Shipowners worry about EU MRV Regulation
European shipowners are concerned by the intention of the Italian Presidency of the Council to move full steam ahead with an inter-institutional agreement on the EU Regulation for Monitoring, Reporting and Verification system of carbon dioxide emissions from maritime transport (EU MRV Regulation), which could potentially include commercial and operational information. ECSA urges EU decision-makers ahead of the trialogue negotiations to re-focus on developments at international level, lest unilateral EU action lead to regional differentiation and ultimately obstruct progress in the IMO (International maritime Organisation). In 2013, the European Commission put forward the MRV proposal with the intention of paving the way for an international solution. The IMO has in parallel been making progress towards establishing a global monitoring system. Currently, the work on the EU instrument is proceeding at a faster pace than the work of the IMO, and therein lies the risk. The EU instrument should be as simple and straightforward as possible, so as to be easily adaptable at a later stage to incorporate the outcome of the IMO process. Moreover, the simpler the EU tool remains, the more it will facilitate international negotiations instead of pre-empting them. “The stated goal of EU regulators has until now ...
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