Recreational craft industry: exhaust and noise emissions from boat engines (amend. Directive 94/25/EC)

The committee adopted the report by Martin CALLANAN (EPP-ED, UK) amending the proposal under the codecision procedure (1st reading). The committee was particularly concerned by the scope of the proposed legislation and the potential repercussions for SMEs in the sector as well as for private boat manufacturers. It pointed out that if, as proposed, the directive were to apply to all new craft and existing craft being upgraded with larger engines, this would incur exorbitant costs, which would have to be borne by individuals or smaller boat manufacturers. This applied in particular to craft of a pre-1950 design or where the engine pre-dated 1960. The committee stressed that these boats represented an integral part of Europe's inland waterways heritage as well as a thriving industry and therefore recommended that the directive should only apply to craft and to stern drive or inboard propulsion engines first put into service after it had entered into force. Furthermore it was considered inappropriate that craft built for personal use should be included in the scope of the directive as this would not contribute to market harmonisation and would entail unwarranted compliance costs for the individual boating enthusiast. Other amendments adopted by the committee clarified the provisions relating to a system of in-use compliance testing, specifying that it should be the subject of a proposal, and provided for stern drive engines to be treated in the same way as outboard engines. The committee also adopted a large number of technical amendments.�