelt, jumping red lights). The Commission presented this text in March 2008 (see EUROPE 9626). Although a consensus exists on the objective of this directive, which is to facilitate the execution of sanctions irrespective of the place in which the vehicle is registered, the delegations remain divided over the instrument to use. Some dozen member states are in favour of changing the legal basis of the proposal, placing it instead under the third pillar applicable to police and legal cooperation in criminal matters (JHA) instead of keeping it under the first pillar. Other States are opposed to the Community nature of the proposal, invoking the principle of subsidiarity. A third group of member states would prefer to remove from the proposal provisions on legal cooperation. This means that the delegations must answer two yes-or-no questions put by the French Presidency of the Council: should there be a European instrument to improve road safety and, if yes, should there be common rules to govern it? The European Parliament will take position at first reading in November.
On maritime safety, the Council will, again during a public discussion, seek to reach a political agreement on the two proposals under the third maritime package which have not yet become the subject of a common position of the Council. The debate will be held on the basis of a compromise text drafted by the French Presidency after the informal meeting of the transport ministers in La Rochelle, in early September (see EUROPE 9731). Furthermore, the Council will adopt a declaration on maritime safety, which will complement the two texts and contain political commitments on the part of the states concerning the ratification of international conventions which have now been withdrawn from the proposed directive, particularly the code of conduct of the flag states and the IMO (International Maritime Organisation) audit. The compromise should help to respond to the objections voiced by most of the delegations contesting the transfer of competencies from the member states to Community level, as would have been the case if the international conventions had remained included in European directives, and concerning possible excessive administrative burdens and a disconnection of European legislation from that applied internationally. The compromise will nonetheless allow an obligatory insurance system to be brought in for maritime claims, as laid down by the LLMC convention of 1996 (the Convention on the limitation of civil liability in the matter of maritime claims of the IMO). It would be applicable to all vessels flying a European flag and all vessels entering Community ports. The adoption of the agreement will allow negotiations to be opened with the European Parliament, which adopted its opinion at first reading in March 2007 on both proposals, with a view to reaching agreement on the whole package before the end of the year.
The Council is also to adopt conclusions on including aviation in the European emissions trading system (ETS), on making transport greener and adopting a negotiating mandate for a global aviation agreement with Lebanon and for the second phase of the SESAR programme to be launched. (A.By./trans.fl)