B. CASES WHERE EFFECTIVE SCRUTINY HAS NOT BEEN POSSIBLE
32. PROPOSAL FOR A DIRECTIVE AMENDING DIRECTIVE 94/58/EC
ON THE MINIMUM LEVEL OF TRAINING FOR SEAFARERS (10788/97)
Letter from Glenda Jackson CBE MP, Parliamentary Under
Secretary of State, Department of the Environment, Transport and
the Regions, to Lord Tordoff, Chairman of the Committee
At its meeting on 14 November 1996, your Sub-Committee considered
an Explanatory Memorandum (EM) (10519/96). The Sub-Committee agreed
to lift the scrutiny reserve for the time being but asked to be
kept informed of progress in negotiations.
The EM explained that the UK had no difficulty supporting
measures which were contained within STCW 1995, but that the proposed
directive went beyond STCW 1995 in a number of areas. Since then,
negotiations at official level have sought to ensure that additional
proposals were both workable and imposed no unnecessary burdens
on industry. The EM mentioned three specific issues of concern
at that time. During negotiations these issues have been addressed
in the following way.
Issue and registration of certificates
The text has been amended so that those requirements which
might have caused the UK practical difficulties have been deleted.
We can accept the amended text.
Accreditation of third country training institutes
The Commission proposed that Member States should undertake
an accreditation exercise for all third countries whose certificate
holders might be employed on ships registered in Member States.
This was opposed by the majority of Member States who felt that
the Commission's proposals were inflexible and deliverable only
with great difficulty. Having considered further the Commission's
arguments, the UK has been persuaded of the majority opinion that
the provision is unnecessary and bureaucratic in its proposed
form. The issue is unresolved and is likely to be discussed at
the Transport Council meeting in June, possibly on the basis of
a compromise suggested by the Presidency.
Mandatory nature of certain provisions which are not mandatory
in STCW 1995
The proposal for the draft directive to make mandatory certain
parts of the non-mandatory part (Part B) of the STCW Code has
been withdrawn by the Commission. Member States accept that the
Directive should refer to Part B but the precise wording of such
a reference has not yet been agreed.
Cost to business
The attached draft Compliance Cost Assessment (CCA) explains
that there will be no additional cost to businesses in complying
with the revised Directive. Those measures which are additional
to the requirements of STCW 1995 are not expected to result in
any additional costs for the UK shipping industry.
Timing
It was previously intended that Member States should bring
into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions
necessary to comply with the Directive by 1 June 1997. However,
given the slower than expected passage of the Directive, the date
of implementation is expected to be 1 January 1999 or one year
after the introduction of the Directive, whichever is later. It
is hoped that the Directive will reach political agreement at
the Transport Council meeting in June.
2 June 1997
Letter from Glenda Jackson CBE MP, Parliamentary Under
Secretary of State, Department of the Environment, Transport and
the Regions, to Lord Tordoff, Chairman of the Committee
On 17 October, my Department submitted an Explanatory Memorandum
for the above proposed amending directive (reference number 10788/97).
We have been informed that the proposal will go to the Agriculture
Council for adoption today as an A" point. Since this proposed
directive is very much supported by the UK, I have agreed that
we will not maintain our scrutiny reserve. I am writing to explain
that decision.
The proposed directive was the subject of EM 10519/96, which
was considered and cleared by your committee on 14 November 1996.
The amendments which have been made since then are not of a fundamental
nature. Indeed, as explained in my letter of 2 June 1997 to the
Chairman of the House of Lords Sub-Committee B, all the areas
of concern to the UK have been addressed satisfactorily. Political
agreement was reached at the Transport Council meeting in June,
on a text which included the revisions proposed in the Commission's
document 10788/97.
The proposed directive updates directive 94/58/EC in line
with the revised international Convention on Standards of Training,
Certification and Watchkeeping for seafarers (STCW Convention).
The UK played a major role in the revision of the STCW Convention,
and is fully committed to its implementation. The UK strongly
supports the proposed directive as this will help to ensure a
harmonised implementation of the revised Convention throughout
the Member States of the European Community.
It is unfortunate that the scrutiny procedure could not be
completed before the vote was taken. However, in view of the beneficial
nature of the proposed directive, and the fact the UK has previously
agreed the proposal at a transport Council, I hope you will excuse
our decision not to withhold agreement to the adoption of the
proposed directive.
21 October 1997
Letter from Lord Tordoff, Chairman of the Committee
to Glenda Jackson CBE MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State,
Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions
Thank you for your letter of 21 October.
Since this matter is not a contentious one, and since the
proposed Directive was previously cleared by the European Communities
Committee without comment, I cannot take issue with your decision
to agree to it at the Agricultural Council this week. However,
it is always a matter of regret when the Government's commitment
to honour the parliamentary scrutiny reserve is breached, and
I hope, therefore, that this will not become a frequent occurrence.
22 October 1997
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