Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the 'Proposal for a Council Directive amending Directive 82/714/EEC of 4 October 1982 laying down technical requirements for inland waterway vessels'
25. 5. 98 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 157/17 Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the ‘Proposal for a Council Directive amending Directive 82/714/EEC of 4 October 1982 laying down technical requirements for inland waterway vessels’ (98/C 157/05) On 2 February 1998 the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under Article 75 of the Treaty establishing the European Communities, on the above-mentioned proposal. The Section for Transport and Communications, which was responsible for preparing the Committee’s work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 11 March 1998. The rapporteur was Mr Kielman. At its 353rd plenary session (meeting of 25 March 1998) the Economic and Social Committee adopted the following opinion by 101 votes to one with two abstentions. 1. The Commission proposal 1. 1. The main purpose of this proposal is to update Directive 82/714/EEC of 4 October 1982 in line with technical progress in order to improve safety and promote inland waterway transport, which is a very environmentally friendly mode of transport. 1. 2. Inland navigation vessels in Europe are currently subject to different regimes as regards technical require- ments, namely: 1. 2. 1. The revised Regulation on Inspection of Ship- ping on the Rhine of 1 January 1995, the so-called ‘Rhine Rules’, as adopted by the Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine (CCNR). This applies to vessels operating on the waterways covered by the Revised Mannheim Convention (1868) and is legally binding for its signatories (Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands and Switzerland). 1. 2. 2. Council Directive 82/714/EEC of 4 October 1982. This directive is of course binding on EU Member law. States and must be transposed into national However, those Member States with inland waterways which are not linked to the international network can exempt vessels from the directive’s provisions. This international waterway network extends to only six countries: Austria, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Ger- many and the Netherlands. 1. 2. 3. The UN Economic Commission for Europe (UN-ECE) Recommendations on (uniform) technical requirements for inland waterway vessels. These rec- ommendations — which apply outside the EU and are specified in the Annex to Resolution No 17 (14 October 1981) of the Working Party on Inland Waterway Transport — are not legally binding but may be adopted. 1. 3. There are, however, also differences in the technical level required by the sets of rules mentioned under point 2. 2. The upshot is that, despite the existence of an international waterway network linking, since the construction of the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal in 1992, the Black Sea to the North Sea, there is no common standard for vessels operating on this network. laid down requirements 1. 4. Hence there is an urgent need to update the technical in Direc- tive 82/714/EEC in line with the latest Rhine Rules. These contain the most up-to-date safety standards which have proved their worth in practice; this is why the UN-ECE has opted for this approach. The adoption of common technical standards will therefore make it possible to establish an internal market in inland waterway transport. 1. 5. The appended table 1 shows when the technical requirements for inland waterway vessels come into force following the proposed revision of Directive 82/714 and what kind of inspections will be carried out. The transitional provisions stipulate when all vessels must comply with the standards. Finally, every vessel operating on the specified waterways will be provided with a Community certificate. The internal market will then be attained. 2. General comments 2. 1. When the above-mentioned measures have been implemented, transport by inland waterway will be safer, a coherent set of technical requirements for inland waterway vessels in the EU will be established and a contribution made to harmonization on a pan-European scale. As regards pan-European harmonization, those 2. 2. associated countries which are linked to the Com- munity’s waterways (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hunga- ry, Poland, Romania and Slovakia) must comply with the requirements of the revised directive. 2. 3. In this way inland waterway transport will be made easier, a modal shift in favour of waterways will be encouraged and, given the environmentally friendly nature of this mode of transport, environmental prob- lems will be made more manageable. C 157/18 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 25. 5. 98 3. Specific comments It is important that passenger vessels built to 3. 1. carry more than 12 passengers, as well as floating equipment and floating establishments, are now also to fall under the scope of the amended directive, subject to the conditions laid down in its Article 8(4). 3. 2. Sea-going vessels remain exempt from the scope of the amended directive provided that they are in possession of the relevant maritime certificates. 3. 3. An important additional advantage of harmo- nized technical specifications is that carriers and other suppliers in this sector can operate on a larger internal market, with a more level playing-field. 4. Conclusions 4. 1. On the basis on the arguments outlined above, the Committee welcomes the proposal to amend Direc- tive 82/714/EEC of 4 October 1982. It acknowledges the importance of harmonizing inland waterway transport as a major subsector of the transport market. 4. 2. The Committee urges the Commission to map out the consequences of harmonizing the inland water- ways market in consultation with all the interested parties, including the economic and social partners. Brussels, 25 March 1998. The President of the Economic and Social Committee Tom JENKINS 25. 5. 98 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 157/19 APPENDIX to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee TABLE 1 Technical requirements for inland waterway vessels following the proposed revision of Directive 82/714 Vessel category Time period Nature of inspection New vessels From 1 July 1998 Vessels in service having a Com- munity certificate From 1 July 1998 Full compliance with the technical requirements of the new Annex II, equivalent to the Rhine Rules. Compliance with the transnational provisions of Chapter 24, new Annex II. Vessels in service but laid down before 1 January 1970, operating only on national networks, not issued with a Community certificate (as referred to in Article 8, para. 2, second indent) From 1 July 1998 to To be issued with certificates specify- ing areas where vessel does not meet 1 January 2005 requirements of (new) Annex II. These if areas to conform to Annex II replaced or altered. Vessels in service brought within the scope of the directive for the first time, i. e. passenger vessels for more than 12 people; floating equipment; floating establishments and instal- lations From 1 July 1998 to As above. 31 July 2003 for pass- enger vessels and from 1 July 1998 to 31 July 2008 for other vessels