Council Regulation (EEC) No 3577/92 of 7 December 1992 applying the principle of freedom to provide sevices to maritime transport within Member States (maritime cabotage)

Article 1

Article 2

For the purposes of this Regulation:

(a) mainland cabotage: the carriage of passengers or goods by sea between ports situated on the mainland or the main territory of one and the same Member State without calls at islands; (b) off-shore supply services: the carriage of passengers or goods by sea between any port in a Member State and installations or structures situated on the continental shelf of that Member State; (c) island cabotage: the carriage of passengers or goods by sea between: — ports situated on the mainland and on one or more of the islands of one and the same Member State, — ports situated on the islands of one and the same Member State; Ceuta and Melilla shall be treated in the same way as island ports.

(a) nationals of a Member State established in a Member State in accordance with the legislation of that Member State and pursuing shipping activities; (b) shipping companies established in accordance with the legislation of a Member State and whose principal place of business is situated, and effective control exercised, in a Member State; or (c) nationals of a Member State established outside the Community or shipping companies established outside the Community and controlled by nationals of a Member State, if their ships are registered in and fly the flag of a Member State in accordance with its legislation;

A public service contract may cover notably: — transport services satisfying fixed standards of continuity, regularity, capacity and quality, — additional transport services, — transport services at specified rates and subject to specified conditions, in particular for certain categories of passengers or on certain routes, — adjustments of services to actual requirements;

— are likely to lead to a serious and potentially lasting excess of supply over demand, — are due to, or aggravated by, maritime cabotage operations, and — pose a serious threat to the financial stability and survival of a significant number of Community shipowners, provided that the short-term and medium-term forecasts for the market in question do not indicate any substantial and lasting improvements.

Article 3

On the basis of this report, the Commission shall submit a proposal to the Council which may include adjustments to the manning nationality provisions laid down in paragraphs 2 and 3 so that the definitive system shall be approved by the Council in due time and before 1 January 1999.

Article 4

Whenever a Member State concludes public service contracts or imposes public service obligations, it shall do so on a non-discriminatory basis in respect of all Community shipowners.

Where applicable, any compensation for public service obligations must be available to all Community shipowners.

Article 5

After consulting the other Member States, the Commission shall decide where appropriate on the necessary safeguard measures, within 30 working days of receipt of the relevant request from a Member State. Such measures may involve the temporary exclusion, not exceeding 12 months, of the area concerned from the scope of this Regulation.

The Commission shall communicate to the Council and the Member States any decision on its safeguard measures.

If after the period of 30 working days the Commission has taken no decision on the subject, the Member State concerned shall be entitled to apply the measures requested until the Commission has taken its decision.

However, in the event of an emergency, Member States may unilaterally adopt the appropriate provisional measures which may remain in force for no more than three months. In such an event, Member States must immediately inform the Commission of the adoption of such measures. The Commission may abrogate the measures or confirm them with or without modification until it takes its final decision in accordance with the second subparagraph.

Article 6

By way of derogation, the following maritime transport services carried out in the Mediterranean and along the coast of Spain, Portugal and France shall be temporarily exempted from the implementation of this Regulation:

— cruise services, until 1 January 1995,

— transport of strategic goods (oil, oil products and drinking water), until 1 January 1997,

— services by ships smaller than 650 gt, until 1 January 1998,

— regular passenger and ferry services, until 1 January 1999.

Article 7

Article 62 of the Treaty shall apply to the matters covered by this Regulation.

Article 8

Without prejudice to the provisions of the Treaty relating to the right of establishment and to this Regulation, a person providing a maritime transport service may, in order to do so, temporarily pursue his activity in the Member States where the service is provided, under the same conditions as are imposed by that State on its own nationals.

Article 9

Before adopting laws, regulations or administrative provisions in implementation of this Regulation, Member States shall consult the Commission. They shall inform the latter of any measures thus adopted.

Article 10

The Commission shall submit to the Council, before 1 January 1995, and thereafter every two years, a report on the implementation of this Regulation and, if appropriate, shall also put forward any necessary proposals.

Article 11

This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 January 1993.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.