New regulation on European maritime single window

ESC joining other stakeholders welcomes the European Commission’s new proposal for a regulation on establishing a European Maritime Single Window Environment. The new regulation is set to provide a faster clearance and release of goods and a reduced administrative burden. However, the stakeholders would welcome more precision in the proposal on how different systems will interact and how the harmonisation will take place.

A general objective of the proposal is to establish a pan-European electronic environment to process administrative formalities that apply to all stakeholders involved in cross-border operations. It is set to enhance business-to-government communication and communication between authorities.

The envisaged architecture for the EU SW integrated environment will be built on the existing IT systems and databases and will involve harmonised national and EU systems and data sets based on common formats. However, as mentioned earlier, more clarification on different interactions between the systems and harmonisation would help to avoid contradiction and to guarantee the accomplishment of the proposal’s objectives.  

The proposal was issued as part of the 3rd Mobility package and is closely linked with another proposal for a regulation on electronic freight transport information. Currently the legislative proposal for a regulation on European Maritime Single Window environment is under the scrutiny of the European Parliament. The new regulation will replace the existing Directive 2010/65.

ESC and other stakeholders have issued a Joint industry position on European Maritime Single Window Environment regulation which you can download here.