Romania's Presidency of the Council of the European Union has reached a provisional agreement on the reform aimed at keeping EU norms aligned with international regulations and making the centralized mechanism for recognizing seafarers from third countries more efficient, reads a press release issued by the Ministry of Transport for AGERPRES.
According to the cited source, the revision of the legislative document will increase the legal clarity regarding the mutual recognition of seafarers' certificates issued by EU states.
The agreement will be submitted for approval by the member states to the Permanent Representatives Committee of the Council.
"High-quality maritime training and certification are essential to maintaining a high standard of safety at sea and to prevent pollution. These simpler rules will ease the freedom of seafarers within the EU and will make the maritime transport sector more attractive, reducing deficit of qualified personnel," said Rovana Plumb, the Romanian Minister of Transport and President of the Council of European Union Transport Ministers.
The international framework in this area is the International Convention of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW), a four-hour service, permanently executed by crew members, aboard a ship ("STCW Convention").
In line with the EU's common mechanism for the recognition of seafarers' certificates from third countries, the European Commission regularly checks that EU member states and third countries comply with the requirements of the EU Directive and the STCW Convention. The amended directive will simplify the procedure for recognizing documents issued by member states and third parties.
Regarding the recognition of seafarers from other member states, the new rules will clarify the mutual recognition of documents so as to allow seafarers certified by an EU country to work aboard the ships under the flag of another EU member state.
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