The European Commission has requested Austria, Cyprus, Portugal and Romania to fully transpose EU law on port reception facilities for ship-generated waste and cargo residues (Commission Directive (EU) 2015/2087). This Directive amended the EU rules (Directive 2000/59/EC), that require ships to notify a number of information before entry into port, such as the volumes and types of waste to be delivered and storage capacity on-board.
It also added the requirement to notify information on what has actually been delivered to port reception facilities in the last port of call. The Commission Directive was adopted in order ensure consistency with measures adopted at the level of the International Maritime Organisation and to avoid uncertainty amongst port users and authorities. It had to transposed into national law by 9 December 2016 at the latest, but to date Austria, Cyprus, Portugal and Romania have failed to do so.
The 4 Member States have been given two months to remedy the situation; otherwise, Commission may decide to refer them to the Court of Justice of the EU.
The Commission also sent a letter of formal notice to 14 Member States, including Cyprus, for their failure to report on the implementation of several EU waste rules. You will find more information here.
