Proposal for a Ccouncil Decision on the position to be adopted, on behalf of the European Union, in the Port State Control Committee of the Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control

The EU regime on port State control (PSC) is set out in Directive 2009/16/EC (as amended), which re-cast and reinforced the previous EU legislation in this field in place since 1995. The EU regime has been based on the pre-existing structure of the Paris Memorandum of Understanding (PMoU) on Port State Control which has existed since 1982. Directive 2009/16/EC (as amended) incorporates the procedures and tools of the PMoU. All maritime EU Member States as well as Canada, Russia, Iceland and Norway are members of the PMoU. The European Union is not a member of the PMoU.

Since 1 January 2011 a new inspection regime (NIR) for Port State Control is in place, both in the EU and the PMoU frameworks. In order for the NIR to function a certain number of decisions have to be taken each year in the context of the PMoU. These decisions are taken by consensus at the annual "Port State Control Committee" (PSCC) which meets in May of each year. By virtue of Directive 2009/16/EC decisions taken by the appropriate competent body of the PMoU become binding on EU Member States.

Pursuant to Article 218(9) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the position to be adopted on behalf of the Union in international organisations such as the PMoU when they are called upon to adopt acts having legal effects, must be adopted by Council Decision, on a proposal from the Commission.

It is proposed that the EU position for PSCC is established according to a two tier approach. A Council Decision sets out the guiding principles and orientations of the Union's position on a multiannual basis, whereas it is thereafter adjusted for each annual PSCC meeting by Commission non-papers to be discussed in the Council Shipping Working Party. This proposal aims at setting out the Union's position for PSCC for the period 2015-2018. It also aims at incorporating the principles and orientations of European Union policy to improve maritime safety, pollution prevention and on-board living and working conditions. The Union's position also takes into account the provisions of the Lisbon Treaty.

The Commission proposes this approach due to the characteristics of the decisional process in PMoU. The internal rules of the PMoU fix the latest date for submission of any documents by its members and the task forces charged with the development of guidelines and instructions at six weeks before the meeting of the PSCC. It is only at that point that all submissions are available and the Commission can begin its analysis with a view to preparing a proposal for a coordinated Union position under Article 218(9) of the TFEU which has then to be adopted by the Council. As the time available for this analysis, the preparation of the Commission proposal and its adoption by Council is short, the process for the year to year specification of the Union position is set out in Annex II. The following Decision shall cover the period 2015-2018.

• Primary Source

EUR-Lex: COM(2015)159: Follow the progress of this proposal through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2015:159:FIN

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