Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2005)210 - Multiannual funding for the action of the European Maritime Safety Agency in the field of response to pollution caused by ships - Main contents
Please note
This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2005)210 - Multiannual funding for the action of the European Maritime Safety Agency in the field of response to pollution caused by ... |
|---|---|
| source | COM(2005)210  |
| date | 25-05-2005 |
The European Maritime Safety Agency ("the Agency") i was assigned new tasks in the field of oil pollution response by means of Regulation (EC) N° 724/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 amending Regulation (EC) N° 1406/2002 establishing a European Maritime Safety Agency. Bearing in mind the long-term nature of the Agency’s responsibility for oil pollution response, the efficient and thorough completion of the tasks involved is conditional on appropriate financial security on the basis of a multiannual commitment.
This legislative proposal therefore establishes the procedures for and defines a financial contribution of the Community for the funding of the new tasks of the Agency, on the basis of a multiannual commitment to be spread over a period of seven years.
This proposal is included in the Work Programme of the Commission for 2005.
Contents
- 2. GENERAL CONTEXT AND JUSTIFICATION FOR THE PROPOSED MEASURE
- 1. The anti-pollution activities of the Agency
- 1. Information
- 2. Co-operation and co-ordination
- 3. Operational assistance
- 2. The means for financing the anti-pollution activities
- Stand-by vessels for accidents involving HNS
- Satellite Imagery
- 4. Conclusion
The large-scale maritime accident of the oil tanker ERIKA in December 1999 involving an extensive oil spill led to the creation of the Agency in 2002, whose role was to provide the Member States and the Commission with scientific and technical assistance for the purpose of ensuring a high, uniform and effective level of maritime safety and prevention of pollution by ships. The more recent oil spill caused by the accident of the oil tanker PRESTIGE proved to be a watershed event in developing specific measures for responding to ship-sourced pollution. These two maritime accidents illustrated, in fact, that there was insufficient appropriate response capacity available at the level of the individual Member States for a prompt and effective response to major spills and that additional means would need to be made available.
Against this background, Regulation (EC) N° 724/2004 entrusted the Agency with specific obligations in the field of the response to pollution caused by ships within the Community. Under the terms of that Regulation, the Agency is required to provide the Member States and the Commission with technical and scientific assistance in the field of accidental or deliberate pollution caused by ships and, in particular, to support, on request, in a cost-efficient way, the pollution response mechanisms of the Member States. In order to provide an overall framework for its action in the field of prevention and response to oil pollution, the Agency adopted an Action Plan in October 2004 for oil pollution preparedness and response (“the Action Plan”) i, as provided for in the Regulation.
The Action Plan identifies the activities that the Agency intends to embark on within the context of the underlying Regulation, both in terms of response to an oil spill, by way of specialised anti-pollution vessels, and in terms of preparedness as a means of mounting effective response operations. It is aimed, in particular, at ensuring the optimum use of the financial resources available to the Agency.
The anti-pollution action of the Agency covers, in particular, the following three areas:
With a view to evaluating and improving the effectiveness of anti-pollution measures, the Agency intends to collect, analyse and disseminate information and best practices, techniques and innovation in the field of oil pollution response. This information will eventually be built up in the framework of a “centre of knowledge” intended for a pro-active pollution response and preparedness.
The Agency will provide the relevant services of the Commission on request with technical and scientific assistance for dissemination of best practices and exchange of observers from the various regional agreements i.
The Agency may be requested by Member States, having to cope with a large oil spill, which goes beyond national capabilities and pollution response capacities, to supplement their anti-pollution mechanisms by adding at-sea oil recovery capacity. It may also participate in joint oil pollution response activities under the regional agreements and multinational exercises.
These additional means are to be provided by the Agency through the Community mechanism to facilitate reinforced cooperation in civil protection assistance interventions established by Council Decision 2001/792/EC, Euratom of 23 October 2001 i. The operations involved and means offered would fall under the responsibility of the requesting Member State.
Four regions have been determined as the primary areas of operational assistance, that is the Baltic Sea, the Western approaches to the English Channel, the Atlantic coast and the Mediterranean (particularly the area along the tanker trade route from the Black Sea), where the Agency will eventually station pollution response vessels, while any other area in need can likewise be assisted.
To provide the appropriate oil spill vessels at a competitive rate, the Agency opted for long-term chartering by concluding stand-by contracts with commercial ship operators having vessels of sufficient capacity that can be adapted for oil pollution response purposes, which would cover each of the priority regions for a minimum period of three years (stand-by vessels). Following a request for assistance from a Member State, such vessels would have to interrupt their customary commercial activities in order to deploy to the area in need. The three-year period is deemed necessary in order to cover the financial investments particularly in appropriate on-board equipment and thus represents the most cost-efficient solution. The International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation also supported this particular option in a study commissioned by the Directorate-General for Energy and Transport concerning oil pollution response capacities i.
Availability of financial resources will determine the nature and extent of the implementation of the Agency’s anti-pollution activities. An amount of Є 17.8 million has been allocated by the Budgetary Authority for 2005. The budgetary appropriation for 2006 will have to include provisions for an additional amount of Є 9 million (on top of the Є 20 million already earmarked for anti-pollution activities in the APS for 2006), of which Є 6 million to cover a four-year stand-by contract for a vessel intended for accidents involving hazardous and noxious substances (HNS- see below under section 3, paragraph a) plus a further Є 3 million for the establishment of a Satellite Imagery Service Centre. This appropriation will be decided in accordance with the current budgetary procedure.
Given the long-lasting damage that may be caused by large oil spills, it is of the utmost importance to further enhance oil pollution response capabilities in Europe by mitigating and combating oil pollution in a swift, effective and comprehensive manner. In order to mount an operative oil pollution response, the Agency would need, before long, to build on the current anti-pollution activities illustrated in the Action Plan and be provided with additional means to maximise and improve the overall at-sea oil recovery performance in European waters:
According to recent estimations, the response capacity should be further strengthened in certain regions, where long distances may prevent prompt intervention, by additional oil recovery vessels and equipment. However, mechanical at-sea recovery is not the only way for furthering response capabilities. Improvement of aerial surveillance means and equipment as an aid to detecting and combating pollution and preventing the violation of antipollution regulations is another area for development. Besides, satellite imagery can be used to complement surveillance and monitoring activities currently undertaken by aircraft. It is thus worthwhile that the Agency explores the possibilities for providing satellite imagery to the Member States and the Commission by setting up a Satellite Imagery Service Centre, to help in detecting, monitoring and managing illegal discharges and accidental oil spills. Last but not least, response to incidents involving hazardous and noxious substances would need to be developed on the basis of an evaluation of seaborne trade in these substances and an assessment of the inherent risks of such cargoes.
Moreover, considering the enduring nature of the Agency’s responsibility for oil pollution response, it is necessary to embark on long-term investments to provide adequate financial means for pollution response and allow for sufficient financial security, which would scale down expenditure in the negotiation of longer-term contracts.
The European Parliament concurred with this approach. In its Resolution of 21 April 2004 on improving safety at sea, the Parliament welcomed the fact that the Agency had been assigned an operational remit in the field of anti-pollution and stressed the importance of making available the funding needed to carry out this remit.
Hence, in order to ensure at European level the viability of an efficient and sustainable effort against oil pollution, it is necessary to provide for appropriate financial security for funding the anti-pollution tasks of the Agency and ensure cost-effectiveness by way of a multiannual programme for expenditure relating to such tasks.
The Commission, therefore, believes that it is necessary to provide for a multiannual financial envelope to be imputed on the Community budget during the period from 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2013, to match the new financial perspective. It thus proposes earmarking an amount of Є 154 million for the reference period (see annex). The annual amounts should be authorised by the Budgetary Authority in accordance with the budgetary procedure.
3. Multiannual financing for anti-pollution activities.
This amount is expected to cover the three areas of activity of the Agency, mentioned above under point 1. The indicative amounts for each area are based on the following estimates:
(a) Operational assistance
Stand-by vessels
The Agency would need the period from 2005 to 2007 to build up its minimum capability to offer operational assistance ‘with additional means’ to the Member States, as required by Regulation (EC) N° 724/2004. The emphasis in this area will be on setting up a system of stand-by oil recovery vessels, as well as a Satellite Imagery Service Centre, as previously mentioned. To improve the overall response chain, the Agency will also have to address other difficult issues, such as the discharging of recovered oil and aerial surveillance.
Figures used for estimating the budget of the multiannual programme for oil pollution response are based on the activities deployed in 2005 and 2006. Although the multiannual programme is due to begin as of 2007, the activities for 2005 and 2006 are directly relevant because contracts will still be valid and will need to be renewed during the period covered by the multiannual programme.
Contracting of stand-by oil recovery vessels will be carried out for the first time in 2005 via a Restricted Call following a Call for Expressions of Interest i. The Agency intends to conclude contracts by the end of 2005, thus committing the amounts indicated in the Action Plan. By the end of 2005, the actual amounts required will be known and this might lead to an adjustment of the figures in the Action Plan. Since these contracts will be valid for three years, contracts will have to be renegotiated after that period.
As regards 2006, a second phase for stand-by contracts will be developed. The amounts used for signing three-year contracts and for renewing contracts after three years are similar to the figures for 2005. To complete the coverage, in 2007 the Agency would have to negotiate an arrangement for the Black Sea as well, once Romania and Bulgaria become full members of the European Union.
Substantial investments will again be needed in 2008 (at the end of the term of the contracts, and every three years thereafter), owing to a combination of the following reasons:
- Signing of new contracts to establish follow-up coverage of the same area that might lead to a new vessel (new contracting party), which may need another system of pre-fitting and equipment that is suited to its type (for example length of sweeping arms will vary according to the length of the ship),
- Equipment can be outdated and may have to be replaced by up-to-date (innovative) equipment,
- Equipment may be damaged during exercises or oil spill clean-up operations and/or rendered suboptimal following deployment in an oil spill clean-up operation (pumps for example).
Besides the expenditure for equipment, part of the amounts is needed to cover recurring annual expenses, including participation in multinational exercises, training of crew, as well as availability of the vessel (remaining in the designated area of operation, covering the interruption or loss of commercial contracts in case of an oil spill operation).
The Action Plan indicates that whilst initial steps will address the provision of additional capacity for large-scale oil spills, those involving HNS will be dealt with at a later date. It is important to note that oil and spilt oil have a generic behaviour in the marine environment, which means that response options can be tightly defined. On the other hand, the wide range of substances that could be involved in “chemical” spills and their associated behaviour in the marine environment result in the need for additional response capacity of a different nature.
Consequently, the procurement process for HNS response vessels is scheduled for 2006. The amounts indicated in the Annex will be for the upgrading of existing vessels under contract at the time or, where required, for the contracting on a stand-by basis of appropriate specific vessels for a three-year period. However, as regards 2006, a stand-by HNS vessel is being provided under the current budgetary procedure for a four-year period. Part of these amounts is needed to cover at least the ‘first-level transformation’, which addresses crew rescue, fire fighting and leakage stopping.
In order to maintain this provision of additional response capacity for “chemical” spills, the contracts will have to be renewed in 2010 and then again in 2013.
An additional large-scale activity for 2006 will be the setting-up of an Oil Pollution Response Satellite Imagery Service Centre, as also called for by Directive […] of the European Parliament and of the Council on ship-source pollution and on the introduction of sanctions for infringements i. As mentioned before, satellite imagery should support activities of the Member States and the Commission in reacting to illegal discharges and accidental oil spills.
The Agency will have to set up an appropriate infrastructure for this purpose and will have to purchase analysed satellite imagery. An initial indication of costs shows that 1.000 pictures for the whole of the Community waters on an annual basis will require €1 million. If this service were to be used on a regular basis by the Member States, that amount would not be sufficient. After the first three-year contract has expired (in 2009), the Agency might wish to negotiate larger numbers of images, taking advantage of positive developments in the satellite industry.
The European Commission and the Member States should be able to use this centre directly for all kinds of requests for near real-time data in this field. Through a centralised approach at the European level, improvements in efficiency and direct availability of satellite data can be made, as well as significant cost-savings (economies of scale).
(b) Other Activities
Information, co-operation and co-ordination
This covers all the supporting activities mentioned in the Action Plan concerning the areas of information, co-ordination and co-operation that are intended to implement the obligation of the Agency to provide technical and scientific assistance to the Member States and the Commission in the field of oil pollution response.
In 2005 and 2006, activities will include in particular: (i) Setting-up of arrangements with regional agreements, (ii) Dissemination of best practices via workshops and conferences, (iii) Studies in the field of innovation of oil pollution response equipment and dedicated response techniques concerning HNS spills, and (iv) Improving contingency planning by Member States and the response chain.
As of 2008 more emphasis will be put on the development of ‘other activities’ in support of anti-pollution performance. Activities such as innovation will need to be fully on-stream and specific studies will need to be launched. To improve the response chain, the Agency will have to address difficult issues such as the discharging of recovered oil and aerial surveillance. Hence, additional budgetary resources will be necessary in order to finance these activities.
The implementation of the tasks of the Agency in the field of response to oil pollution has been initiated in 2005 in line with the Action plan and will be taken forward during the following years. Because of ongoing commitments, it will be difficult to embark on additional types of activity in the years to come without appropriate budgetary flexibility. Hence, the development and extension of anti-pollution activities will require long-term investments and adequate financial security. Consequently, a Community Regulation is needed in order to provide for an adequate Community contribution to the Agency’s budget for a seven-year period from 2007 to 2013.