European Maritime Single Windows
In order to ensure competitiveness and efficiency of European maritime transport sector it is necessary to reduce the administrative burden on ships and to facilitate the use of digital information with the aim of improving the efficiency, attractiveness and environmental sustainability of the maritime transport and contribute to the integration of the sector to the digital multimodal logistic chain.
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It is composed of a network of national systems in the Member States and a central system acting as a nodal point, hosted and operated by the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA). Apart from enhancing maritime safety, port and maritime security, environmental protection and pollution preparedness, the system allows for the exchange and sharing, in accordance with Union legislation, of additional information facilitating efficient maritime traffic and maritime transport.
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National Single WindowsOn 20 October 2010, the European Parliament and the Council adopted Directive 2010/65/EU on reporting formalities for ships arriving in and/or departing from ports of the Member States. This directive is more commonly known as the Reporting Formalities Directive (RFD).
The objective of the RFD is to simplify and harmonise the administrative procedures applied to maritime transport and it sets an obligation for Member States to establish National Single Windows (NSW) for reporting formalities from ships arriving in and/or departing from ports by 1 June 2015 for the 14 reporting formalities listed in the Annex of the RFD. The information should be submitted electronically and only once thus removing the need of submitting same or similar information separately to different authorities. Furthermore, the Directive requires that the reporting formalities are requested in a harmonised manner in all ports within an EU country.
In order to assist in the implementation of the RFD, the Commission established an expert group on maritime administrative simplification and electronic information services - known as the eMS group - with a mission to identify business processes and develop specifications for the NSWs. The group was composed of representatives from the national maritime administrations. Additionally the industry representatives have been invited to the meetings as observers. The European Maritime Safety Agency supported the Commission during the eMS group meetings and was actively contributing to the drafting of the functional, technical and testing specifications.
A number of different authorities and services such as transport, customs, border control, safety, security, health and environment have been participating to the work of the eMS group to produce the single window definition, harmonised business rules and the unique NSW data set aligned with regulatory requirements and existing standards. Over the time this work has been merged to produce the National Single Window Guidelines document.
In 2016, the Commission launched a REFIT evaluation of the RFD together with the VTMIS Directive. The outcome of the support study leads to the conclusion that the objectives of the RFD were not (or only partially) attained:
Therefore, the positive impact of National Single Windows is small, sometimes even negative for the shipping industry.
The objective of the RFD is to simplify and harmonise the administrative procedures applied to maritime transport and it sets an obligation for Member States to establish National Single Windows (NSW) for reporting formalities from ships arriving in and/or departing from ports by 1 June 2015 for the 14 reporting formalities listed in the Annex of the RFD. The information should be submitted electronically and only once thus removing the need of submitting same or similar information separately to different authorities. Furthermore, the Directive requires that the reporting formalities are requested in a harmonised manner in all ports within an EU country.
In order to assist in the implementation of the RFD, the Commission established an expert group on maritime administrative simplification and electronic information services - known as the eMS group - with a mission to identify business processes and develop specifications for the NSWs. The group was composed of representatives from the national maritime administrations. Additionally the industry representatives have been invited to the meetings as observers. The European Maritime Safety Agency supported the Commission during the eMS group meetings and was actively contributing to the drafting of the functional, technical and testing specifications.
A number of different authorities and services such as transport, customs, border control, safety, security, health and environment have been participating to the work of the eMS group to produce the single window definition, harmonised business rules and the unique NSW data set aligned with regulatory requirements and existing standards. Over the time this work has been merged to produce the National Single Window Guidelines document.
In 2016, the Commission launched a REFIT evaluation of the RFD together with the VTMIS Directive. The outcome of the support study leads to the conclusion that the objectives of the RFD were not (or only partially) attained:
- Paper reporting is still used to a certain extent in more than 50% of ports, often as duplication;
- Reporting is only fully digitalised and harmonised only in a few EU countries;
- True single window submit only-once reporting is available only in a few EU countries;
- The information is seldom shared and re-used, notably between EU countries;
Therefore, the positive impact of National Single Windows is small, sometimes even negative for the shipping industry.
Towards a European Maritime Single Window environmentThe Member States and the industry are requesting the Commission to act urgently. On 29 March 2017, the EU Transport Ministers underlined in the 'Valetta Declaration' the shortcomings of the Reporting Formalities Directive and invited the Commission to propose a follow-up to the evaluation of the RFD, which would include a harmonised European Maritime Single Window environment. In their joint statement on 1 March 2017, major EU shipping associations urged the EU to launch a fundamental overhaul of the Reporting Formalities Directive with a view to create a true European Maritime Single Window environment. The Valletta Declaration was endorsed by the Council of the EU on 08 June, 2017.
Considering the perceived limitations of the RFD and the NSWs, there is a need to move towards a genuine and harmonised European Maritime Single Window environment, containing amongst others the following characteristics:
Considering the perceived limitations of the RFD and the NSWs, there is a need to move towards a genuine and harmonised European Maritime Single Window environment, containing amongst others the following characteristics:
- Fully harmonised interfaces available to ship operators to provide information in the same way and format across the EU.
- A standardised maximum data set including the information necessary for the management of port and port terminals in order to ensure true submit-only-once. Any relevant data already provided to authorities should be made available and not be required again.
PoR - Places of Refuge
The Agency is acting by:
- providing technical, operational and scientific assistance to the European Commission in the fields of maritime safety, maritime security, prevention and response to pollution caused by ships as well as response to pollution caused by oil and gas installations.
- assisting in the process of updating and developing new legislation, monitoring its implementation and evaluating the effectiveness of the measures in place. The Agency also assists EU neighbouring countries to extend know-how and capabilities.
- upon request, assisting Member States affected by maritime pollution caused by ships and oil and gas installations, providing anti-pollution tools (specialised ships and equipment) and satellite images to detect pollution (CleanSeaNet).
MSW - Maritime Single Window environment
€160.5 million over a period of seven years (2014-2020). See Regulation (EU) 911/2014.
Here the mid-term evaluation and its staff working document.
Here the mid-term evaluation and its staff working document.
