Council of the
European Union
Brussels, 6 May 2019
(OR. en)
8334/19
ADD 1
LIMITE
PV CONS 19
DRAFT MINUTES
COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
(General Affairs)
9 April 2019
8334/19 ADD 1
1
GIP.1
LIMITE
EN
CONTENTS
Page
Non-legislative activities
4.
Conclusions on the Reflection Paper "Towards a sustainable Europe by 2030" ......................... 3
5.
Values of the Union - Hungary / Article 7(1) TEU Reasoned Proposal ...................................... 3
6.
Rule of Law in Poland / Article 7(1) TEU Reasoned Proposal .................................................... 3
7.
Any other business........................................................................................................................ 3
ANNEX - Statements for the Council minutes ...................................................................................... 4
*
*
*
8334/19 ADD 1
2
GIP.1
LIMITE
EN
Non-legislative activities
4.
Conclusions on the Reflection Paper "Towards a sustainable
8071/19
Europe by 2030"
Adoption
The Council adopted conclusions on the Reflection Paper "Towards a sustainable Europe by
2030".
5.
Values of the Union - Hungary / Article 7(1) TEU Reasoned
Proposal
State of play
The Council took note of the information provided by the Commission and by the Hungarian
delegation.
6.
Rule of Law in Poland / Article 7(1) TEU Reasoned Proposal
State of play
The Council took note of the information provided by the Commission and by the Polish
delegation.
7.
Any other business
No items were raised under this heading.
8334/19 ADD 1
3
GIP.1
LIMITE
EN
ANNEX
Statements to the non-legislative "A" items set out in 8192/19
Ad "A" item 24:
Recommendation on small passenger ship guide
Adoption
STATEMENT BY IRELAND
"Ireland has consistently raised safety concerns regarding the current proposal for a
Recommendation on safety goals and functional requirements for passenger ships below 24 meters
in length. Ireland has actively engaged in the work on this Recommendation at the expert level and
at the Shipping Working Party seeking to improve the proposed safety levels. We welcome that
some of our comments have been included. However, some of our more substantive comments on
safety have not been included. In particular, Ireland considers that the safety levels as currently
outlined in the Recommendation and its Annex are very low and much lower than those which
currently apply in Ireland and at the EU and international level.
Small passenger ship safety is a key national safety issue for Ireland as vessels operating off our
coast are operating in some of the most hostile marine environments in the world with severe
weather and exposed coast lines. It is the view of Ireland that the proposed safety levels in the
Recommendation are too low and would expose EU citizens to unacceptable transport safety risks.
On this basis, Ireland considers that there should be a binding standard for passenger ship safety in
the EU and that a Recommendation is not a suitable means to achieve passenger safety.
Furthermore, Ireland has consistently recommended that the standard of the vessel should be
separated from the operation of the vessel. This means that while there would be a binding EU
standard for the vessels that the operational issues and plying limits would be regulated by the port
state and host state at member state level. This is because the Member State is best placed to assess
these using local knowledge of routes, weather and harbours. Additionally, Ireland has raised
concerns regarding the verification and implementation measures. As passenger ships are required
to be registered and subject to flag state, port state and host state control, it is essential to the safety
of such vessels that such controls continue.
Ireland welcomes that further studies in this area will be carried out and we will actively engage
with these. However, Ireland considers that the safety levels to be achieved in these studies for
passenger carriage in the EU should not be reduced or diluted in any manner and that the safety
levels to be achieved should be in-line with the existing passenger ship safety standards at EU and
international and national level."
8334/19 ADD 1
4
GIP.1
LIMITE
EN
Document Outline