Parltrack

OBJECTIF : abaisser encore les limites des émissions gazeuses produites par les moteurs des bateaux de plaisance.

ACTE PROPOSÉ : Directive du Parlement européen et du Conseil.

CONTEXTE : la directive 94/25/CE a été adoptée afin de réglementer la mise sur le marché européen des bateaux de plaisance. La directive de 1994 a été modifiée par la directive 2003/44/CE qui introduit une série de valeurs limites en ce qui concerne les émissions gazeuses des moteurs de propulsion et les émissions sonores des bateaux équipés d'un moteur de propulsion. De plus, elle élargit le champ d'application de la directive relative aux bateaux de plaisance de manière à couvrir également les véhicules nautiques à moteur.

Cette même directive modificatrice prévoit une clause de révision qui vise à renforcer les limites d'émission afin de tenir compte des améliorations technologiques apportées aux moteurs des bateaux de plaisance et de la nécessité d'harmoniser les limites au niveau international, en particulier avec les États-Unis. Parallèlement, il importe de tenir compte de la situation fragile des PME, car ce secteur se compose essentiellement de petites et moyennes entreprises (plus de 95% des entreprises sont des PME).

La Commission a publié un rapport en 2007 dans lequel elle annonçait qu'elle examinerait les possibilités d'abaisser encore les limites des émissions gazeuses produites par les moteurs des bateaux de plaisance.

ANALYSE D'IMPACT : l'analyse d'impact est axée sur trois domaines compte tenu de leurs répercussions significatives:

A. Limites des émissions gazeuses des moteurs :

Option 1 - Statu quo (maintien des limites existantes).

Option 2 - Des limites plus strictes des émissions gazeuses (phase II) : dans le cadre de cette option, le scénario retenu harmonise les limites avec les États-Unis aussi bien pour les moteurs à explosion que pour les moteurs à allumage par compression.

Option 3 - Des limites plus strictes des émissions gazeuses (phase II) associées à des mesures d'atténuation visant à limiter les répercussions économiques/sociales :

·        Sous-option 3.1 - Recours à un mécanisme de flexibilité.

·        Sous-option 3.2 - Utilisation d'une période transitoire pour tous les fabricants de moteurs (3 ans).

·        Sous-option 3.3 - Utilisation d'une période transitoire pour tous les fabricants de moteurs et d'une période transitoire spécifique pour les PME qui fabriquent et mettent sur le marché de l'UE des moteurs hors-bords à explosion < 15 kW (3+3 ans). Cette dernière sous-option a été retenue dans l'analyse d'impact comme étant la plus appropriée.

B. Limites des émissions sonores des bateaux équipés d'un moteur de propulsion :

Option 1 - Statu quo (maintien des valeurs limites existantes).

Option 2 - Des limites plus strictes des émissions sonores.

L'option 1 (maintien des valeurs limites existantes) a été considérée comme l'option la plus appropriée.

C. Alignement de la directive relative aux bateaux de plaisance sur le nouveau cadre législatif : la Commission s'étant engagée à aligner la législation sectorielle sur le nouveau cadre législatif, l'analyse d'impact a été axée sur les effets de l'alignement uniquement. Ces effets seraient globalement positifs, puisque les dispositions horizontales clarifient certains points aujourd'hui obscurs.

BASE JURIDIQUE : article 114 du traité sur le fonctionnement de l'Union européenne (TFUE).

CONTENU : les principaux éléments de la révision proposée sont les suivants :

Clarification du champ d'application de la directive et des concepts utilisés : un nouveau concept général «bateaux» couvrant à la fois les bateaux de plaisance et les véhicules nautiques à moteur est introduit dans les définitions. Il est également spécifié que seuls les véhicules nautiques à moteur destinés aux activités sportives et de loisir sont inclus dans la directive, et non par exemple les véhicules destinés aux services de sauvetage et de police.

Obligation générale de sécurité : il est précisé explicitement que les produits couverts par la directive peuvent uniquement être mis sur le marché ou mis en service s'ils respectent les exigences générales qui leur imposent de ne pas mettre en danger la sécurité et la santé des personnes, les biens et l'environnement, et sous réserve qu'ils satisfassent aux exigences essentielles énoncées à l'annexe I.

Émissions gazeuses : de nouvelles limites plus strictes sont prévues pour les émissions gazeuses d'oxydes d'azote (NOx), d'hydrocarbures (HC) et de particules (PT).

Pour les moteurs à allumage par compression, les limites sont celles fixées par l'Agence américaine de protection de l'environnement (EPA) dans la norme 40 CFR Part 1042 relative aux moteurs diesel des bateaux de plaisance. Pour les moteurs à explosion, les limites sont celles fixées par l'EPA dans la norme 40 CFR Part 1045 relative aux nouveaux moteurs à explosion non routiers et aux équipements et bateaux qui en sont munis.

Une période transitoire générale de trois ans est prévue pour l'industrie. De plus, en ce qui concerne les exigences liées aux émissions gazeuses, un délai supplémentaire de trois ans est octroyé aux PME qui fabriquent et mettent sur le marché des moteurs à explosion d'une puissance inférieure à 15 kW.

Exigences relatives à la construction : il est prévu une nouvelle exigence rendant obligatoire l'installation de réservoirs sur les bateaux équipés de toilettes afin de contribuer à la protection de l'environnement marin.

Évaluation après construction et importateur privé : la directive 94/25/CE prévoit que, lorsque ni le fabricant ni son mandataire n'assument les responsabilités relatives à la conformité du produit avec la directive, celles-ci peuvent être assumées par toute personne physique ou morale établie dans la Communauté qui met le produit sur le marché. Pour des raisons de cohérence, il est proposé d'élargir la portée de cette procédure de façon à couvrir non seulement les bateaux de plaisance, mais également les véhicules nautiques à moteur.

Dans un souci de clarté, la proposition spécifie par qui et dans quels cas précis cette procédure peut être utilisée. Sont ainsi concernés:

• l'importateur privé, à savoir une personne physique ou morale qui, dans le cadre d'une activité non commerciale, importe dans l'Union un produit d'un pays tiers avec l'intention de le mettre en service pour une utilisation personnelle;
• toute personne qui met sur le marché ou en service un moteur ou un bateau après une modification ou une transformation importante dudit moteur ou bateau ou toute personne qui modifie la destination d'un bateau non couvert par la directive de façon à le faire entrer dans son champ d'application;
• toute personne qui met sur le marché un bateau construit pour une utilisation personnelle avant l'expiration de la période de cinq ans mentionnée à la directive.

En ce qui concerne l'importation de bateaux de plaisance et de véhicules nautiques à moteur, l'utilisation de l'évaluation après construction ne concerne que l'importation non commerciale effectuée par des importateurs privés.

Enfin, il est proposé d'étendre les obligations qui pèsent sur la personne demandant l'évaluation après construction à la fourniture de documents à l'organisme notifié. Il est ainsi prévu qu'elle communique tous les documents nécessaires à l'évaluation de la conformité du produit.

Apposition du marquage CE : la proposition fixe les règles régissant l'apposition du marquage CE sur les bateaux, les éléments ou pièces d'équipement et les moteurs. Le marquage CE doit être apposé sur les bateaux et les moteurs ainsi que sur leurs éléments ou pièces d'équipement. Dans ce dernier cas, lorsque la nature du produit ne le permet pas ou ne le justifie pas, le marquage peut être apposé sur son emballage et sur les documents accompagnant le produit.

Rapports : afin de garantir le suivi et l'efficacité de la directive, une nouvelle obligation est prévue pour les États membres qui sont tenus de transmettre tous les cinq ans à la Commission un rapport sur l'application de la directive.

Alignement de la directive relative aux bateaux de plaisance sur le nouveau cadre législatif (NCL) et sur les procédures applicables en matière d'évaluation de la conformité : à la suite de l'adoption du règlement (CE) n° 765/2008 et de la décision n° 768/2008/CE, la directive relative aux bateaux de plaisance doit être harmonisée avec les principes du nouveau cadre législatif. Pour l'essentiel, cela se traduit par l'inclusion des chapitres décrivant les obligations des opérateurs économiques, les compétences des organes d'évaluation de la conformité et des autorités de surveillance du marché, les nouveaux modules d'évaluation de la conformité et le statut du marquage CE.

INCIDENCE BUDGÉTAIRE : la proposition n'a aucune incidence sur le budget de l'Union.

ACTES DÉLÉGUÉS : la proposition contient des dispositions habilitant la Commission à adopter des actes délégués conformément à l'article 290 du traité sur le fonctionnement de l'Union européenne.  

The Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection adopted the report by Malcolm HARBOUR (ECR, UK) on the proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on recreational craft and personal watercraft.

The parliamentary committee recommends that the European Parliament’s position at first reading, following the ordinary legislative procedure, amends the Commission proposal as follows:

Scope of application: an amendment clarifies thatwatercraft also used for charter or for recreational boating training shall also be covered by this Directive.

Definitions: Members introduced changes to the definitions:

• recreational craft: ‘recreational craft’ means any vessel of any type intended for sports and leisure purposes of hull length from 2.5 m to 24 m, measured according to the harmonised standard, regardless of the means of propulsion;
• personal watercraft: the proposed definition is replaces with that in Directive 2003/44/EC which is the international definition including the relevant ISO standard;
• propulsion engine: the amendment ensures all types of hybrid installation will have to confirm to the exhaust emission requirements of Annex I. B;
• major craft conversion: the amendment provides a more precise definition to avoid that any change to the engine’s attributes inadvertently qualifies as a major conversion
• manufacturer: the amendment addresses the current ambiguity faced by those manufacturers who adapt engines for marine use and do not change the emissions characteristics of the engine, ensuring they are now clearly able to use the original engine manufacturer's proof of conformity.

Exchanges of best practice: the Commission should facilitate the exchange of best practices between Member States by setting up an adequate system for such exchanges. Members take the view that such an exchange of views on best practices would help to avoid disproportionate measures.

Free movement: an amendment stipulates that the Member States shall not impede the making available on the market or putting into service of propulsion engines, whether or not installed in watercraft, which comply with this Directive.

Manufacturers’ obligations: an amendment clarifies that manufacturers must ensure that their product is accompanied by instructions and safety information provided in a language or languages easily understood by consumers and other end-users in the Member States in which they place their products on the market. That language shall be determined by the Member State concerned.

Objections to a harmonised standard: a horizontal legislative revision of the EU standardisation system is currently underway which covers this general provision on objections to standards; Members propose the deletion of this article in this proposal for a sectoral Directive.

Restoration of the rules in force since 1994: Members wish to maintain the existing testing by notified bodies on large craft over 12m likely to sail in the open sea.

Changes to Annex I: Members’ amendments seek to:

• provide more details on the precise application of a certain number of important safety requirements (buoyancy, electricity, gas and ventilation of fuel tanks);
• offer an up-to-date system for the definition of boat design categories which removes the existing link between design category and intended use according to geographical location (e.g. off shore or sheltered waters) to instead leave wind strength and wave height as the main 2 parameters.

Report: no later than five years after the date of transposition, and and taking into account any major market initiatives, the Commission shall submit a report on the technical feasibility of further reducing the emissions of recreational marine engines, taking into account the cost-efficiency of technologies and the need to agree globally harmonised values for the sector. The report shall be accompanied, if appropriate, by a legislative proposal to that effect.

Review: in the two years following the date of transposition, the Commission shall present a report on the impact of the boat design categories listed in Annex I, which are based on resistance to wind force and wave height, taking into account developments in international standardisation. That report shall include an evaluation of whether the boat design categories require additional specifications or subdivisions, in order to provide better information on actual use for consumers. The report shall also include an evaluation of the impact for the boat manufacturing industry. Where appropriate, it shall be accompanied by a legislative proposal.

The Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection adopted the report by Malcolm HARBOUR (ECR, UK) on the proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on recreational craft and personal watercraft.

The parliamentary committee recommends that the European Parliament’s position at first reading, following the ordinary legislative procedure, amends the Commission proposal as follows:

Scope of application: an amendment clarifies thatwatercraft also used for charter or for recreational boating training shall also be covered by this Directive.

Definitions: Members introduced changes to the definitions:

• recreational craft: ‘recreational craft’ means any vessel of any type intended for sports and leisure purposes of hull length from 2.5 m to 24 m, measured according to the harmonised standard, regardless of the means of propulsion;
• personal watercraft: the proposed definition is replaces with that in Directive 2003/44/EC which is the international definition including the relevant ISO standard;
• propulsion engine: the amendment ensures all types of hybrid installation will have to confirm to the exhaust emission requirements of Annex I. B;
• major craft conversion: the amendment provides a more precise definition to avoid that any change to the engine’s attributes inadvertently qualifies as a major conversion
• manufacturer: the amendment addresses the current ambiguity faced by those manufacturers who adapt engines for marine use and do not change the emissions characteristics of the engine, ensuring they are now clearly able to use the original engine manufacturer's proof of conformity.

Exchanges of best practice: the Commission should facilitate the exchange of best practices between Member States by setting up an adequate system for such exchanges. Members take the view that such an exchange of views on best practices would help to avoid disproportionate measures.

Free movement: an amendment stipulates that the Member States shall not impede the making available on the market or putting into service of propulsion engines, whether or not installed in watercraft, which comply with this Directive.

Manufacturers’ obligations: an amendment clarifies that manufacturers must ensure that their product is accompanied by instructions and safety information provided in a language or languages easily understood by consumers and other end-users in the Member States in which they place their products on the market. That language shall be determined by the Member State concerned.

Objections to a harmonised standard: a horizontal legislative revision of the EU standardisation system is currently underway which covers this general provision on objections to standards; Members propose the deletion of this article in this proposal for a sectoral Directive.

Restoration of the rules in force since 1994: Members wish to maintain the existing testing by notified bodies on large craft over 12m likely to sail in the open sea.

Changes to Annex I: Members’ amendments seek to:

• provide more details on the precise application of a certain number of important safety requirements (buoyancy, electricity, gas and ventilation of fuel tanks);
• offer an up-to-date system for the definition of boat design categories which removes the existing link between design category and intended use according to geographical location (e.g. off shore or sheltered waters) to instead leave wind strength and wave height as the main 2 parameters.

Report: no later than five years after the date of transposition, and and taking into account any major market initiatives, the Commission shall submit a report on the technical feasibility of further reducing the emissions of recreational marine engines, taking into account the cost-efficiency of technologies and the need to agree globally harmonised values for the sector. The report shall be accompanied, if appropriate, by a legislative proposal to that effect.

Review: in the two years following the date of transposition, the Commission shall present a report on the impact of the boat design categories listed in Annex I, which are based on resistance to wind force and wave height, taking into account developments in international standardisation. That report shall include an evaluation of whether the boat design categories require additional specifications or subdivisions, in order to provide better information on actual use for consumers. The report shall also include an evaluation of the impact for the boat manufacturing industry. Where appropriate, it shall be accompanied by a legislative proposal.

PURPOSE: to set stricter limits for NOx, hydrocarbons (HC) and particulate matters for new recreational crafts.

PROPOSED ACT: Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council.

BACKGROUND: the Recreational Craft Directive 94/25/ECwas adopted in 1994 to regulate the placing on the market of pleasure boats on the European market. It was amended by Directive 2003/44/EC which introduces a set of limit values for exhaust emissions for propulsion engines and noise levels for watercrafts with propulsion engines, for both the compression ignition (CI) engines and the spark ignition (SI) engines. Furthermore, it enlarges the scope of the Recreational Craft Directive to cover also personal watercraft.

The same amending Directive provides a review clause which aims at reinforcing emission limits to reflect the technological progress of recreational marine engines as well as the need to harmonise the limits worldwide, particularly with the US. At the same time the vulnerable position of the SMEs should be taken into account as this sector consists mainly of small and medium enterprises (more than 95% of businesses are SMEs).

The Commission issued a report in 2007 in which it announced that it would assess options to further reducing the exhaust emission limits of recreational marine engines.

IMPACT ASSESSMENT: the impact assessment focuses on the following three areas of the revision having substantial impacts:

A. Exhaust emission limits for engines

Option 1 - No change (existing exhaust emissions are maintained).

Option 2 - Stricter exhaust emission limits (Stage II): in the context of this option, the scenario harmonises the limits with the US for both: Spark ignition (SI) engines and compression ignition (CI) engines.

Option 3 - Stricter exhaust emission limits (Stage II) combined with mitigating measures to limit negative economic/social effects:

Sub-option 3.1 - Use of a flexibility scheme.

Sub-option 3.2 - Use of a transitional period for all engine manufacturers (3 years).

Sub-option 3.3 - Use of a transitional period for all engine manufacturers + a specific transitional period for small and medium sized engine manufacturers placing on the EU market the SI outboard engines < 15 kW (3+3 years). This last sub-option was selected in the impact assessment as the preferable option.

B. Noise emission limits for watercrafts with propulsion engines.

Option 1 - No change (existing noise emission limits are maintained).

Option 2 - Stricter noise emission limits.

Option 1 (keeping the current limit values) was found to be the preferred option.

C. Alignment of the RCD with the New Legislative Framework: the Commission is engaged to align the sectorial legislation to the new legislative framework, the impact assessment concentrated in analysing the impacts of the alignment only. These impacts should be mostly positive, since the horizontal provisions are clarifying certain issues which are subject to uncertainty for the moment.

LEGAL BASIS: Article 114 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

CONTENT: the main elements of the proposed revision are as follows:

Clarifying scope and concepts of the Directive: in the past, there have been debates about the content of the term "recreational craft" in the Directive which has been sometimes claimed to be an overall term covering both recreational craft and personal watercraft. This lack of clarity is now eliminated by introducing into the definitions a new overall concept "watercraft" which covers both recreational craft and personal watercraft. For reasons of consistency and clarification it is also specified that only personal watercraft intended for sports and leisure is included in the Directive, and not for instance personal watercraft intended for rescue and police services.

General safety requirement: it is necessary to specify explicitly that that products covered by this Directive may only be placed on the market or put into service if they meet the general requirement imposing them to be without danger to the safety and health of persons, property or environment and only if they meet the essential requirements set out in Annex I.

Exhaust emissions: new stricter limits are foreseen for the exhaust emission of Nitrogen Oxides (NOx), Hydrocarbons (HC) and the Particulates (PT).

For CI engines these limits are set applying the US EPA standards for marine diesel recreational engines (40 CFR Part 1042). For SI engines, the limits are set using the US EPA emission standards for new non-road SI engines, equipment and vessels (40 CFR Part 1045).

A general three years transitional period for the industry is foreseen. In addition, as regards exhaust emission requirements, a supplementary 3 years is granted to SME engine manufacturers who place on the market the SI engines below 15 kW.

Constructional requirements: a new requirement is foreseen to impose mandatory installation of holding tanks to watercraft fitted with toilets in order to contribute to the marine environmental protection.

Post construction assessment and private importer: Directive 94/25/EC contains rules on the post construction assessment of recreational craft which is carried out by any natural or legal person established within the Community who places the product on the market in cases, where neither the manufacturer, nor his authorized representative fulfils the responsibilities for evaluating the conformity of products to the Directive. For consistency, it is appropriate to extent the scope of this procedure to cover not only recreational craft but also personal watercraft.

For clarity, it must be specified by whom and in which situations exactly this procedure can be used. These are:

• private importer, that is a natural or legal person who imports in the course of non-commercial activity a product from a third country into the Union with the intention of putting it into service for his own use;
• any person placing on the market or putting into service an engine or a watercraft after a major modification or conversion thereof or any person changing the intended purpose of a watercraft not covered by the scope this Directive in a way that it falls under its scope;
• any person placing on the market a watercraft built for own use before the end of the 5 year period.

As regards importing recreational craft and personal watercraft, it should be noted that compared to Directive 94/25/EC, the use of Post construction assessments is restricted to cases of non commercial import by private importers. In order to ensure a reliable assessment of the conformity of the product by the notified body with regard to the post construction assessment, there is a need to widen the obligations of the person asking for the post construction assessment to provide documents to the notified body. It is foreseen that he has to provide all the documents necessary for the assessment of the conformity of the product.

Affixing of the CE-marking:the CE marking must be affixed on the watercraft, engines and components. In case of components, where that are not possible or not warranted on account of the size or nature of that product, it can alternatively be affixed to the packaging and to the accompanying documents.

Reporting: in order to enforce the monitoring and the efficiency of this Directive, a new obligation is foreseen for the Member States to send every 5 years a report on the application of the Directive to the Commission.

Aligning the Recreational Craft Directive with the New Legislative Framework (NLF) and the applicable conformity assessment procedures: consequently to the adoption of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 and of Decision 768/2008/EC, the Recreational Craft Directive has to be brought in line with the principles of New Legislative Framework. It means basically the inclusion of the chapters describing the obligations of economic operators, the competences of conformity assessment bodies and market surveillance authorities, new conformity assessment modules and the status of CE marking.

BUDGETARY IMPLICATION: this proposal has no budgetary implication for the Union budget.

DELEGATED ACTS: the proposal contains provisions empowering the Commission to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

PURPOSE: to set stricter limits for NOx, hydrocarbons (HC) and particulate matters for new recreational crafts.

PROPOSED ACT: Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council.

BACKGROUND: the Recreational Craft Directive 94/25/ECwas adopted in 1994 to regulate the placing on the market of pleasure boats on the European market. It was amended by Directive 2003/44/EC which introduces a set of limit values for exhaust emissions for propulsion engines and noise levels for watercrafts with propulsion engines, for both the compression ignition (CI) engines and the spark ignition (SI) engines. Furthermore, it enlarges the scope of the Recreational Craft Directive to cover also personal watercraft.

The same amending Directive provides a review clause which aims at reinforcing emission limits to reflect the technological progress of recreational marine engines as well as the need to harmonise the limits worldwide, particularly with the US. At the same time the vulnerable position of the SMEs should be taken into account as this sector consists mainly of small and medium enterprises (more than 95% of businesses are SMEs).

The Commission issued a report in 2007 in which it announced that it would assess options to further reducing the exhaust emission limits of recreational marine engines.

IMPACT ASSESSMENT: the impact assessment focuses on the following three areas of the revision having substantial impacts:

A. Exhaust emission limits for engines

Option 1 - No change (existing exhaust emissions are maintained).

Option 2 - Stricter exhaust emission limits (Stage II): in the context of this option, the scenario harmonises the limits with the US for both: Spark ignition (SI) engines and compression ignition (CI) engines.

Option 3 - Stricter exhaust emission limits (Stage II) combined with mitigating measures to limit negative economic/social effects:

Sub-option 3.1 - Use of a flexibility scheme.

Sub-option 3.2 - Use of a transitional period for all engine manufacturers (3 years).

Sub-option 3.3 - Use of a transitional period for all engine manufacturers + a specific transitional period for small and medium sized engine manufacturers placing on the EU market the SI outboard engines < 15 kW (3+3 years). This last sub-option was selected in the impact assessment as the preferable option.

B. Noise emission limits for watercrafts with propulsion engines.

Option 1 - No change (existing noise emission limits are maintained).

Option 2 - Stricter noise emission limits.

Option 1 (keeping the current limit values) was found to be the preferred option.

C. Alignment of the RCD with the New Legislative Framework: the Commission is engaged to align the sectorial legislation to the new legislative framework, the impact assessment concentrated in analysing the impacts of the alignment only. These impacts should be mostly positive, since the horizontal provisions are clarifying certain issues which are subject to uncertainty for the moment.

LEGAL BASIS: Article 114 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

CONTENT: the main elements of the proposed revision are as follows:

Clarifying scope and concepts of the Directive: in the past, there have been debates about the content of the term "recreational craft" in the Directive which has been sometimes claimed to be an overall term covering both recreational craft and personal watercraft. This lack of clarity is now eliminated by introducing into the definitions a new overall concept "watercraft" which covers both recreational craft and personal watercraft. For reasons of consistency and clarification it is also specified that only personal watercraft intended for sports and leisure is included in the Directive, and not for instance personal watercraft intended for rescue and police services.

General safety requirement: it is necessary to specify explicitly that that products covered by this Directive may only be placed on the market or put into service if they meet the general requirement imposing them to be without danger to the safety and health of persons, property or environment and only if they meet the essential requirements set out in Annex I.

Exhaust emissions: new stricter limits are foreseen for the exhaust emission of Nitrogen Oxides (NOx), Hydrocarbons (HC) and the Particulates (PT).

For CI engines these limits are set applying the US EPA standards for marine diesel recreational engines (40 CFR Part 1042). For SI engines, the limits are set using the US EPA emission standards for new non-road SI engines, equipment and vessels (40 CFR Part 1045).

A general three years transitional period for the industry is foreseen. In addition, as regards exhaust emission requirements, a supplementary 3 years is granted to SME engine manufacturers who place on the market the SI engines below 15 kW.

Constructional requirements: a new requirement is foreseen to impose mandatory installation of holding tanks to watercraft fitted with toilets in order to contribute to the marine environmental protection.

Post construction assessment and private importer: Directive 94/25/EC contains rules on the post construction assessment of recreational craft which is carried out by any natural or legal person established within the Community who places the product on the market in cases, where neither the manufacturer, nor his authorized representative fulfils the responsibilities for evaluating the conformity of products to the Directive. For consistency, it is appropriate to extent the scope of this procedure to cover not only recreational craft but also personal watercraft.

For clarity, it must be specified by whom and in which situations exactly this procedure can be used. These are:

• private importer, that is a natural or legal person who imports in the course of non-commercial activity a product from a third country into the Union with the intention of putting it into service for his own use;
• any person placing on the market or putting into service an engine or a watercraft after a major modification or conversion thereof or any person changing the intended purpose of a watercraft not covered by the scope this Directive in a way that it falls under its scope;
• any person placing on the market a watercraft built for own use before the end of the 5 year period.

As regards importing recreational craft and personal watercraft, it should be noted that compared to Directive 94/25/EC, the use of Post construction assessments is restricted to cases of non commercial import by private importers. In order to ensure a reliable assessment of the conformity of the product by the notified body with regard to the post construction assessment, there is a need to widen the obligations of the person asking for the post construction assessment to provide documents to the notified body. It is foreseen that he has to provide all the documents necessary for the assessment of the conformity of the product.

Affixing of the CE-marking:the CE marking must be affixed on the watercraft, engines and components. In case of components, where that are not possible or not warranted on account of the size or nature of that product, it can alternatively be affixed to the packaging and to the accompanying documents.

Reporting: in order to enforce the monitoring and the efficiency of this Directive, a new obligation is foreseen for the Member States to send every 5 years a report on the application of the Directive to the Commission.

Aligning the Recreational Craft Directive with the New Legislative Framework (NLF) and the applicable conformity assessment procedures: consequently to the adoption of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 and of Decision 768/2008/EC, the Recreational Craft Directive has to be brought in line with the principles of New Legislative Framework. It means basically the inclusion of the chapters describing the obligations of economic operators, the competences of conformity assessment bodies and market surveillance authorities, new conformity assessment modules and the status of CE marking.

BUDGETARY IMPLICATION: this proposal has no budgetary implication for the Union budget.

DELEGATED ACTS: the proposal contains provisions empowering the Commission to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

PURPOSE: to set stricter limits for NOx, hydrocarbons (HC) and particulate matters for new recreational crafts.

PROPOSED ACT: Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council.

BACKGROUND: the Recreational Craft Directive 94/25/ECwas adopted in 1994 to regulate the placing on the market of pleasure boats on the European market. It was amended by Directive 2003/44/EC which introduces a set of limit values for exhaust emissions for propulsion engines and noise levels for watercrafts with propulsion engines, for both the compression ignition (CI) engines and the spark ignition (SI) engines. Furthermore, it enlarges the scope of the Recreational Craft Directive to cover also personal watercraft.

The same amending Directive provides a review clause which aims at reinforcing emission limits to reflect the technological progress of recreational marine engines as well as the need to harmonise the limits worldwide, particularly with the US. At the same time the vulnerable position of the SMEs should be taken into account as this sector consists mainly of small and medium enterprises (more than 95% of businesses are SMEs).

The Commission issued a report in 2007 in which it announced that it would assess options to further reducing the exhaust emission limits of recreational marine engines.

IMPACT ASSESSMENT: the impact assessment focuses on the following three areas of the revision having substantial impacts:

A. Exhaust emission limits for engines

Option 1 - No change (existing exhaust emissions are maintained).

Option 2 - Stricter exhaust emission limits (Stage II): in the context of this option, the scenario harmonises the limits with the US for both: Spark ignition (SI) engines and compression ignition (CI) engines.

Option 3 - Stricter exhaust emission limits (Stage II) combined with mitigating measures to limit negative economic/social effects:

Sub-option 3.1 - Use of a flexibility scheme.

Sub-option 3.2 - Use of a transitional period for all engine manufacturers (3 years).

Sub-option 3.3 - Use of a transitional period for all engine manufacturers + a specific transitional period for small and medium sized engine manufacturers placing on the EU market the SI outboard engines < 15 kW (3+3 years). This last sub-option was selected in the impact assessment as the preferable option.

B. Noise emission limits for watercrafts with propulsion engines.

Option 1 - No change (existing noise emission limits are maintained).

Option 2 - Stricter noise emission limits.

Option 1 (keeping the current limit values) was found to be the preferred option.

C. Alignment of the RCD with the New Legislative Framework: the Commission is engaged to align the sectorial legislation to the new legislative framework, the impact assessment concentrated in analysing the impacts of the alignment only. These impacts should be mostly positive, since the horizontal provisions are clarifying certain issues which are subject to uncertainty for the moment.

LEGAL BASIS: Article 114 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

CONTENT: the main elements of the proposed revision are as follows:

Clarifying scope and concepts of the Directive: in the past, there have been debates about the content of the term "recreational craft" in the Directive which has been sometimes claimed to be an overall term covering both recreational craft and personal watercraft. This lack of clarity is now eliminated by introducing into the definitions a new overall concept "watercraft" which covers both recreational craft and personal watercraft. For reasons of consistency and clarification it is also specified that only personal watercraft intended for sports and leisure is included in the Directive, and not for instance personal watercraft intended for rescue and police services.

General safety requirement: it is necessary to specify explicitly that that products covered by this Directive may only be placed on the market or put into service if they meet the general requirement imposing them to be without danger to the safety and health of persons, property or environment and only if they meet the essential requirements set out in Annex I.

Exhaust emissions: new stricter limits are foreseen for the exhaust emission of Nitrogen Oxides (NOx), Hydrocarbons (HC) and the Particulates (PT).

For CI engines these limits are set applying the US EPA standards for marine diesel recreational engines (40 CFR Part 1042). For SI engines, the limits are set using the US EPA emission standards for new non-road SI engines, equipment and vessels (40 CFR Part 1045).

A general three years transitional period for the industry is foreseen. In addition, as regards exhaust emission requirements, a supplementary 3 years is granted to SME engine manufacturers who place on the market the SI engines below 15 kW.

Constructional requirements: a new requirement is foreseen to impose mandatory installation of holding tanks to watercraft fitted with toilets in order to contribute to the marine environmental protection.

Post construction assessment and private importer: Directive 94/25/EC contains rules on the post construction assessment of recreational craft which is carried out by any natural or legal person established within the Community who places the product on the market in cases, where neither the manufacturer, nor his authorized representative fulfils the responsibilities for evaluating the conformity of products to the Directive. For consistency, it is appropriate to extent the scope of this procedure to cover not only recreational craft but also personal watercraft.

For clarity, it must be specified by whom and in which situations exactly this procedure can be used. These are:

• private importer, that is a natural or legal person who imports in the course of non-commercial activity a product from a third country into the Union with the intention of putting it into service for his own use;
• any person placing on the market or putting into service an engine or a watercraft after a major modification or conversion thereof or any person changing the intended purpose of a watercraft not covered by the scope this Directive in a way that it falls under its scope;
• any person placing on the market a watercraft built for own use before the end of the 5 year period.

As regards importing recreational craft and personal watercraft, it should be noted that compared to Directive 94/25/EC, the use of Post construction assessments is restricted to cases of non commercial import by private importers. In order to ensure a reliable assessment of the conformity of the product by the notified body with regard to the post construction assessment, there is a need to widen the obligations of the person asking for the post construction assessment to provide documents to the notified body. It is foreseen that he has to provide all the documents necessary for the assessment of the conformity of the product.

Affixing of the CE-marking:the CE marking must be affixed on the watercraft, engines and components. In case of components, where that are not possible or not warranted on account of the size or nature of that product, it can alternatively be affixed to the packaging and to the accompanying documents.

Reporting: in order to enforce the monitoring and the efficiency of this Directive, a new obligation is foreseen for the Member States to send every 5 years a report on the application of the Directive to the Commission.

Aligning the Recreational Craft Directive with the New Legislative Framework (NLF) and the applicable conformity assessment procedures: consequently to the adoption of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 and of Decision 768/2008/EC, the Recreational Craft Directive has to be brought in line with the principles of New Legislative Framework. It means basically the inclusion of the chapters describing the obligations of economic operators, the competences of conformity assessment bodies and market surveillance authorities, new conformity assessment modules and the status of CE marking.

BUDGETARY IMPLICATION: this proposal has no budgetary implication for the Union budget.

DELEGATED ACTS: the proposal contains provisions empowering the Commission to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

PURPOSE: to set stricter limits for NOx, hydrocarbons (HC) and particulate matters for new recreational crafts.

PROPOSED ACT: Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council.

BACKGROUND: the Recreational Craft Directive 94/25/ECwas adopted in 1994 to regulate the placing on the market of pleasure boats on the European market. It was amended by Directive 2003/44/EC which introduces a set of limit values for exhaust emissions for propulsion engines and noise levels for watercrafts with propulsion engines, for both the compression ignition (CI) engines and the spark ignition (SI) engines. Furthermore, it enlarges the scope of the Recreational Craft Directive to cover also personal watercraft.

The same amending Directive provides a review clause which aims at reinforcing emission limits to reflect the technological progress of recreational marine engines as well as the need to harmonise the limits worldwide, particularly with the US. At the same time the vulnerable position of the SMEs should be taken into account as this sector consists mainly of small and medium enterprises (more than 95% of businesses are SMEs).

The Commission issued a report in 2007 in which it announced that it would assess options to further reducing the exhaust emission limits of recreational marine engines.

IMPACT ASSESSMENT: the impact assessment focuses on the following three areas of the revision having substantial impacts:

A. Exhaust emission limits for engines

Option 1 - No change (existing exhaust emissions are maintained).

Option 2 - Stricter exhaust emission limits (Stage II): in the context of this option, the scenario harmonises the limits with the US for both: Spark ignition (SI) engines and compression ignition (CI) engines.

Option 3 - Stricter exhaust emission limits (Stage II) combined with mitigating measures to limit negative economic/social effects:

Sub-option 3.1 - Use of a flexibility scheme.

Sub-option 3.2 - Use of a transitional period for all engine manufacturers (3 years).

Sub-option 3.3 - Use of a transitional period for all engine manufacturers + a specific transitional period for small and medium sized engine manufacturers placing on the EU market the SI outboard engines < 15 kW (3+3 years). This last sub-option was selected in the impact assessment as the preferable option.

B. Noise emission limits for watercrafts with propulsion engines.

Option 1 - No change (existing noise emission limits are maintained).

Option 2 - Stricter noise emission limits.

Option 1 (keeping the current limit values) was found to be the preferred option.

C. Alignment of the RCD with the New Legislative Framework: the Commission is engaged to align the sectorial legislation to the new legislative framework, the impact assessment concentrated in analysing the impacts of the alignment only. These impacts should be mostly positive, since the horizontal provisions are clarifying certain issues which are subject to uncertainty for the moment.

LEGAL BASIS: Article 114 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

CONTENT: the main elements of the proposed revision are as follows:

Clarifying scope and concepts of the Directive: in the past, there have been debates about the content of the term "recreational craft" in the Directive which has been sometimes claimed to be an overall term covering both recreational craft and personal watercraft. This lack of clarity is now eliminated by introducing into the definitions a new overall concept "watercraft" which covers both recreational craft and personal watercraft. For reasons of consistency and clarification it is also specified that only personal watercraft intended for sports and leisure is included in the Directive, and not for instance personal watercraft intended for rescue and police services.

General safety requirement: it is necessary to specify explicitly that that products covered by this Directive may only be placed on the market or put into service if they meet the general requirement imposing them to be without danger to the safety and health of persons, property or environment and only if they meet the essential requirements set out in Annex I.

Exhaust emissions: new stricter limits are foreseen for the exhaust emission of Nitrogen Oxides (NOx), Hydrocarbons (HC) and the Particulates (PT).

For CI engines these limits are set applying the US EPA standards for marine diesel recreational engines (40 CFR Part 1042). For SI engines, the limits are set using the US EPA emission standards for new non-road SI engines, equipment and vessels (40 CFR Part 1045).

A general three years transitional period for the industry is foreseen. In addition, as regards exhaust emission requirements, a supplementary 3 years is granted to SME engine manufacturers who place on the market the SI engines below 15 kW.

Constructional requirements: a new requirement is foreseen to impose mandatory installation of holding tanks to watercraft fitted with toilets in order to contribute to the marine environmental protection.

Post construction assessment and private importer: Directive 94/25/EC contains rules on the post construction assessment of recreational craft which is carried out by any natural or legal person established within the Community who places the product on the market in cases, where neither the manufacturer, nor his authorized representative fulfils the responsibilities for evaluating the conformity of products to the Directive. For consistency, it is appropriate to extent the scope of this procedure to cover not only recreational craft but also personal watercraft.

For clarity, it must be specified by whom and in which situations exactly this procedure can be used. These are:

• private importer, that is a natural or legal person who imports in the course of non-commercial activity a product from a third country into the Union with the intention of putting it into service for his own use;
• any person placing on the market or putting into service an engine or a watercraft after a major modification or conversion thereof or any person changing the intended purpose of a watercraft not covered by the scope this Directive in a way that it falls under its scope;
• any person placing on the market a watercraft built for own use before the end of the 5 year period.

As regards importing recreational craft and personal watercraft, it should be noted that compared to Directive 94/25/EC, the use of Post construction assessments is restricted to cases of non commercial import by private importers. In order to ensure a reliable assessment of the conformity of the product by the notified body with regard to the post construction assessment, there is a need to widen the obligations of the person asking for the post construction assessment to provide documents to the notified body. It is foreseen that he has to provide all the documents necessary for the assessment of the conformity of the product.

Affixing of the CE-marking:the CE marking must be affixed on the watercraft, engines and components. In case of components, where that are not possible or not warranted on account of the size or nature of that product, it can alternatively be affixed to the packaging and to the accompanying documents.

Reporting: in order to enforce the monitoring and the efficiency of this Directive, a new obligation is foreseen for the Member States to send every 5 years a report on the application of the Directive to the Commission.

Aligning the Recreational Craft Directive with the New Legislative Framework (NLF) and the applicable conformity assessment procedures: consequently to the adoption of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 and of Decision 768/2008/EC, the Recreational Craft Directive has to be brought in line with the principles of New Legislative Framework. It means basically the inclusion of the chapters describing the obligations of economic operators, the competences of conformity assessment bodies and market surveillance authorities, new conformity assessment modules and the status of CE marking.

BUDGETARY IMPLICATION: this proposal has no budgetary implication for the Union budget.

DELEGATED ACTS: the proposal contains provisions empowering the Commission to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.