Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-12-14-Speech-3-376-000"
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"en.20111214.27.3-376-000"2
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"Madam President, I would like to thank the rapporteur, Mr Fleckenstein, and the shadow rapporteurs for their work regarding the preparation of the Parliament’s position on our proposal to reinforce the European Maritime Safety Agency. In general, the Commission is very grateful for the continuous support by the Parliament to EMSA.
In conclusion, I am grateful for the support of Parliament, and I am looking forward to reaching an agreement soon on EMSA’s new mandate.
The Parliament and Council adopted the EMSA Founding Regulation in June 2002. Over the years, EMSA has evolved into an operational agency supporting both the Commission and the Member States. EMSA is highly respected by its stakeholders for its professionalism and quality output.
EMSA’s core business will remain maritime safety. EMSA also contributes to maritime security and to environmental aspects of shipping. The most operational forms are the network of pollution response vessels, the satellite tracking of illegal discharges by ships and the different systems to monitor maritime traffic.
EMSA’s technical expertise is interesting for other policy areas. Therefore, the Commission has made a proposal to extend EMSA’s mandate with regard to certain aspects for which we feel more EU added value is possible. The rapporteur and the Committee on Transport and Tourism have expressed their support for this approach and have indicated three priorities.
The first priority is establishing the European Maritime Space without barriers. I fully share this objective. We have an internal market. A truck goes from Tallinn to Lisbon without any barriers. A vessel, however, is considered to be on an international voyage and is required to fulfil the same formalities as if she were coming from Asia or America. EMSA is able to assist us in realising the European Maritime Space without barriers. The Blue Belt project is an important milestone. It aims at enhancing Short Sea Shipping in the EU by monitoring and recording the route of each individual vessel and thus supporting customs requirements.
The second priority is promoting maritime professions in the EU. Again, I fully share this objective and I am committed to developing a social maritime agenda. I see a role for EMSA supporting us in reaching this objective. Not only does EMSA know a lot about training and qualification systems in Member States and third countries, but EMSA has already developed an information system. However, EMSA itself should neither become a maritime academy nor deliver certificates to seafarers.
The third priority is improving the safety of offshore installations in the EU. In the wake of the tragic accident involving the Deepwater Horizon offshore installation in the Gulf of Mexico, like many Member States, the EU, through EMSA, provided specialised equipment to the United States. Some weeks ago, the Commission, at the initiative of my colleague, Mr Oettinger, presented a legislative proposal to enhance the safety of offshore installations in the EU. The Commission’s objective is to establish high safety standards across the EU.
The proposal we are discussing today already foresees that EMSA’s pollution response capabilities ought to be made available in case of pollution caused by offshore installations. I know that the Parliament wants to go further in a couple of amendments giving EMSA a role in the prevention of pollution by offshore installations, in the licensing process and in third-party oversight. However, EMSA has no expertise in drilling and well operations. Therefore, the Commission would like EMSA to remain a maritime transport agency.
Following your planned vote, I would consider that it should not be difficult for Parliament and the Council to reach an agreement on the current EMSA proposal. There are areas in which it is more efficient to improve coordination and cooperation through EMSA. Conversely, the EU – including EMSA – will, and should, stay out of areas which are better served by national, regional or local authorities."@en1
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