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Siim Kallas News

28 Oct 2014

European Parliament Backs European Shipping Week

Martin Schulz (Photo: European Parliament)

European Shipping Week has been granted the European Parliament’s official patronage by its President, Martin Schulz. Both the European Commission and the European Parliament have now actively expressed their support for the week-long event which will be held in Brussels during March 2-6, 2015. Commenting on European Shipping Week, Schulz said, “The aim of the initiative, namely to bring together the leading members of the shipping industry of the EU and give them an opportunity to meet, debate and share experiences is welcomed by the European Parliament.

16 Oct 2014

European Commission VP Welcomes European Shipping Week

Siim Kallas

In a letter to Patrick Verhoeven, Secretary General of the European Community Shipowners’ Associations (ECSA), Commissioner Kallas said there was no doubt that Europe needs a high quality shipping sector "that can compete around the world." Maritime transport is a cornerstone of European industry, he said, playing an essential role in Europe's economy. He added, "The European Shipping Week should be an opportunity to demonstrate that regulators and industry share the same objective of promoting quality…

19 Dec 2013

EC Notes Safety Progress, Highlights Needed Improvement

Some EU Member States are struggling to meet their commitment to ratify international maritime conventions, according to a European Commission report (EC) on compliance with flag state requirements. Vice-President Siim Kallas, EU transport commissioner, said, "I am heartened that most coastal Member States are taking their obligations seriously as flag states. Current EU rules promote maritime safety and set a high standard for EU flag states by requiring them to undergo a peer review of their maritime administration and develop and implement a certified quality management system for their operations. Portugal, Ireland and all landlocked flag states except Luxembourg have failed to do so.

19 Dec 2013

Maritime Safety: Two EU States on Paris MOU 'Grey List'

EU logo

Certain European Union (EU) Member States are struggling to meet their commitment to ratify international maritime conventions, according to a recent European Commission report on compliance with flag state requirements. Despite good progress for many EU flag states, Bulgaria and Slovakia remain on the grey list of flag states in terms of the number of their ships detained, or the number of deficiencies detected on board, whilst being checked when in port. This means that the ships under these flags are not yet in the low risk ("white list") category — hence they need to be checked more often.

19 Oct 2012

EU: New Inland Waterways Protection Guidelines

The Commission is issuing new guidelines on inland navigation and nature protection to assist this important sector in applying EU environmental legislation. The guidelines – "Inland waterway transport and Natura 2000 – sustainable inland waterway development and management in the context of the EU Birds and Habitats Directives" – explain how best to ensure that activities related to inland navigation are compatible with EU environmental policy in general and nature legislation in particular.

05 Oct 2012

EU Global Emission Reduction Proposal: Another Viewpoint

Emissions monitoring systems manufacturer, Parker Procal, welcomes EU move to monitor, report & verify emissions. The EU announced recently that it will start measuring shipping emissions from 2013 as a first step towards delivering a global solution for cutting the sector's climate change impact. EU Climate Action Commissioner Connie Hedegaard and Commission Vice-President Siim Kallas made the announcement at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). Parker Procal, a manufacturer of in-situ, multi component Continuous Emissions Monitoring systems (CEMS), welcomes the EU decision to create a global system for monitoring, reporting and verification of emissions.

23 Jan 2012

EU Review Includes Coasta Concordia Lessons

Safety of passenger ships – Costa Concordia accident and Commission review of safety legislation. Vice-President Siim Kallas, European Commissioner for Transport has asked that the currently ongoing review of EU passenger ship safety legislation take fully into account any lessons to be learnt from the Costa Concordia tragedy. The review will prioritise, in particular, the issues of: design and stability of passenger ships, technological developments in the sector, crew training and safe operation, including emergency evacuation procedures.

29 Jun 2011

Call for Proposals: TEN-T Program

Yesterday, the European Commission launched three Calls for Proposals under the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) multi-annual program, making €180 million (nearly $258 million) available to finance European transport infrastructure projects in the fields of European Rail Traffic Management Systems (ERTMS), Motorways of the Sea (MoS) and River Information Services (RIS). This will help to make travel and transport by rail and water more safe and secure as well as more attractive compared to other transport modes. Commission Vice President Siim Kallas, responsible for transport, said:  "The Commission is happy to play its part in making our transport system more competitive and sustainable. The TEN-T multi-annual program aims to finance the highest priorities of the TEN-T network.