ECSA and WSC have welcomed the agreement reached by the European Parliament, the Council and the European Commission in their ‘trilogue discussions’ on the European Maritime Single Window environment proposal last week.
On 15 October 2018, the European Parliament’s Committee on Transport and Tourism published the draft report on the Commission’s proposal for a Regulation creating a European Maritime Single Window environment, which came out on 17 May.
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The report focuses on the harmonisation of data elements and data sets, and supports the cooperation between customs and maritime authorities at both national and Union level. It also recognises that, even with a fully harmonised data set, relevant authorities might require additional data.
The final text now includes an agreement that provides security for Port Community Systems in relation to the public National Single Windows that have to act as a ‘mailbox’ for reports to authorities.
Namely, Port Community Systems that meet the requirements of the European reporting interface module must be allowed by member states as a reporting system.
According to the the final text, the Port Authority will examine the consequences of the European Maritime Single Window Regulation for the reporting process in European ports and discuss this with, among others, the ministry responsible for the elaboration at Member State level.
ECSA’s Secretary-General, Martin Dorsman, commented that this instrument will bring real and positive change for shipping companies and crews. He also added that it is a good sign that the co-legislators have agreed to the idea of a harmonised data set.
This is the fundamental building block that will bring true harmonisation and simplification for the shipping industry and other partners in the chain
For his side, WSC CEO and President John Butler, noted that the agreement not only harmonises the data that must be reported but also the way that it should be transmitted. Specifically, he explained that the EU machine to machine interface module as required by the Regulation will make the process of reporting data simpler, as long as it is implemented identically in each national single window without deviation.
The Port of Rotterdam Authority and other major ports in Europe, also said that it was of great importance that investments in current Port Community Systems (Portbase) and port call optimization processes in European ports would not be affected.
