WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3440/97 by Nel van DIJK to the Commission. Free movement of captains
8. 6. 98 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 174/57 An environmental impact assessment was carried out for this project according to the Greek legislation transposing Directive 85/337/EEC. This study, which constitutes the first study in the evaluation procedure, was also part-financed under the programme mentioned above (budget of DRA 5 million, approximately ECU 17 000). According to Directive 85/337/EEC and the related Greek legislation, it is the job of the national authorities to analyse the impact of the project in the context of the environmental assessment procedure and to put forward any measures required to avoid, reduce or compensate for major negative effects. The ministerial decision issued by the Minister for the Environment and Public Works in Greece authorising the project and finalising the assessment procedure usually contains such measures. The Commission, having fixed the objectives and priorities of the operational programme in question in 1994, in partnership with the Greek authorities, is not making a systematic analysis of the impact of all the projects submitted within this framework, especially if an assessment has already been carried out in accordance with Community legislation; this would normally take into consideration all the environmental factors, including the impact on the coastal areas. (98/C 174/97) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3440/97 by Nel van Dijk (V) to the Commission (31 October 1997) Subject: Free movement of captains Under Netherlands law, a ship sailing under the Netherlands flag must have a Netherlands captain. Can the Commission indicate in which other Member States such a provision exists? Is this exception to the ban on discrimination in Article 6 justified by Article 48(4), Article 55 or any other article of the EC Treaty? Is the Commission willing to take steps to bring about áfree movement of captainsí in the European Union? Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission (16 December 1997) The Commission has always recognised that on board ships flying the flag of a Member State, the functions of master and chief officer as deputy master require the exercise of public authority in the sense of Article 48(4) of the EC Treaty. The responsibility of the master for the exercise of public authority on board ships is particularly related to the safety of the crew or passengers and their life, as well as protection of the marine environment. Member States can require that the posts of the shipís master and first officers are reserved to their own nationals and Article 48(3) of the EC Treaty specifies that freedom of movement for workers could be subject to limitation on grounds of public policy, public security or public health. According to the Commissionís information, Belgium, Danmark, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Finland and the United Kingdom (for certain vessels), have legislation requiring the master to be a national and Greece, Spain, France, Italy and Portugal also require the deputy master to be a national. Given that current arrangements comply with Community law, the Commission will not be proposing change