Denmark is leading a 13-strong EU group calling on the European Commission to present drastically revise the Reporting Formalities Directive. The current directive introduced “National Single Windows” with the intention of harmonizing reporting obligations from ships into a single electronic system for EU Member States. Danish Shipping claimed that it had instead created more burdens on ship operators in the EU. In an official letter to the EC they said that they wanted to “unleash the significant potential for simplification and harmonization by making the Directive future-proof and fit for the digital age by making better use of existing data sources and automation of administrative processes.”
Director of EU-Affairs Casper Andersen of Danish Shipping said that “we are extremely happy to see a big group of member states willing to properly address an issue that produces great frustrations in the industry”. The proposal is set for publication on May 2nd.