L 123/18 Official Journal of the European Union 17.5.2003 DIRECTIVE 2003/24/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 14 April 2003 amending Council Directive 98/18/EC on safety rules and standards for passenger ships THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 80(2) thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission ('), Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (), Having consulted the Committee of the Regions, Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty (), Whereas: (1) Council Directive 98/18/EC of 17 March 1998 on safety rules and standards for passenger ships () introduces a uniform level of safety of life and property on new and existing passenger ships and high-speed passenger craft, when both categories of ships and craft are engaged on domestic voyages, and lays down procedures for negotia- tion at international level with a view to a harmonisation of the rules for passenger ships engaged on international voyages. (2)  The definition of sea areas is crucial to determine the application of Directive 98/18/EC to different classes of passenger ships. The Directive includes a procedure for the publication of lists of sea areas that has proved diffi- cult to implement. It is therefore necessary to establish a functional and transparent procedure, enabling effective monitoring of the implementation of the Directive. (3)  With a view to harmonising the level of safety applying to passenger ships across the Community, the deroga- tion given to Greece in relation to the timetable for the application of the safety requirements should be deleted. (4)  Directive 2003/25/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 April 2003 on specific stability requirements for ro-ro passenger ships (°) introduces strengthened stability requirements for ro-ro passenger vessels operating on international services to and from Community ports, and this enhanced measure should () O] C 20 E, 28.1.2003, p. 51. (*) Opinion delivered on 11 December 2002 (not yet published in the Official Journal). (*) Opinion of the European Parliament of 7 November 2002 (not yet published in the Official Journal), and Council Decision of 17 March 2003. () OJ L 144, 15.5.1998, p. 1. Directive as last amended by Directive 2002/84[EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (O] L 324, 29.11.2002, p. 53). () See page 22 of this Official Journal. also apply to certain categories of such vessels operating on domestic services under the same sea conditions. Failure to apply such stability requirements should be grounds for phasing out ro-ro passenger ships after a certain number of years of operation. In view of the structural modifications that the existing ro-ro passenger ships may need to undergo in order to comply with the specific stability requirements, those requirements should be introduced over a period of years in order to allow to the part of the industry affected sufficient time to comply: to that end, a phasing-in timetable for existing ships should be provided. This phasing-in timetable should not affect the enforcement of the specific stability requirements in the sea areas covered by the Annexes to the Stockholm Agreement of 28 February 1996. It is necessary to take account of changes that have been made to relevant international instruments, such as the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) conventions, protocols, codes and resolutions, and to do so in a flex- ible and rapid manner. By virtue of Directive 98/18/EC, the International Code for Safety of High-Speed Craft contained in IMO Mari- time Safety Committee Resolution MSC 36 (63) of 20 May 1994 applies to all high-speed passenger craft oper- ating on domestic services. The IMO has adopted a new high-speed craft code, the International Code for Safety of High-Speed Craft, 2000 (2000 HSC Code), contained in IMO Maritime Safety Committee Resolution MSC 97(73) of 5 December 2000, applying to all high-speed craft constructed on or after 1 July 2002. It is important to ensure that Directive 98/18/EC can be updated in a flexible manner to apply such developments at the inter- national level, also to high-speed passenger craft oper- ating on domestic services. It is important to apply appropriate measures to ensure the access in safe conditions of persons with reduced mobility to ships and high-speed passenger craft oper- ating on domestic services in the Member States.