9 Port security
| (30375)
5614/09
COM(09) 2
| Commission report: Report assessing the implementation of the Directive on enhancing port security
|
| Legal base | — |
| Document originated | 20 January 2009
|
| Deposited in Parliament | 26 January 2009
|
| Department | Transport |
| Basis of consideration | EM of 5 February 2009
|
| Previous Committee Report | None
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| To be discussed in Council | Not known
|
| Committee's assessment | Politically important
|
| Committee's decision | Cleared
|
Background
9.1 Directive 2005/65/EC,[33]
concerned with enhancing port security, applies to all ports located
in the territory of a Member State in which one or more port facilities,
covered by a Port Facility Security Plan approved in accordance
with Regulation (EC) No 725/2004,[34]
is, or are, located. While the Regulation is focussed on security
measures on board vessels and the immediate ship/port interface,
that is the port facility, the Directive is focussed on all areas
of a port within a perimeter specified on a case by case basis
by the relevant Member State.
9.2 The Directive requires the Commission to:
- submit an evaluation report
to the European Parliament and the Council by 15 December 2008
and every five years thereafter;
- analyse compliance with the Directive by Member
States and the effectiveness of the measures taken; and
- if necessary, present additional measures.
The document
9.3 This is the first report by the Commission on
the implementation of Directive 2005/65/EC. The Commission:
- highlights delays in adopting
national legislation implementing the Directive in Member States;
- says the majority of the 22 Member States required
to transpose the provisions of the Directive into national law
only did so after the 15 June 2007 deadline for implementation;
- records its decision of 18 September 2008 to
take action in the European Court of Justice against the two Member
States, the UK and Estonia, which had not yet met the deadline;
- says that in the 2009 work programme for the
performance of its maritime security inspections the Commission
is including sections for verifying that the procedures for monitoring
the application of the Directive have been correctly applied;
and
- says that it is going to examine the constraints
facing authorities responsible for implementation of security
measures in order to how best to improve security measures, particularly
in relation to the interests involved in ports.
The Government's view
9.4 In his Explanatory Memorandum the Parliamentary
Under-Secretary of State, Department for Transport (Jim Fitzpatrick),
tells us that:
- in implementing Regulation
(EC) No 725/2004 the Government sought to ensure that the anticipated
requirements of Directive 2005/65/EC were already being met by
requiring port facility security assessments and port security
plans to cover all commercial maritime transport operations on
port estates, as required by the Directive, pushing security measures
beyond the ship/port facility interface;
- thus the majority of existing "Port Facility
Security Plans" established in accordance with the International
Ship and Port Facility Security Code, and as required by the Regulation,
already cover the essential areas of the port that are concerned
with commercial maritime transport activity;
- the Government acknowledges that transposition
of the Directive did not take place in Great Britain and Northern
Ireland before the deadline. This delay was due to the need to
integrate the new regime with the enhanced system already introduced
following the Regulation, to take on board the views of a wide-range
of stakeholders and, in particular, to further consult as to the
proposed legal status of the prospective Port Security Authorities;
and
- to implement the Directive in Great Britain and
Northern Ireland requires secondary legislation in the form of
Regulations. Those Regulations have been drafted and it is intended
that, subject to the Parliamentary process, they will be laid
in March 2009 and come into effect by May 2009.
Conclusion
9.5 Although we have no questions to raise on
this document and clear it, given the threat of infraction proceedings
against the Government, we draw the Commission Report and the
Minister's explanation to the attention of the House.
33 (25377) 6363/04: see HC 42-xii (2003-04), chapter
3 (10 March 2004), HC 42-xxii (2003-04), chapter 20 (9 June 2004)
and HC 34-i (2005-06), chapter 38 (4 July 2005) and (25717) 10124/04:
see HC 42-xxv (2003-04), chapter 7 (30 June 2004). Back
34
(24536) 8566/03: see HC 63-xxiii (2002-03), chapter 4 (4 June
2003) and HC 63-xxix (2002-03), chapter 2 (10 July 2003) and Stg
Co Deb, European Standing Committee A, 10 September 2003,
cols.3-22. Back
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