CONSIDERATION OF DRAFT REPORT Regulation amending Regulation 1406/2002 establishing a European Maritime and Safety Agency (EMSA) - vote

Transcription

1 23-24 MAY 2016

2 ADOPTION OF REPORT CONSIDERATION OF DRAFT REPORT Regulation amending Regulation 1406/2002 establishing a European Maritime and Safety Agency (EMSA) - vote Proposal for a Regulation of the European parliament and of the Council on common rules in the field of civil aviation and establishing a European Union Aviation Safety Agency Rapporteur: Marie-Christine Arnautu, (ENF, FR) Ordinary Legislative Procedure After adopting one amendment, drawn from the Civil Liberties Committee (LIBE) opinion, a majority of the Committee voted against the text as amended. As a result, TRAN has yet to adopt a position on this proposal. Previously, the Committee did not adopt an opinion to LIBE on the related proposal concerning the European Border and Coastguard. The consideration of amendments showed a wide divide between the Rapporteur and the majority of the Committee. She complained about the attitude of other Groups in rejecting her opinion to LIBE on the borders agency two weeks before. She considered it was urgent to send a clear signal to the EU Institutions that they should no longer ignore the problems confronting people. Several Groups said they supported the Commission s proposals and would vote against all amendments. Artis Pabriks, the LIBE Rapporteur, explained the desirability of aligning the corresponding texts in the reports on the borders agency, EMSA and the fisheries agency. Rapporteur: Marian-Jean Marinescu, (EPP, RO) Ordinary Legislative Procedure The Commission s proposal was generally supported, although a few Members expressed concerns about the extension of the Agency's responsibilities to aviation security. Others said that duplication with the national level should be avoided, as should unnecessary administrative burdens. Some Members also voiced concerns about the new overall risk-based approach followed by the Commission proposal. It was felt that this could lead to reduced safety for purely commercial considerations. There was a broad consensus that the Agency should have the necessary human and financial means to be able to carry out all its tasks adequately. Members also called for a clear division of responsibility between EASA and Eurocontrol. The Committee did not adopt the EMSA text as amended with 19 votes in favour, 25 against and 3 abstentions. On 12 May, in Strasbourg, it did not adopt an opinion on the European Border and Coastguard as no amendments were adopted. Tbd 2

3 On the issue of environmental protection, some Members wished to stick to the international legal obligations whilst others thought the EU should go beyond this. Some Members considered that the Regulation should address working conditions and their effect on aviation safety should be addressed by the Regulation. Some of the Rapporteur s ideas, such as the change of the agency s name or the obligation for Member States to have a single aviation authority, were not supported by all Members, though the Rapporteur recalled these reflected previous Parliament positions. As regards groundhandling, several Members expressed worries about the Commission proposal. The Committee had invited a number of experts on drones to provide information on this aspect of the report. Richard Thummel (Direction Générale de l'aviation Civile) presented the existing and planned French legislation on drones. He supported a risk based approach taking into account local parameters. His colleagues agreed with the risk-based approach. Luc Tytgat (EASA) added that it had to be a European approach to be understood in the same way by all operators. He also suggested that European industry standards should be implemented and controlled at the national level. Mr Tytgat also recommended the European drones occurrence system. Jukka Hannola (Finnish Transport Safety Agency) said that the developments of drones required "out of the box thinking" and called for flexible and balanced rules. He added that small drones should be regulated nationally while users should be assisted by all kinds of information about possible uses/restrictions. Thomas Mildenberger (European Cockpit Association), underlined that any future EU legislation on drones should ensure appropriate enforcement of rules/oversight, require pilot licences for drones operators and include technical performance limitations and detect and avoidance features. He was concerned that the "open category" planned by EASA did not ensure any oversight at all. Members recognised the importance of the drones sector. Several recalled the Parliament's report on the issue. Members put forward ideas such as geofencing, detect and avoid technology, limited areas for use of drones and more punitive sanctions. Deadline for amendments 8 June 2016 Vote in TRAN Committee 26 Sept 2016 Tbd APPROVAL OF THE AGREEMENT REACHED WITH THE COUNCIL Amendment of Regulation (EC) No 1365/2006 on statistics of goods transport by inland waterways as regards conferring of delegated and implementing powers Rapporteur: Bas Eickhout (Greens/EFA, NL) Ordinary Legislative Procedure The agreement provides for a potential extension of the scope of the passenger transport Regulation. Member States should, on a voluntary basis, launch pilot studies on the availability of statistical data related to passenger transport by inland waterways and inland waterway crossborder services. It was approved with 38 votes in favour, 4 against and 5 abstentions. 3

4 ADOPTION OF OPINION Preparation of the post-electoral revision of the MFF : Parliament's input ahead of the Commission's proposal Rapporteur: Marian-Jean Marinescu, (PPE, RO) Opinion to BUDG, Own Initiative Report change. Letter-based communication has declined across the EU while online shopping has led to an increased number of packages and parcels conveyed by postal operators. Last November, concluded that: Members broadly supported the Rapporteur s approach in seeking to ensure adequate investment in transport infrastructure. The key Committee priority for this revision is to restore the funds which had been redeployed from the Connected Europe Facility to the European Fund for Strategic Investments. Furthermore, the Committee calls for better coordination of all EU instruments used to finance TEN-T projects and improved transparency of the financing schemes. The Committee also underlined the importance of sustainable tourism for the European economic development, with a focus on promoting SMEs. It stressed the importance of funding for Single European Sky and Single European Railway Area. the Commission s report affordable and reliable postal and parcel services were still crucial for the single market, enhanced oversight of the parcel market was needed; an affordable and reliable universal service was provided for letters; accurate and comparable information about the net cost of the universal service was essential; competition had developed slowly for letter post, but the number of letters had declined due to e-substitution; and parcels were a growth area but there were complaints about cross-border delivery services. The draft opinion was adopted with 41 votes in favour, 4 against and 2 abstentions. Vote in BUDG Committee 16 June 2016 July 2016 PRESENTATION OF DRAFT REPORTS Report on the application of the Postal Services Directive Rapporteur: Markus Ferber, (EPP, DE) Implementing Report Since the last revision of the Directive in 2008, postal services have experienced tremendous The Rapporteur noted that although the universal service had been defined in 2008, Member States implemented it differently. He suggested that the Commission encourage independent national regulatory authorities to cooperate more closely. It was worth considering whether the EU should 4

5 have one representative in the World Postal Union instead of 28. He drew attention to the competitive distortions caused by incumbent operators being exempt from VAT, unlike new market entrants. The draft report was generally welcomed by the Committee. Members agreed that there should be territorial cohesion, so less densely populated areas should not receive lower quality services than large cities. Some raised concerns about employees working conditions. While acknowledging the growth in electronic services, Members believed the traditional postal sector needed support and investment to remain competitive. The Rapporteur agreed with the Commission that there was no need to modify the Directive. Rather close monitoring was needed to ensure its harmonised implementation throughout Europe. Deadline for amendments 3 June 2016 Vote in TRAN Committee 12 July 2016 Sept/Oct New Opportunities for small transport businesses, including the collaborative business models Rapporteur: Dominique Riquet (ALDE, FR) Own Initiative Report The Rapporteur explained that small businesses suffer disproportionately from the lack of a genuine single European transport area. Access to occupations in the transport sector varies considerably from one country to another, and residents and non-residents are not always treated equally. While safety is an indispensable requirement in any transport activity, it is often used as a way of creating barriers. Another challenge for small businesses is how to take advantage of the digital transition. He called for measures to combat anticompetitive practices, harmonisation of access to regulated transport professions, promotion of innovation and protection of consumers. Most Members who took the floor supported the Rapporteur s approach. Deadline for amendments 14 June 2016 Vote in TRAN Committee 26 September 2016 Oct II Improving the connection and accessibility of the transport infrastructure in Central and Eastern Europe Rapporteur: Tomasz Piotr Poręba, (PPE, PL) Own Initiative Report The Rapporteur stressed the importance of further improving the transport infrastructure in Members States located in Central and Eastern Europe to ensure its socio-economic development, the territorial cohesion of the EU as a whole and to strengthen stability and security along the EU s Eastern border. He called upon Member States and the EU to step up efforts to develop north-south connections in the TEN-T network, multi-modal transport hubs and cross-border connections. He also highlighted the potential for strengthening inland waterway transport such as on the Danube, and further development of ports in the Baltic, Adriatic and Black Seas. During the debate, Members stressed the need for a strategic approach which should build on the existing TEN-T network, and reach out to neighbouring countries. Overall, Members expected more efforts on crossborder cooperation in pursuing projects that could benefit the region as a whole. They 5

6 suggested exploring the use of macro-regional strategies as an innovative governance tool. In this context, specific projects such as the Rail Baltica, Via Carpatia and the Amber rail freight corridor should be further pursued according to several speakers. Members emphasized that available EU funding instruments should be used in a well-coordinated and complementary manner. Efforts to build up the necessary knowledge and capacities for developing and implementing projects should also be increased at EU and national levels. Speakers argued that more efforts would be needed to make the rules for delivering and handling ship waste more transparent, and to ensure that various legal obligations on waste handling at sea, in ports and on land are applied coherently. Members also pointed out the need to address toxic residues from scrubbing, to improve waste separation and to reduce plastic waste. Deadline for amendments 2 June 2016 Vote in TRAN Committee 12 July 2016 September 2016 PRESENTATION REFIT evaluation of port reception facilities directive Presentation by the Commission The Commission presented an evaluation of the Directive on port reception facilities for shipgenerated waste and cargo residues. This was undertaken within the ongoing REFIT programme to check the regulatory fitness of EU legislation. The evaluation identified certain implementation problems regarding the availability of port reception facilities, the delivery of waste from ships and unnecessary administrative burdens. The Commission intended to address the shortcomings with interpretative guidelines in the short term and preparations for a review of the Directive in Members underlined the importance of effective implementation of the Directive s rules by Member States authorities and by ship operators. EXCHANGE OF VIEWS Structured Dialogue - Exchange of views with Commissioner Bulç on the Commission Work Programme - Presentation on Transport projects under EFSI/CEF Commissioner Bulc said that under the Connecting Europe Facility, the first call with a budget of billion launched in 2014 and concluded in 2015 resulted in grants being allocated to 263 projects and mobilising 28.3 billion of investment. Under the current CEF call with a budget of 7.6 billion, 427 proposals were submitted, requesting billion. The third call is expected to be announced by the end of this year. In 2018, a call for the remaining CEF grants will be launched. 6

7 With regard to the European Fund for Strategic Investments, 23 transport projects have been approved by the board of the European Investment Bank and two have been signed. If we count projects financed by the EIB outside EFSI, the total volume of EIB lending for transport in 2015 was around 12.5 billion. Overall, over 40 billion of investment has, or will soon be, triggered in the transport sector, supporting an estimated half a million temporary or permanent jobs in the coming years. The transport projects alone have a potential to generate about jobs. SIGNATURE Fourth Rail Package: Technical Pillar Signature of the Interoperability and Rail Safety Directives and the European Rail Agency Regulation by President Schulz and Dutch Minister, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, in the presence of the Rapporteurs Iszaskun Bilbao Barandica (ALDE, ES), Michael Cramer (Greens/EFA, DE) and Roberts Zīle (ECR, LV) Members stressed that the selection of transport projects eligible for EU funding under CEF and EFSI should give priority to sustainable modes of transport such as rail and inland waterways and focus on the completion of missing links, in particular cross-border sections, to promote transport decarbonisation and the completion of the TEN-T network. They also regretted the lack of a sufficient number of projects financed under EFSI in the cohesion countries. As regards the Commission Work Programme, Members invited the Commissioner to report on the implementation of the 2016 CWP as well as on the priorities for Members asked her to ensure that the Road Package was presented by the end of 2016 as foreseen. Commissioner Bulc replied that the preparation of the package is underway, though a delay of one or two months may occur. The 2017 CWP will focus on maritime transport, while 2018 and 2019 will be dedicated to initiatives promoting multimodality. 7

8 NEXT TRAN COMMITTEE MEETINGS, BRUSSELS TRAN COMMITTEE MEETINGS 2016, BRUSSELS Planned draft agenda - To be confirmed Monday, 11 July, 15h00-18h30 Tuesday, 12 July, 9h00-12h30 Tuesday, 12 July, 15h00-18h30 Wednesday 15 June, morning: Exchange of views on professional qualification in inland navigation/meissner Scrutiny of Commission implementing powers: Single European Sky national/functional airspace block plans EU Strategy for liquefied natural gas and gas storage (opinion to ITRE) presentation of draft opinion/monteiro de Aguiar Wednesday 15 June, afternoon: Approval of agreement on Rail statistics (Rule 73)vote/Cramer Presentation by Coordinator for Motorways of the Seas, Brian Simpson Unleashing the Potential of Ferries in Coastal Areas and Inland Waterways: A Contribution to Multimodal Passenger Transport - presentation of the draft report/taylor Presentation by the Commission of Staff Working Document REFIT EX-POST EVALUATION of combined Transport Directive 92/106/EEC Thursday, 1 September, 9h00-12h30 Thursday, 1 September, 15h00-18h30 Monday, 26 September, 15h00-18h30 Monday, 10 October, 15h00-18h30 Tuesday, 11 October, 9h00-12h30 Tuesday, 11 October, 15h00-18h30 Wednesday, 9 November, 9h00-12h30 Wednesday, 9 November, 15h00-18h30 Thursday, 10 November, 9h00-12h30 Monday, 5 December, 15h00-18h30 Meeting room: JAN 6Q2 8

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