What Influence for the European Union on the International Maritime Organization?
| Autor | Guillaume Le Floch |
| Cargo del Autor | Rennes 1 University (IDPSP) |
| Páginas | 843-861 |
843843
CHAPTER 35
What influence for the European
Union on the International
maritime organization?
Guillaume LE FLOCH
Rennes 1 University (IDPSP)
Sumario: 1. The contribution of the EU to the development of the IMO’s rules and
standards. 1.1. The EU: a proactive force. 1.2. The EU: a bargaining power. 2. The con-
tribution of the EU to the implementation of the IMO’s rules and standards. 2.1. The
transposition of international conventions before their entry into force. 2.2. The trans-
position of non-binding international maritime standards in its internal order.
The single internal market in the maritime transport has not been ful-
ly completed. That is why, the European Commission seeks to create a com-
mon European maritime space without barriers id est a maritime space in which
there will be a simplication of administrative and customs formalities for in-
tra-EU maritime services1. This is an ambitious project which may have signif-
icant eects on the international maritime order as a whole and especially on
the rules of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). For these reasons,
some might fear that the common European maritime space will upset the in-
ternational maritime order.
1 See: European Commission, «Blue Belt: Commission eases customs formalities for
ships», Memo, 8 July 2013.
844 LA CONSTRUCCIÓN JURÍDICA DE UN ESPACIO MARÍTIMO COMÚN EUROPEO
GUILLAUME LE FLOCH
While its competences in the eld of maritime aairs are constantly in-
creasing, the EU is still not a member of the IMO since membership is only
open for States2. In 2002, the European Commission formally requested for
the rst time from the Council the authorisation to open negotiations for the
EU’s accession to the International Maritime Organization. According to this
request, by becoming a member, the EU will truly be able «to have its say in
preparing and adopting more stringent international rules on maritime safe-
ty»3. In this way, it will be able to tr uly inuence international negotiations
and thus to play a leading role in maritime aairs. In view of the challenges
facing the EU in joining the IMO, the European Commission has reiterated
its request to the Council on several occasions, but it has never obtained with
a positive response so far. EU Member States are clearly in no hurry to see
the EU take its place alongside them at the IMO4. This reluctance makes the
prospects for membership very distant. These prospects seem all the more re-
mote since, in order to become a member of the IMO, the EU must not only
convince its Member States, but also those of the International Maritime Or-
ganization of the usefulness of such an approach. The EU’s accession to the
IMO is indeed conditional on the revision of the Convention establishing this
organisation. However, as with any amendment to a constitutive treaty, this is
a cumbersome and hazardous procedure. In particular, it requires the support
of at least two thirds of the IMO Member States5, which cannot be an easily
2 See in this book: El Boudouhi, S., «El estatuto jurídico de la UE en la Organización
Marítima Internacional».
3 European Commission, «Report to the European Council on action to deal with the
eects of the Prestige disaster», 5 March 2003, COM(2003) 105 nal, p. 10.
4 However, the EU Member States appear to be divided on this issue. On the one hand,
United Kingdom, Germany and Italy are opposed to the EU’s accession to the IMO.
France, on the other hand, is not necessarily against it, while specifying in its response
to the Commission’s Green Paper that this perspective requires further examination
both in legal terms and in terms of the benets that can be expected for the promo-
tion of European positions: Rapport d’information déposé par la délégation de l’Assemblée
nationale pour l’Union européenne, sur des textes soumis à l’Assemblée nationale en applica-
tion de l’article 88-4 de la Constitution du 20 septembre au 25 octobre 2007, 21 Novembre
2007, p. 146.
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