Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-07-04-Speech-2-355"
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"en.20060704.33.2-355"2
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".
Mr President, Mrs Sommer, whom I consider heroic for taking part in the debate at this hour, ladies and gentlemen, I am delighted that there is broad consensus today on the Commission's proposal, and this thanks to the political will of all of the parties and to the cooperation of the technical experts.
The future validity of the Community certificate on the Rhine will promote competition and will create genuinely fair conditions for river transport within the internal market. We will maintain this level in the future, in cooperation with the Central Commission for the Navigation of the Rhine.
As for the amendment adopted by the Committee on Transport and Tourism, we support it, and I am delighted that a compromise has been reached among the three institutions.
I should like to take advantage of this opportunity to assure you that the Commission is aware of the anxieties expressed by some owners of large recreational craft in certain Member States. The text that you will adopt will make it possible for the majority of these concerns to be addressed.
Unlike Directive 94/25/EC, which provides for market access for recreational craft in the Community, the new directive on technical requirements for inland waterway vessels, for its part, provides for safety of navigation on all waterways. A 20-metre long vessel warrants requirements additional to those needed simply for marketing.
Moreover, excluding recreational craft less than 24 metres – and not 20 metres – long from the scope of the directive would render the rules applicable on the Rhine different from those applicable on other Community waterways. That could cause problems when it comes to recognising the Community certificate for navigation on the Rhine and could stand in the way of the idea of having a single certificate for vessels in the Community, namely the Community certificate.
Finally, the directive permits a number of derogations for existing recreational craft. I am specifically responding to Mr Watson on this point, as he was the person who drew my attention to it: existing recreational craft may continue to operate provided that their breach of the requirements does not represent an obvious danger. I would add that Article 7 permits those Member States whose inland waterways are not connected to the waterways of other Member States to depart from all or part of this directive.
Ladies and gentlemen, I can, in any event, assure you that the Commission will ensure that it pays special attention in the comitology procedure to the chapter on recreational craft, in order both to prevent any contradiction of, or incompatibility with, Directive 94/25/EC and to clarify and shed light on any points that may seem unclear.
I want to thank you, Mrs Sommer, for your personal and important contribution to building this consensus.
The Community legislation harmonising the technical requirements for inland waterway vessels dates back to 1982. This legislation provides for a certificate with which an inland waterway vessel may navigate on any EU waterway, except the Rhine. However, two thirds of transport by inland waterway in Europe takes place on the Rhine.
Our proposal, which dates back to 1997, therefore has three objectives:
Firstly, to update the technical requirements with a view to bringing the safety of vessels in line with technological progress;
Secondly, to make it possible in the future for the Community certificate to be recognised for navigation on the Rhine;
Thirdly, to establish a comitology procedure for regularly adjusting the technical requirements in the future, in the light of technological progress and of the development of the rules in force on the Rhine.
This matter remained at a standstill for a long time within the Council because of the issue of admitting vessels with Community certificates to navigation on the Rhine. Once this point was resolved, however, the Council was able to reach a political agreement.
The adoption of this directive will be a real step forward in terms of harmonising the rules, which is what we call for in the NAIADE action plan. It will make it possible to implement a single system for the entire network of European Union waterways. The technical requirements will be harmonised to ensure a high level of safety, particularly for passenger ships."@en1
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