European Maritime Safety Agency

PURPOSE: to update the European Maritime Safety Agency to better reflect the growing role the Agency plays in many maritime transport areas and make it more effective and responsive.

PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council.

ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council.

BACKGROUND: Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council established the European Maritime Safety Agency. The Agency’s founding Regulation has been amended five times, with the amendment in 2013 making a distinction between core and ancillary tasks which has become obsolete. Moreover, rules on the administrative and financial governance of EU Agencies have also been amended. This obsolete structure of the mandate combined with the need to incorporate and reflect EMSA’s new tasks in the areas of maritime safety, sustainability, decarbonisation, security and cybersecurity, surveillance and assistance in crises management call for a new EMSA Regulation to replace its founding Regulation.

This initiative is part of a package to modernise EU rules on maritime safety and prevent water pollution from ships.

CONTENT: this proposal to revise the European Maritime Safety Agency maintains the tasks that are already reflected in the previous mandate of the Agency while reflecting the new tasks and updating the administrative and financial provisions, aligning them with the new framework.

Moreover, it is stipulated that the Agency should assist the Member States and the Commission in the effective application and implementation of Union law related to maritime transport across the Union. To that end, the Agency should cooperate with the Member States and the Commission and provide them with technical, operational and scientific assistance within the scope of the Agency’s objectives and tasks.

Objectives

The EMSA’s objective is the promotion and establishment of a high, uniform and effective level of maritime safety aiming towards zero accidents, maritime security, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from ships and the sustainability of the maritime sector as well as the prevention of and response to pollution caused by ships and the response to marine pollution caused by oil and gas installation.

Further objectives of the Agency should be the promotion of digitalisation of the maritime sector by facilitating the electronic transmission of data supporting simplification and the provision of integrated maritime surveillance and awareness systems and services to the Commission and the Member States.

The proposed revision of EMSA’s mandate aims to:

- better anchor and reflect the current tasks and objectives of EMSA in its founding Regulation so that EMSA is legally mandated to fulfil these and support the Member States and the Commission with the necessary technical, operational and scientific assistance in ensuring maritime safety and security together with the green and digital transition of the sector;

- render the EMSA’s founding Regulation future proof by allowing enough flexibility to incorporate new tasks in addressing the evolving needs of the maritime sector and ensuring that EMSA will have adequate human and financial resources to fulfil its role.

Transitional provisions are also laid down to enable a proper transition from the previous mandate to the new one without interruption of service for EMSA.

Budgetary implications

This proposal would have an impact on the budget and staff needs of the Agency as currently provided for in the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) and which are insufficient for the tasks the Agency should carry out. It is estimated that an additional budget of EUR 50.997 million and 33 additional posts would be needed for the remainder of the period of the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) to ensure that the Agency has the necessary resources to enforce its revised mandate.