Mobility and transport

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European Maritime Single Window environment

Overall state of play:

Evaluation finalised: SWD(2018)199, 16 May 2018
Commission proposal adopted by the Commission on 17 May 2018, COM(2018)278
Legal act: adopted on 20 June 2019, Regulation (EU) 2019/1239

State of play, main conclusions and outlook

Maritime transport is subject to complex administrative procedures which are a significant source of administrative burden and have been identified by most stakeholders as a major hindrance to intra-EU maritime transport.

The Reporting Formalities Directive (2010/65/EU, RFD), adopted in October 2010, aimed at harmonising and simplifying these administrative procedures. It required Member States to harmonise collection of reporting formalities via National Single Windows in digital format and to share relevant information between authorities within a Member State and between Member States. The information should be reported only once.

The evaluation has shown that the Directive is inadequately effective and efficient, in spite of the objectives remaining highly relevant and valid, which led the Commission to make a proposal for Regulation with the aim to establish a harmonised European Maritime Single Window environment. The Regulation was adopted by the European Parliament and Council in 2019.

Estimated savings and benefits

The administrative burden is expected to be reduced thanks to 1) harmonised interfaces, procedures and data formats across Member States; 2) the provision of a single reporting entry point for each port call; 3) more efficient reuse of data, enabling reporting to be done only once and double reporting to be eliminated and 4) the inclusion in the scope of more formalities like customs and national and local requirements. A comprehensive coordination mechanism for all port-call-related reporting for a shipping operator, together with fully harmonised data formats, reporting procedures and interfaces, will free up a large amount of time for staff to spend on other tasks, especially those relating to core business, safety and security.

The simplification elements are quantified to an estimated amount of 22-25 million staff hours in the period 2020-2030 equivalent to a value of EUR 625-720 million for shipping operators.

The simplified and harmonised reporting will especially benefit small and medium-sized businesses and micro-enterprises, which are proportionally more vulnerable to inefficient administration and lost staff hours. The proposal also aimed to contribute to digitalisation and better information flows, consistent with the ‘Digital Check’.

REFIT Platform

In its opinion on reporting formalities for ships (Ref. XV.8.a), the REFIT Platform considers that some reporting requirements could be fulfilled in a simpler way and points to limitations of the "reporting only once" principle. The REFIT Platform sees also the need for the revision of Directive 2010/65 that could take, in the view of the REFIT Platform Stakeholder Group, the form of a "European Maritime Single Window" and indicates several aspects that could be considered during the revision so as to cut administrative burden. The follow up to this opinion is ensured in the proposal for a European Maritime Single Window environment.

State of Play:

Finalised, SWD(2018)199, 16 May 2018

Scope:

Evaluation of the 2010/65/EU Directive on Formalities on ships calling in or departing from the European Union ports.

Evaluation findings:

The evaluation concluded that the Directive is inadequately effective and efficient, in spite of the objectives remaining highly relevant and valid. The main barrier emphasised by the shipping operators and stressed in the evaluation, is the lack of harmonisation of the maritime National Single Windows and the overall lack of EU-level harmonisation of all reporting required by a carrier calling a port. Each National Single Window was found to be different: different data definitions and formats, reporting procedures and different scope of reporting through each National Single Window. The Directive does not provide any binding specifications for the interfaces, data definitions and formats or reporting procedures for the National Single Windows. In addition, much reporting is still requested via other channels. Furthermore, the only-once principle applies only in limited cases.

There is potential for further simplification and burden reduction in this area. This is also the strong message repeatedly sent by stakeholders, calling for measures to urgently address the situation.

State of Play:

Commission proposal COM(2018)278, adopted on 17 May 2018

Which objective(s) did the Commission pursue?

Maritime transport operators face a wide range of legal reporting requirements each time a ship arrives in or leaves a port (‘a port call’). The fact that reporting requirements are not harmonised, either between different policy areas within Member States or between Member States, results in a heavy administrative burden on such operators. Over two million port calls are made annually in the EU. Shipping sector staff currently spend an annual total of about 4.6 million hours on reporting.

The purpose of the Commission’s proposal was therefore to address the non-harmonised reporting environment for ships. The proposed new European Maritime Single Window environment would bring together, in a coordinated and harmonised way, all reporting associated with a port call. This, in turn, would also improve interoperability and interconnection between the relevant systems, thus enabling data to be shared and reused more efficiently, as appropriate.

Estimated savings and benefits

The analysis showed that significant simplification and improved efficiency is possible by reducing the administrative burden for shipping operators obliged to meet legal requirements in connection with a port call.

The administrative burden was expected to be reduced thanks to 1) harmonised interfaces, procedures and data formats across Member States for each port call; 2) the provision of a single reporting entry point; 3) more efficient reuse of data, enabling reporting to be done only once and double reporting to be eliminated and 4) the inclusion in the scope of more formalities like customs and national and local requirements. A comprehensive coordination mechanism for all port-call-related reporting for a shipping operator, together with fully harmonised data definitions and formats, reporting procedures and interfaces, would free up a large amount of time for staff to spend on other tasks, especially those relating to core business, safety and security.

The simplification elements are quantified to an estimated amount of 22-25 million staff hours in the time period 2020-2030 equivalent to a value of EUR 625-720 million for shipping operators.

The simplified and harmonised reporting environment will especially benefit small and medium-sized businesses and micro-enterprises, which are proportionally more vulnerable to inefficient administration and lost staff hours.

State of Play:

Adopted on 20 June 2019
Regulation (EU) 2019/1239, Date of effect: 15.08.2019

Outcome of Legislative Procedure

The co-legislators did not introduce any changes which would have weakened or changed the estimated impacts of the original Commission proposal.

Estimated savings and benefits

The simplification elements are quantified to save an estimated amount of 22-25 million staff hours in the time period 2020-2030, equivalent to a value of EUR 625-720 million for shipping operators.

State of Play:

The Commission adopted:
• on 7 November 2022, a Delegated Regulation establishing the EMSWe data set and amending the list of reporting obligations (C(2022) 7842).
• on 28 October 2022 an Implementing Regulation laying down technical specifications, standards and procedures for the European Maritime Single Window environment (C(2022) 7649).
Further Implementing Acts are under preparation.

Implementation by Commission:

The Commission has developed and released the first version of the Reporting Interface Module (RIM) and made it available to the Member States. Further versions will be released in 2023/24.