Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/1308 of 28 April 2021 amending Annexes I and II to Directive (EU) 2016/1629 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards modifying the list of Union inland waterways and the minimum technical requirements applicable to craft

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Directive (EU) 2016/1629 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 September 2016 laying down technical requirements for inland waterway vessels, amending Directive 2009/100/EC and repealing Directive 2006/87/EC (1),and in particular Articles 4(2) and 31(1) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Directive (EU) 2016/1629 laid down a harmonised system for issuing technical certificates for inland waterway vessels complied with unified technical requirements.

(2) Annex I to Directive (EU) 2016/1629 provides a list of Union inland waterways divided geographically into Zones 1, 2, and 3.

(3) Division of waterways into zones is determined by the Member State, for waterways on its territory.

(4) Modification of the classification of a waterway, including the addition and deletion of waterways may be done on request by the Member State concerned.

(5) On 15 May 2018, the French Republic requested to modify the list of waterways in Zone 1 on its territory. The entry of Annex I referring to Zone 1 of Union inland waterways should accordingly be modified by adding Zone 1 in France.

(6) On 9 July 2019, the Kingdom of Sweden requested to modify the list of waterways in Zones 1, 2 and 3 on its territory by adding additional Swedish inland waterways in Zones 1, 2 and 3.

(7) Considering the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (‘UK’) from the Union, Annex I should be modified to remove all references to the inland waterways on its territory.

(8) Annex II to Directive (EU) 2016/1629 sets out that the technical requirements applicable to crafts are those set out in ES-TRIN standard 2019/1.

(9) Union action in the sector of inland navigation should aim to ensure uniformity in the development of technical requirements for inland waterway vessels in the Union.

(10) The European Committee for drawing up standards in the field of inland navigation (‘CESNI’) was set up on 3 June 2015 in the framework of the Central Commission for the Navigation on the Rhine (‘CCNR’) in order to develop technical standards for inland waterways in various fields, in particular as regards vessels, information technology and crew.

(11) At its meeting on 13 October 2020, CESNI adopted a new European Standard laying down Technical Requirements for Inland Navigations vessels, namely the ES-TRIN 2021/1 (2). ES-TRIN standard lays down the uniform technical requirements necessary to ensure the safety of inland navigation vessels. It includes provisions regarding shipbuilding, fitting out and equipment for inland navigation vessels, special provisions regarding specific categories of vessels such as passenger vessels, pushed convoys and container vessels, provisions regarding the automatic identification system equipment, provisions regarding vessels identification, a model of certificates and register, transitional provisions as well as instructions for the application of the technical standard.

(12) Annex II to Directive (EU) 2016/1629 should thus be modified to provide that the technical requirements applicable to craft are those set out in ES-TRIN 2021/1 and should be applicable from 1 January 2022.

(13) Directive (EU) 2016/1629 should therefore be amended accordingly,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Directive (EU) 2016/1629 is amended as follows:

(1) Annex I is replaced by the text in Annex I to this Regulation;

(2) Annex II is replaced by the text in Annex II to this Regulation.

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Article 1 , point 2 shall apply from 1 January 2022.

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

Done at Brussels, 28 April 2021.

For the Commission The President Ursula VON DER LEYEN

(1) OJ L 252, 16.9.2016, p. 118.

(2) Resolution CESNI 2020-II-1.