Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on multiannual funding for the action of the European Maritime Safety Agency in the field of response to pollution caused by ships and to marine pollution caused by oil and gas installations

The European Maritime Safety Agency ("the Agency" or "EMSA") established in 2002 was assigned tasks in the field of marine pollution response in 2004. Bearing in mind the long-term nature of the Agency’s responsibility for pollution response, the efficient and thorough completion of the tasks involved requires appropriate financial security on the basis of a multiannual commitment. Therefore, in 2006 the EU legislator established multiannual funding for the Agency's action in the field of response to pollution caused by ships for the period from 2007 to 2013. This legislative proposal seeks to renew the multiannual funding for the period from 2014 to 2020 in the framework of the new financial perspectives.

The large-scale maritime accident of the oil tanker ERIKA in December 1999 involving an extensive oil spill led to the creation of the Agency in 2002. In the light of the oil spill caused by the accident of the oil tanker PRESTIGE in November 2002, the Agency was entrusted with specific tasks and obligations in the field of response to pollution caused by ships. The Agency adopted an Action Plan in October 2004 for oil pollution preparedness and response (hereinafter “the Oil Action Plan”). In June 2007, a second Action Plan for Hazardous and Noxious Substances Pollution Preparedness and Response was adopted (hereinafter "the HNS Action Plan"). The EMSA Administrative Board updates both Action Plans as part of the Agency’s annual Work Programmes.

In March 2010, the Administrative Board endorsed a 5-year strategy which contains two themes relevant for response to pollution caused by ships. Firstly, theme 8 develops EMSA's role with regard to illegal discharges by ships (enforcement issues, further enhancement of CleanSeaNet by integration of ship position information). Secondly, theme 12 deals with marine pollution preparedness and response.

Finally, the Commission proposed a modification to the EMSA Regulation in October 2010, which, inter alia, foresees an explicit extension of the pollution response activities to cover accidents by offshore oil and gas installations. Furthermore, it is also suggested in this proposal to extend EMSA's assistance to the EU neighbouring countries including the pollution response activities. The European Parliament and the Council reached an agreement on the proposal in April 2012 and the Regulation adopted in January 2013 confirms the aforementioned provisions.

EUR-Lex: COM(2013)174: Follow the progress of this proposal through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2013:174:FIN

EUR-Lex: SWD(2013)101: Ex ante evaluation http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=SWD:2013:101:FIN

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