Regulation (EC) No 596/2009 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

6.1. Council Directive 96/98/EC of 20 December 1996 on marine equipment (1) U.K.

As regards Directive 96/98/EC, the Commission should be empowered in particular to adopt testing standards where international organisations fail or refuse to adopt them within a reasonable time, to transfer equipment from Annex A.2 to Annex A.1, and to authorise, in exceptional circumstances, the placing on board of technically innovative equipment. The Commission should also be empowered to apply, for the purposes of that Directive, subsequent amendments of international instruments, to update Annex A, to add the possibility of using certain modules for equipment listed in Annex A.1, to amend the columns for the conformity assessment modules, and to include standardisation organisations in the definition of ‘testing standards’ in Article 2. Since those measures are of general scope and are designed to amend non-essential elements of Directive 96/98/EC, inter alia, by supplementing it with new non-essential elements, they must be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny provided for in Article 5a of Decision 1999/468/EC.

Accordingly, Directive 96/98/EC is hereby amended as follows:

1.

Article 7(5) and (6) shall be replaced by the following:

‘5. Should the international organisations, including the IMO, fail or refuse to adopt appropriate testing standards for a specific item of equipment within a reasonable time, standards based on the work of the European standardisation organisations may be adopted. That measure, designed to amend non-essential elements of this Directive by supplementing it, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 18(3).

6. When the testing standards referred to in paragraphs 1 or 5 are adopted or enter into force, as appropriate, for a specific item of equipment, that equipment may be transferred from Annex A.2 to Annex A.1. That measure, designed to amend non-essential elements of this Directive by supplementing it, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 18(3).

Article 5 shall apply to that equipment from the date of that transfer.’;

2.

in Article 13(2), the first indent shall be replaced by the following:

• ‘the measures are justified, it shall immediately so inform the Member State which took the initiative and the other Member States; where the decision referred to in paragraph 1 is attributed to shortcomings in the testing standards, the Commission shall, after consulting the parties concerned, bring the matter before the Committee referred to in Article 18(1) within two months if the Member State which has taken the decision intends to maintain it, and shall initiate the regulatory procedure referred to in Article 18(2).’;

3.

Article 14(5) shall be replaced by the following:

‘5. Equipment such as is referred to in paragraph 1 shall be added to Annex A.2. That measure, designed to amend non-essential elements of this Directive, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 18(3).’;

4.

the first paragraph of Article 17 shall be replaced by the following:

‘This Directive may be amended in order:

(a)

to apply subsequent amendments of international instruments for the purposes of this Directive;

(b)

to update Annex A, both by introducing new equipment and by transferring equipment from Annex A.2 to Annex A.1 and vice versa;

(c)

to add the possibility of using modules B + C and module H for equipment listed in Annex A.1, and by amending the columns for the conformity assessment modules;

(d)

to include other standardisation organisations in the definition of “testing standards” in Article 2.

Those measures, designed to amend non-essential elements of this Directive, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 18(3).’;

5.

Article 18 shall be replaced by the following:

‘Article 18

1. The Commission shall be assisted by the Committee on Safe Seas and the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (COSS) created by Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 2099/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council(2).

2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 5 and 7 of Council Decision 1999/468/EC(3) shall apply, having regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof.

The period laid down in Article 5(6) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be set at two months.

3. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5a(1) to (4) and Article 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof.’.

(1)

OJ L 46, 17.2.1997, p. 25.

(2)

OJ L 324, 29.11.2002, p. 1.

(3)

OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23.’.