Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2009/45/EC on safety rules and standards for passenger ships

In the spirit of the Commission's REFIT and Better Regulation agenda and as an immediate follow-up to the fitness check on EU passenger ship safety legislation, the Commission puts forward a set of proposals to bring about the identified simplification potential.

The objectives of this revision are to simplify and streamline the existing EU passenger ship safety regulatory framework, in order to (i) maintain EU rules where necessary and proportionate; (ii) ensure their correct implementation; and (iii) eliminate potential overlap of obligations and inconsistencies between related pieces of legislation. An overarching objective is to provide for a clear, simple and up-to-date legal framework that is easier to implement, monitor and enforce, increasing thus the overall safety level.

Directive 2009/45/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council was put in place to attain a high level of safety and to remove barriers to trade, by setting harmonised safety standards at an appropriate level for passenger ships and craft operating domestic services. This Directive incorporates at EU level for domestic voyages the provisions of the SOLAS Convention which establishes detailed technical requirements for vessel construction, stability, fire protection and life-saving equipment. Correspondingly, it applies to ships made of steel and equivalent material, and to high-speed craft. In addition, it includes specific access and public information requirements for persons with reduced mobility or disabilities.

Directive 2009/45/EC has brought about a common high safety level across the EU and important internal market benefits. On the other hand, the experience has shown that since the entry into force of its predecessor in 1998, the implementation has given rise to a number of questions as regards the clarity and adequacy of some of its definitions, scope and procedures.

It is therefore proposed to clarify and simplify the safety rules and standards for passenger ships so that they are in line with the Commission's REFIT programme, easier to update, monitor and enforce. In view of increasing legal clarity and certainty, the proposal also removes a number of outdated, redundant and inconsistent legal references.

See also:
- Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 98/41/EC on the registration of persons sailing on board passenger ships operating to or from ports of the Member States of the Community and amending Directive 2010/65/EU on reporting formalities for ships arriving in and/or departing from ports of the Member States
- Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on a system of inspections for the safe operation of ro-ro ferry and high-speed passenger craft in regular service and amending Directive 2009/16/EC on port state control and repealing Directive 1999/35/EC

EUR-Lex: COM(2016)369: Follow the progress of this proposal through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2016:369:FIN

EUR-Lex: SWD(2016)189: Implementation plan http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=SWD:2016:189:FIN

EUR-Lex: SWD(2016)190: Simplification of EU passenger ship safety legislation http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=SWD:2016:190:FIN

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