Revision of the Directive on compliance with flag State requirements

Background

The European Commission's 2021 and 2022 work programmes envisaged proposals to revise the core building blocks of the EU's maritime safety legislation, such as the Directive on compliance with flag State requirements.

The findings of the ex-post evaluation of the directive and statements by relevant stakeholders all indicate that the Flag State Directive has been well transposed and implemented by the Member States concerned and that the system generally performs well, thus contributing to the creation of a level playing field for the sector and increased capacities within national administrations.

The directive, adopted in 2009 and in force since 2011, did not introduce major changes to the existing international rules or Member States' practices, but integration into the EU acquis allowed harmonised enforcement.

Today, based on the experience gained over more than a decade of relatively unproblematic implementation, the co-legislators should be able to review the directive to introduce further simplification and mostly technical updates, reflecting past and upcoming transformation of the industry and to stay aligned with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) framework.

Key points

The EESC:

• believes that the revision of the flag State requirements Directive must ensure that flag States fully implement seafarers' rights onboard their ships. The real challenges are strong flag State control, as well as strong port State control in relation to the requirements of the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) 2006 which goes hand in hand with technical assistance and training provided by the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA), International Labour Organization (ILO), World Maritime University (WMU), International Training Centre of the ILO, International Maritime Law Institute etc.
• recommends that training provided by EMSA to EU flag State authorities be continued, reinforced and extended to cover MLC 2006-related aspects in more detail. The EESC believes that the Agency could play a substantial role in supporting the training of officials of the flag State administrations, as well as port State control inspectors of the Member States, to conduct targeted inspections in this particular regard as well as within its wider training mandate
• believes that the European Union should take the lead against flags of convenience by showing an excellence level of requirements and control over its vessels. The sector's intrinsic global character underlines the importance of a flag-neutral approach and of a favourable regulatory environment, which is a precondition for creating a level playing field and avoiding unwanted practices.

Additional information

Section: Transport, Energy, Infrastructure and the Information Society (TEN)

Opinion number: TEN/819

Opinion type: Mandatory

Rapporteur: Tanja Buzek (Workers - Group II / Germany)

Referral: COM(2023) 272 final 2023/0172 COD COM(2023) 272 final 2023/0172 COD

Date of adoption by section: 6 September 2023

Result of the vote: 51 in favour, 0 against, 0 abstentions

Date of adoption in plenary: 20-21 September 2023

Result of the vote: 218 in favour, 0 against, 5 abstentions

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