What happens with the maritime transport rules and standards after Brexit?
The European Parliament, The Commission and the Council reached an agreement yesterday after trilogue negotiations on the outcome of the situation of the United Kingdom on maritime transport after Brexit. If this takes place, EU legislation on maritime transport will no longer apply to the state as it will become a third country. One of the areas of Union law that would be affected is the recognition at the Union level of certain “UK-sponsored” organisations providing services for the inspection and survey of ships flying the flag of Member States.
Consequently, the continued validity of the recognition for these organisations at EU level could be called into question and could not be clarified with sufficient legal certainty under the existing provisions of the Regulation. The revised regulation meets the objective of safeguarding business continuity and the competitiveness of the flags of the EU-27 Member States working with the affected organisations.
ALDE MEP Gesine Meissner, shadow rapporteur on this file, said:
“We still don’t know if, when and how Brexit will happen. But the European Union must be prepared. The new rules on ship inspections will allow Member States and EU shipping companies to continue existing contracts with UK-sponsored recognized organizations. The cancellation of those contracts would have implied huge costs and the risks of ships being flagged out to third countries.”
More info: david.vidal@europarl.europa.eu
