Legal constraints to the European Union’s accession to the International Maritime Organization

Abstract

There is no doubt that the European Union (EU) has become a global actor. The global or international context in which the EU has sought to define its identity, promote its interests and construct its policies, is increasingly seen as the stage on which the EU must act. Frank Hoffmeister indicates that, the EU has been actively involved in most of the significant international organizations, though many of these organizations have been less flexible regarding the full membership of the EU. The increasing effectiveness of the involvement of the EU in the International Maritime Organization (IMO) is a strategic goal of the EU. In 2010, the European Economic Area (EEA=EU, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) registered tonnage came to some 209 million gross tonnage on a total world tonnage of 916 million gross tonnage. Overall the EEA controls 41.6% of the global commercial fleet measured in gross tonnage. A large volume of EU legislation on maritime transport (e.g. Erika I, n, HI packages) has been adopted in the past decade.' Nevertheless, the EU's role in the IMO is still very limited. Currently, the EU is not a member of the IMO, neither is the EU a contracting party to most international conventions adopted under the auspices of the IMO (IMO Conventions), e.g. International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) etc. The European Commission (the Commission) does, however, hold observer status in the IMO and has appointed a permanent representative to the MO. The Commission is not satisfied with this situation. For this reason, the Commission recommended to the Council of the European Union (the Council) in 2002 that the EU should accede to the IMO as a full member. This has received political support from the European Parliament (the Parliament), most notably in its Resolution on Improving Safety at Sea (2003/2235(INI)).