THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 725/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 on enhancing ship and port facility security, and in particular Article 9(4) thereof,
Whereas:
(1)
In order to monitor the application by Member States of Regulation (EC) No 725/2004 and Directive 2005/65/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council the Commission should conduct inspections. The organisation of inspections under the supervision of the Commission is needed to verify the effectiveness of national quality control systems and maritime security measures, procedures and structures.
(2)
The Commission is assisted in the performance of the inspection tasks by the European Maritime Safety Agency established by Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council. In the performance of the inspection tasks in the context of the European Economic Area (EEA) the Commission calls upon the assistance of national inspectors listed by European Free Trade Association (EFTA) States in accordance with Decision of the EEA Joint Committee No 116/2008.
(3)
Commission Regulation (EC) No 324/2008 establishes procedural rules for conducting Commission inspections in the field of maritime security in a transparent, effective, harmonised and consistent manner.
(4)
In the light of the experience gained since 2008, it is necessary to ensure that Commission inspections under Regulation (EC) No 324/2008 are conducted in a consistent manner in accordance with the set procedure, including a standard methodology. The measures to enhance the cooperation with the Member States and exercise of Commission powers should be efficient and transparent.
(5)
Definitions of the terms used in the context of the conduct of Commission inspections should be further developed. The revisions do not extend the scope of inspections beyond the existing remit.
(6)
The Commission and the Member States should work in cooperation together during the preparation and the conduct of the Commission inspections.
(7)
The Commission should have the possibility of including in its inspection teams qualified national inspectors made available by the Member States that meet the necessary qualification and training criteria.
(8)
To ensure a transparent and efficient conduct of Commission inspections the provisions should be clear and further developed, notably in the case of a ship inspection which concludes in a port of a Member State other than that of the port of embarkation. The issue of inspection of EU flagged ships at a location outside the European Union should be clarified to deal with the specific logistical constraints of such inspections.
(9)
Sensitive but non-classified information related to an inspection should be handled under strict security measures to guarantee its confidentiality and non-disclosure.
(10)
Regulation (EC) No 324/2008 should therefore be amended accordingly.
(11)
The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee established by Article 11(1) of Regulation (EC) No 725/2004,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: