Legal provisions of COM(2015)667 - Amendment of Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002 establishing a European Maritime Safety Agency

Please note

This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.

dossier COM(2015)667 - Amendment of Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002 establishing a European Maritime Safety Agency.
document COM(2015)667 EN
date September 14, 2016

Contents

Article 1

The following article is inserted in Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002:

‘Article 2b

European cooperation on coast guard functions

1. The Agency shall, in cooperation with the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, established by Regulation (EU) 2016/1624 of the European Parliament and of the Council (*), and the European Fisheries Control Agency, established by Council Regulation (EC) No 768/2005 (**), each within their mandate, support national authorities carrying out coast guard functions at national and Union level and, where appropriate, at international level by:

(a)sharing, fusing and analysing information available in ship reporting systems and other information systems hosted by or accessible to those agencies, in accordance with their respective legal bases and without prejudice to the ownership of data by Member States;

(b)providing surveillance and communication services based on state-of-the-art technology, including space-based and ground infrastructure and sensors mounted on any kind of platform;

(c)building capacity by drawing up guidelines and recommendations and by establishing best practices as well as by providing training and exchange of staff;

(d)enhancing the exchange of information and cooperation on coast guard functions including by analysing operational challenges and emerging risks in the maritime domain;

(e)sharing capacity by planning and implementing multipurpose operations and by sharing assets and other capabilities, to the extent that these activities are coordinated by those agencies and are agreed to by the competent authorities of the Member States concerned.

2. Without prejudice to the powers of the Administrative Board of the Agency set out in Article 10(2), the precise forms of cooperation on coast guard functions between the Agency, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency and the European Fisheries Control Agency shall be determined in a working arrangement, in accordance with their respective mandates and the financial rules applicable to those agencies. Such an arrangement shall be approved by the Administrative Board of the Agency, the Administrative Board of the European Fisheries Control Agency and the management board of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency.

3. The Commission shall, in close cooperation with the Member States, the Agency, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency and the European Fisheries Control Agency, make available a practical handbook on European cooperation on coast guard functions. That handbook shall contain guidelines, recommendations and best practices for the exchange of information. The Commission shall adopt the handbook in the form of a recommendation.

4. The tasks set out in this Article shall not be detrimental to the Agency's tasks referred to in Article 2 and shall not infringe upon Member States' rights and obligations, in particular as flag States, port States or coastal States.

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.