THE ACQUIS COMMUNAUTAIRE IN THE FIELD OF MARITIME SAFETY
The
entire body of European laws is known as the acquis communautaire.
This includes all the treaties, regulations and directives passed by the European
institutions as well as judgements laid down by the Court of Justice.
According to the CEE Treaty, there are five types of normative acts issued
by the community institutions, mainly by the EU Council and the European Commission,
while performing their duties: regulations, directives, decisions, recommendations
and opinions. Besides these, the institutional practice has developed other
acts, which are not mentioned in the Treaty: notes, agreements, resolutions,
programmes, conclusions.
European Union Directive is the (mutually binding) collective decision made
by the member states, acting through their national Government Ministers in
the Council of the European Union and the Parliament. Both must approve a
text in identical terms in order a proposal to become law.
A directive can be distinguished from the other major type of EU legislative
instruments, the European Union regulation. A regulation relies on existing
legislation and is self-executing — it does not require any corresponding
national legislation to come into force, and is generally used for matters
where it is desired to have a highly harmonised approach. A directive, by
contrast, requires national implementing legislation in each member state
before it comes into effect in that state. Directives generally leave the
member states a significant amount of lee-way as to the exact rules to be
adopted. If the member state fails to pass the required national legislation,
or if the national legislation does not adequately comply with the requirements
of the directive, the European Commission can initiate legal action against
the member state in the European Court of Justice.
EU regulations have a general scope, and are obligatory in all its elements
and directly applicable in all Member States of the European Union. For this
reason it constitutes the most powerful or influential form of EU law.
A directive, on the other hand, is only applicable in the Member States when
the objectives it contains have been transposed into national law.
Because regulations have direct effect, the individual countries do not need
to pass local laws to bring them into effect, and indeed any local laws contrary
to the regulation are overruled, as European Union Law is supreme over the
laws of the Member States. Member states therefore have to legislate in the
light of, and consistently with the requirements of, EU Regulations.
If the European Constitution is ratified and enters into force, regulations
will become known simply as European laws, with the term "regulation"
shifting to what were previously known as "decisions”.
A European Union decision is one of the three binding instruments provide
by secondary EU legislation. A decision is a law which is not of general application,
but only applies to its particular addressee of the decision (be it Member
States, companies or individuals).
A recommendation in the European Union is one of two kinds of non-binding
acts cited in the Tratey of Rome. Recommendations are without legal force
but are negotiated and voted on according to the appropriate procedure. Recommedations
differ from regulations, directives and decisions in that they are not binding
for Member States. Though without legal force, they do have a political weight.
The Recommendation is an instrument of indirect action aiming at preparation
of legislation in Member States, differing from the Directive only by the
absence of obligatory power.
You can have free access to all acquis communataire in the internet page:
http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/lex/en/index.htm.
Here you can consult the Official Journal of the European Union and can find
inter alia the treaties, legislation, case-law and legislative proposals.
The page offers you extensive search facilities.
NORMATIVE ACTS ADOPTED IN ROMANIA
•
Order no. 322/2006 of 03/03/2006, published in Official Monitor, Part I, no.
241 of 17/03/2006, on port reception facilities for ship-generated waste and
cargo residues
•
Order No. 323/ 2006 of
03/03/2006, published in Official Monitor, Part I, no. 257 of 22/03/2006,
on approving the vessel traffic monitoring and information system for ships
which bound for/leave national navigable waters of Romania
•
Law no. 284/2006 of 06/07/2006 published in the Official Monitor, Part 1 no.
634 of 24/07/2006 for Romania’s accession to the Convention on Limitation
of Liability for Maritime Claims and to the Protocol of 1996 To Amend the
Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims, adopted within
the International Maritime Organization at London on 19 November 1976, respectively
2 May 1996
·
Convention of 1976
·
Protocol of 1996
• ORDINANCE No. 42 of 28 August 1997 regarding the maritime and inland waterways transport
DIRECTIVES, REGULATIONS, RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED BY INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
• A new convention was adopted at the International Labor Organization Conference held in Geneva between 7 and 23 february 2006, Convention on labour standars for seafarers, 2006.
• Oil Pollution Response (Second Call for Tenders) Press Release
• Regulation
(EC) no 336/2006 of the European Parliament and the Council of 15 February
2006 on the implementation of the International Safety Management Code within
the Community and repealing Council Regulation (EC) no 3051/95 was published
in OJ L 64 of 04.03.2006;
• Commission
communication in the framework of the implementation of Directive 94/25/EC
of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 June 1994 on the approximation
of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States
relating to recreational craft was published in OJ C 61 of 14.03.2006;
• The
European Commission presented on 27.3.2006 a new Proposal for a Regulation
of the european parliament and of the council amending Regulation (EC) No
417/2002 on the accelerated phasing-in of double-hull or equivalent design
requirements for single-hull oil tankers and repealing Council Regulation
(EC) No 2978/94
• The
54th session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) took place
in London between 20 and 24 March 2006;
•
The 81st
session of the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) took place in London between
10 and 19 May 2006
•
On
7.06.2006 the European Commission adopted the Green paper towards a future
Maritime Policy for the Union: A European vision for the oceans and seas
• On 15.06.2006, a Communication from the commission under Article 138(2) of the EC Treaty on the strengthening of maritime labour standards, COM(2006) 287 final, as well as a Proposal for a Council Decision on authorising Member States to ratify, in the interests of the European Community, the 2006 Consolidated Maritime Labour Convention of the International Labour Organisation COM (2006) 288 final were published;
• The Economic Commission for Europe published the project of recommendations on harmonized europe-wide technical requirements for inland navigation vessels, adopted on 16.03.2006 through resolution no. 61- document ECE/TRANS/SC.3/172;
• Common Position (EC) No 8/2006 of 23 February 2006 adopted by the Council, acting in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 251 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, with a view to adopting a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down technical requirements for inland waterway vessels and repealing Council Directive 82/714/EEC was published in OJ C 166E of 18.07.2006;
• The
working document „Study of the current situation and trends in inland
water transport in member countries”, sent by the was Economic commission
for Europe, inland transport committee, to the fiftieth session of the Working
Party on Inland Water Transport, Geneva, was published;
•
Proposal
for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the elimination
of controls performed at the frontiers of Member States in the field of road
and inland waterway transport- document COM (2006)432 of 01.08.2006- was published;
•
Commission
communication in the framework of the implementation of the Directive 94/25/EC
of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 June 1994 on the approximation
of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States
relating to recreational craft was published in OJ C 223 of 16.09.2006
•
The
Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on the 3rd Maritime Safety Package
was published in OJ C 229 of 22.09.2006
•
Regulation
(EC) No 1365/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 September
2006 on statistics of goods transport by inland waterways and repealing Council
Directive 80/1119/EEC was published in OJ L 264 of 25.09.2006;
•
Council
Regulation (EC) No 1419/2006 of 25 September 2006 repealing Regulation (EEC)
No 4056/86 laying down detailed rules for the application of Articles 85 and
86 of the Treaty to maritime transport, and amending Regulation (EC) No 1/2003
as regards the extension of its scope to include cabotage and international
tramp services was published in OJ L 269 of 28.09.2006;
• At the 7th meeting of the Committee on Safe Seas and the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (COSS), held in Brusels between 28th of February and 1st of March, a Commission Directive draft of amending Directive 2002/59/EC establishing a Community vessel traffic monitoring and information system, which is transposed in Romania through the Order of the Minister of transports, constructions and tourism no 323/03.03.2006 on approving the vessel traffic monitoring and information system for ships which bound for/leave national navigable waters of Romania, was discussed and issued.
EU REGULATIONS
RNA PARTICIPATION IN INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
1. The meeting of the European Union Council’s shipping experts
on transports policy, Bruselles, 11-13 January 2006;
2. The working meeting of the naval transport experts, Brussels,
18th of March 2006;
3. The 25th session of the „GIS Forum” Steering
Committee, Zagreb, 18-20 January 2006;
4. The 37th session of the Sub-Committee on Standards of
Training and Watchkeeping (STW) of the International Maritime Organization,
London, 23-27 January 2006;
5. The workings of the RV/G group, Strasbourg, 31st January-2nd
February 2006;
6. The” Satellite Monitoring of Oil Spills in European
Waters” seminar, Brusseles, 13th of February 2006;
7. The 94th Maritime Session of the International Labour
Conference, Geneva, 7-27 February;
8. The meeting of European Union Council working group on
naval transports, Brusseles, 13th of February 2006;
9. The 10th session of the COMSAR Sub-Committee preparatory
meeting of EU experts, Brussels, 17th of February 2006;
10. The course „Accident investigation in the Black
Sea: the Voyage Data Recording System”, organized by EMSA in Istanbul,
27-28 February 2006;
11. The 13th meeting of the Technical Evaluation Group (TEG13)
of Paris; Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control, Brussels, 7-9
March 2006;
12. The 13th meeting of EMS’s Administrative Board,
Malta, 12-14 March 2004;
13. The meeting of the EU Member and Candidate/Associate
States representatives in the Mirror Group and Support Group of the Advisory
Council for Waterborne Transport Research in Europe (WATERBORNE TP), Brussels,
13th of March 2006;
14. The working group on Directive 99/35/EC on a system of
mandatory surveys for the safe operation of regular roll-on / roll-off ferry
and high-speed passenger craft services, Brussels, 14-15 March 2006;
15. The workings of the JWG group, Strasbourg, 21-23 March
2006;
16. The reunion of the Group of Notified Bodies for the
Marine Equipment and the reunion of the representatives of the Member and
Candidate States regarding certain aspects of the COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 96/98/EC
of 20 December 1996 on Marine Equipment, Brussels, 28030 March 2006;
17. The preparation conference for the 14th OSCE Economic
Forum 'Transportation in the OSCE area: Secure transportation networks and
transport development to enhance regional economic co-operation and stability';
18. The workings of the 54th session of the Maritime Environment
Protection Committee (MEPC 54rd), London, 20-24 March 2006;
19. Meeting of the Working Group on Cooperation in Emergency
Assistance Plovdiv 29/03/2006 - 30/03/2006 Bulgaria;
20. Specialized Training for PSC Officers Passenger ships”
in Nantes – Franta, 3-7 April 2006
21. The 7th meeting of the Black Sea MoU Port State Control
Committee, Istanbul, 16-212 April 2006;
22. The conference on the occasion of the conclusion of
"DaTraM – Dangerous Cargo Transport Monitoring on Inland Waterways"
project, Budapest, 26-27 April 2006;
23. The second workshop on “Vessel Traffic Monitoring
and its Mediterranean dimension”, Brussels, 8 May;
24. The 39th meeting of the Paris MoU Port State Control
Committee, Nantes, 9-12 May 2006;
25. The workings of the JWG group, Brussels, 10-12 May 2006;
26. Maritime Safety Committee (MSC), 81st session: London,
10-19 May 2006;
27. “Bulgarian-Romanian RIS Meeting”, Rousse,
15-16 May 2006;
28. The 15th Recreational Craft Directive Administrative
Cooperation Working Group Meeting (RCD ADCO) Helsinki, 18-19 May 2006;
29.Working Party on the Standardization of Technical Safety
Requirements in Inland Navigation (SC.3/WP.3), Brussels, 26 June 2006;
30. The Paris MoU Port State Control seminar, the 42th session,
Ljubliana, 7-9 June 2006;
31. The fourteenth meeting of the EMSA Administrative Board,
Lisboa, 14-125 June 2006, and the Preparation Session in the Field of Community
Maritime Legislation, Lisboa, 19-20 June 2006;
32. „SafeSeaNet system training session”, Lisboa,
22nd June 2006;
33. The working meeting of the EU States experts on the revision
of the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and
Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW78), Brussels, 26 June 2006;
34. Facilitation Committee (FAL), 33rd session: London,
3-7 July 2006
35. The workings of the 52nd session of the Sub-Committee
on Safety of Navigation (NAV), London, 17-21 july 2006;
36. The training of the group of „Unique Hull Identification
Number- ENI” experts, Vienna, 27-29 June 2006;
37. The meeting of the Advisory Group on the Environmental
Safety Aspects of Shipping (AG-ESAS), followed by the regional seminar on
waste reception in case of marine oil pollution, Istanbul, 24-27 July 2006;
38. The working meeting of the naval transport experts,
Brussels, 13-17 July 2006;
39. TEN-T FAC Meeting, Bruselles, 17 July 2006, si WP „Transport-Intermodal
Questions and Networks” dedicated to the GALILEO project, Brussels,
20 July 2006;
40. The meeting of the European Union Council’s shipping
experts on transports policy, Brussels, 5 September 2006;
41. The official inauguration of the European Maritime Safety
Agency (EMSA) headquarters and the meeting of the EMSA Administrative Board,
Lisboa, 13-15 September 2006;
42. The working meeting of the EU States experts on the revision
of the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and
Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW78), Brussels, 12 September 2006;
43. The third Black Sea SAR Conference, Batumi - Georgia,
17-19 September 2006;
44. The European Tripartite seminar „The Maritime Labor
Convention, 2006”, Varna, 19 – 21 September 2006;
45. The seminar for the SIRENAC database main users,, 3 October
2006;
46. The ERI NTS working group, Vienna, 4-5 October 2006;
47. The 16th Recreational Craft Directive Administrative
Cooperation Working Group Meeting (RCD ADCO), Vienna, 5-6 October 2006;
48. The meeting with stakeholders on the Commission Staff
Working Paper „Strengthening the protection of the rights of passengers
traveling by Sea or on inland waterway transport in the European Union”
and the summary or contributions, Bruselles, 18th January 2007;
49. The 15th meeting of the Regulatory Committee
for Maritime Security of the Committee for Maritime Security, Bruselles,18th
January 2007;
50. Blueprint for organizing the collection of waste from
inland Waterway transport Vessels, Holland, 29th January 2007;
51. A market surveillance exercise at the Helsinki boat show,
Helsinki, 14th-15th February 2007;
52. The eleventh session of the Sub-Committee on Radiocommunications
and Search and Rescue, London, 19th-23rd February 2007;
53. EMSA DG ENV workshop on the air emissions from ships,
Lisbon, 15th and 16th of February 2007;
54. The Electronic Reporting International Group, organized
by the Ministry of Transport, Innovation of Technology, Vienna, 21st
of February 2007;
55. EMSA Pollution Response Workshop for Bulgaria and Romania,
Lisbon, 28th of February 2007;
56. Expert Training Safety and Environment of the Paris MOU
on Port State Control, Hague, 26th February – 2nd
of March 2007;
57. The 7th Meeting of the Committee set up under
Regulation (EC) No. 2099/2002/(COSS), Brussels, 28th February –
1st March 2007;<
58. The 15th Meeting of the Technical Evaluation
Group of the Paris Mou on Port State Control, Hague, 6th-8th
of March 2007;
59. RVG Group Reunion of the Central Commission for Navigation
on the Rhine, Strasbourg, 06th-08th of March 2007;
60. The first meeting of the Black Sea Sulf (DELTA) of the
Commission on the Protection of the Black Sea against Pollution, Istanbul,
6th of March 2007;
61. The EMSA workshop on the implementation of the Directive
2005/35 on sanctions for ship source pollution, Lisbon, 22nd- 23rd
of March 2007;
62. The 17th meeting of the Administrative Board
of EMSA, Lisbon, 21st of February 2007;
63. The EMSA meeting of the working group on RO-RO Passenger
ships safety, Lisbon, 1st March 2007
64. The COSS meeting group of experts on Marine Equipment
for the 4th amendment of Directive 96/98/EC, Brussels, 27th
of March 2007;
65. The 4th EMSA Training Session on SafeSeaNet
(SSN) System, Lisbon, 29th of March 2007;
66. Meeting of the shipping working party regarding the 38th
session of the IMO Sub-Committee on Standards of Watchkeeping (STW): Comprehensive
Review of the STCW Convention of the STCW Code, 29th of March,
2007;
67. EMSA New Entrant PSCO´s Seminar, Lisbon, 16th-20th
April 2007;
68. The first Annual EMSA VDR training and coaching seminar,
Southampton, 17th-20th April 2007;
69. The evaluation meeting of “IRIS Europe” Project
for Danube Region and the meeting of the Project Coordination Committee, Prague,
24th and 25th April 2007;
70. The Shipping Working Party of the European Council for
the preparation of the 15th Session of the IMO Subcommittee on
Flag State Implementation, Brussels, 26th March 2007;
71. The 8th meeting of the Committee of Member
States at the “Black Sea Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control”,
Varna, 16th-19th April 2007;
72. EMSA workshop on ship recycling, Lisbon, 24th
April 2007;
73. Workshop on the implementation of the LRIT system in
the Member States, Lisbon, 3rd and 4th May 2007;
74. The 3rd meeting of the Consultative Technical
Group for Cooperation in Marine Accident Investigation (CTG CMAI), Lisbon,
10th and 11th May 2007;
75. The 2nd meeting of the Consultative Network
on Technical Assistance (CNTA), Lisbon, 22nd May 2007;
76. The first Meeting of EMSA´s Consultative Technical Group
for Marine Pollution Preparedness and Response, Lisbon, 30th May
2007;
77. The 7th SafeSeaNet Workshop, Lisbon, 31st
May and 1st June 2007;
78. EMSA Workshop on the STCW Information System, Lisbon,
8th June 2007;
79. The 18th meeting of the Administrative Board,
Lisbon, 12th-13th June, 2007;
80. The 60th Joint Meeting of Experts from the
interested Member States of the European Union and the Central Commission
for Navigation on the Rhine regarding “Technical requirements for inland
waterway vessel”, Strasbourg, 12th-14th June 2007;
81. The 44th Seminar to the ISM Code and Thickness
Measurements of Maritime Authorities in cooperating under Paris MoU on Port
State Control, Saint-Petersburg, 12th-14th June 2007;
82. First Workshop for Promoting best practices among the
EU VTS centres, Helsinki, 13th and 14th June 2007;
83. The 56th preparative meeting of Member States
(MEPC 56) of IMO Committee for the Protection of Marine Environment, Brussels,
20th June 2007;
84. The first Refresher Seminar for PSCO, Oslo, 18th-22nd
June 2007;
85. EMSA CleanSeaNet training for Member States, Lisbon,
25th-26th June 2007;
86. The 4th EMSA Workshop on Vessel Traffic Monitoring
and its Mediterranean Dimension, Lisbon, 3rd and 4th
July 2007;
87. The 18th meeting of the Regulatory Committee
for Maritime Security, Brussels, 3rd July 2007;
88. The first meeting of the Committee in the field on inland
waterway transport as regards technical requirements for vessels concerning
“Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down
technical requirements for inland waterways vessels and repealing Council
Directive 82/714/EEC (20006/87/EC)”, Brussels, 3rd July 2007;
89. The EMSA Training for ISM Code Auditory , Lisbon, 9th
-13th July 2007;
90. The 56th session of the Marine Environment
Protection Committee of the International Maritime Organization, London, 9th-13th
July 2007;
91. The 8th meeting of the Committee on Safe Seas
and the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (COSS), Brussels, 17th
and 18th July 2007;
92. The International Search and Rescue and Oil Spill Response
Exercise called as SULH 2007 (Sea of United Living and Hospitality), Eregli,
5th- 7th September 2007;
93. The First Preparatory Conference to the Sixteenth OSCE
Economic and Environmental Forum regarding “Maritime and inland waterways
co-operation in the OSCE area: Increasing security and protecting the environment”,
Helsinki, 10th – 11th September 2007;
94. The EMSA Port State Control Officer Refresher Program,
Haslemere, 10th-14th September 2007;
95. The “Donau Symposium” Conference, Ybbs-Persenbeug,
13th -14th September 2007;
96. The RVG Group Reunion of the Central Commission for Navigation
on the Rhine regarding the Regulation of Ships Inspection on the Rhine (RINR),
Strasbourg, 18th-20th September 2007;
97. The LRIT Meeting regarding the Establishment of an Identification
System and Monitoring of Vessels at Long Range (within the IMO Resolution
MSC211(81)), Brussels, 20th September 2007;
98. The EMSA Workshop on Places of Refuge: Cooperation, Liability
and Compensation, Lisbon, 21st of September 2007;
99. The Workshop on “Claims Management following Shipping
Pollution Incidents”, organized by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency,
Sussex, 24th- 28th September 2007;
100. The 83rd IMO Session of the Maritime Safety
Committee (MSC), Copenhagen, 3rd-12th 2007;
101.
The EMSA Workshop on “Best practices related to the implementation
of Directive 2005/35/EC on sanctions for ships source pollution”, Lisbon,
8th and 9th October 2007;
102. The International Conference “Brest Metropole
Oceane” regarding IMAPS and Safer Seas, organized by IMO, European Union
(European Parliament and European Commission), Brest, 9th-12th
October 2007;
103. The 2nd SAP Drafting Team Meeting of the
UNDP- GEF Black Sea Ecosystems Recovery Project, Istanbul, 15th-16th
October 2007;
104. The Black Sea Commission ESAS Advisory Group Meeting,
Istanbul, 18th-19th October 2007;
105. The 6th Paris MoU Expert Training on “Human
Element”, Hague, 15th-19th October 2007;
106. The EMSA CTG Workshop on “Communications during
a Tier 3 Marine Pollution Incident”, Lisbon, 18th -19th
October 2007;
107. The 5th Workshop on “Vessel Traffic
Monitoring and its Mediterranean Dimension”, Lisbon, 23rd
October 2007;
108. The 8th SafeSeaNet Workshop, Lisbon, 24th
and 25th 2007;
109. The EMSA Training on “EU Maritime Legislation
for Newcomers”, 23rd -25th October 2007;
110. The Meeting of the Joint Working Group of the Directorate-General
for Energy and Transport and the Central Commission for the Navigation on
the Rhine (CCNR) - “Technical Requirements for Inland Waterways Vessels”,
Brussels, 29th-31st of October 2007;
111. The 5th meeting of the Committee on inland
waterways transport regarding River Information Services (RIS), Brussels,
30th October 2007;
112. The 4th Black Sea SAR Conference, organized
by the Russian Ministry of Maritime Transport, 31st of October
and 1st of November 2007;
113. The 16th EMSA Meeting of the Technical Evaluation
Group, Lisbon, 6th-8th November 2007;
114. The 2nd CleanSeaNet User Group Meeting at
EMSA, Lisbon, 12th November 2007;
115. The EMSA Meeting Group regarding the STCW Informational
System, Lisbon, 16th November 2007;
116. The 25th Session of IMO General Meeting,
London, 19th-30th November 2007;
117. The 20th Meeting of the Regulatory Committee
for Maritime Security, Brussels, 20th November 2007;
118. The EMSA Workshop on “ Preparedness and response
to marine pollution involving hazardous and noxious substances (HNS), Lisbon,
22nd-23rd November 2007;
119. The final Meeting on “Vessel Traffic Oil Pollution
Information System (VTOPIS), UNDP-GEF Black Sea Ecosystem Recovery Project,
Varna, 22nd-23rd November 2007;
120. The training on “Ship Security according to the
International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS Code)”, Lisbon,
26th-30th November 2007;
121. The 19th Meeting of the EMSA Administrative
Board, Lisbon, 28th November 2007;
122. The meeting of the Working Group Experts “Notice
to Skippers”, Vienna, 28th of November 2007;
123. The 2nd Meeting of EMSA´ Consultative Technical
Group for Marine Pollution Preparedness and Response (CTG MPPR);
124. The Plenary Session of Central Commission for the Navigation
on the Rhine (CCNR), Strasbourg, 4th-6th December 2007;
125. The Informative/Selection Meeting for National Maritime
Security Inspectors to become Commission Maritime Security Inspectors, Brussels,
5th December 2007;
126. “The Regional MARPOL Implementation and Enforcement
Workshop” for the Black Sea and Caspian areas, Antalya, 10th
-14th December 2007;
127. The 45th Port State Control Seminar (Paris
MoU) for PSC Officers, Dublin, 13th December 2007;
128. The 9th Meeting of the Committee on Safe
Seas and the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (COSS), Brussels, 13th
and 14th of December 2007;