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Italian presidency of the EU

Italy took over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union from Greece on July 1st. Under the theme, 'Europe – A Fresh Start', Italy outlined its priorities for the coming six months in a work programme which can be downloaded from the Presidency website.

Three issues are of particular interest to shipping:

- Port services and financial transparency of ports: the Presidency aims to reach a General Approach agreement on the Commission's Regulation proposal at the October Transport Council. It has stepped up the number of working group meetings in order to reach that aim. The Presidency appears to be moving in the same direction as the European Parliament, which could make a first-reading agreement between both institutions possible;

-MRV of CO2 emissions from maritime transport: although the work programme states that the Presidency wants to 'continue to work' on the Regulation proposal, we understand that Italy wants to close this file under its Presidency as well. Discussions at working group level appear to have matured substantially. An important element in this process is the forthcoming debate at IMO MEPC 67;

-Status of seafarers under EU Social Directives: Italy has opened discussions on the Commission's proposal at working group level and intends to finish it under its Presidency. Aim is to adopt a General Approach in October or, if that is not feasible, in December. The Presidency is aware of the efforts that ECSA and ETF are making to arrive at a joint position and this could have an influence on the final timeframe.

Other priorities outlined in Italy's work programme that are relevant for shipping include:

• EU-US T-TIP negotiations;
• Strategic Partnership Agreement with Canada; progress on the multilateral Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA);
• An Action Plan to shape and apply the EU Maritime Security Strategy;
• Support for HR work on the Horn of Africa and Somalia;
• Strengthening of European Union Training Mission (EUTM) Somalia and possible synergies with EUNAVFOR Atalanta;
• Plans for protection of critical infrastructure (including transport services);
• Negotiations on the National Emissions Ceilings Directive;
• Energy potential in European seas (as part of Integrated Maritime Policy);
• Improvements to the VAT system to make it more resilient and simpler for economic operators;
• EP and Council discussions on the EC proposal to amend the VISA code;
• Speeding up the e-Customs review;
• EP and Council discussions on the EC proposal on weights and dimensions of commercial vehicles;
• The development of Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) corridors.