The Commission decided today to send a letter of formal notice to Greece for incorrect application of…
The Commission decided today to send a letter of formal notice to Greece for incorrect application of European legislation on freedom to provide services to maritime transport within Member States (maritime Cabotage).
Greece benefited until 1 January 2004 from a 12 years partial exemption from EU rules on market access to maritime cabotage. This exemption concerned scheduled passenger and ferry transport to, from and between islands. In 2001, Greece adopted legislation which, according to the Commission, proved not to be in line with the European legislation in force (Council regulation (EEC) 3577/92).
The Greek legislation does not appropriately reflect the EU basic principle according to which public service obligations can be imposed on ship-owners performing island cabotage in the event of market failure to provide adequate services. Moreover, some of its provisions are also in breach of EU legislation, such as the requirement that all the non-Greek members of the crew should hold a certificate proving their knowledge of the Greek language.
The Commission informed the Greek authorities about these issues already in 2001, when the national legislation was enacted. Now that the period of the temporary exemption is expired, the Commission has decided to start immediately the legal action.
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