PRESS RELEASE: ECSA and WSC have backed 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.
ECSA’s Secretary-General, Martin Dorsman, commented: ‘We very much welcome the hard work from the European Commission, European Parliament and Member States over the past months. This resulted in an instrument that will bring real and positive change for shipping companies and crews.’ He added: ‘We welcome in particular 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.’
WSC CEO and President John Butler said of the deal: ‘The agreement not only harmonises the data that must be reported but also the way that it is to be transmitted. The EU machine to machine interface module as required by the Regulation will simplify the process of reporting data as long as it is implemented identically in each national single window without deviation. The adoption of the legal text is the first important step. The next is to deliver the benefits through loyal implementation.’
ECSA and WSC hope the Council and European Parliament will now proceed swiftly with the final procedural steps for the proposal to enter into force. The shipping community stands ready to help with the further implementation of the proposal and contribute to the development of the actual data set and reporting mechanisms.
About ECSA and WSC:
The European Community Shipowners’ Associations (ECSA) was founded in 1965 and represents the national shipowners’ associations of the EU and Norway. The European shipowners control 40% of the global commercial fleet, contribute 140 billion to the EU GDP and provide 2.1 million Europeans with careers both onboard and ashore. ECSA promotes the interests of European shipping so that the industry can best serve European and international trade in a competitive free business environment to the benefit of shippers and consumers.
The World Shipping Council (WSC) is a non‐profit trade association with offices in Brussels, Singapore and Washington, D.C. representing the interests of the international liner shipping industry in public policy and regulatory matters. The WSC’s global membership accounts for more than ninety percent of global liner shipping capacity. Member companies transport annually more than 40 million TEUs of EU export and import cargo, roughly EUR 1.41 trillion worth of goods. The WSC is inscribed in the EU Registry of Interest Representatives (registration no. 32416571968-71). Further information about the association can be found at www.worldshipping.org
