L 255/152 Official Journal of the European Union 30.9.2005 DIRECTIVE 2005/44/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 7 September 2005 on harmonised river information services (RIS) on inland waterways in the Community THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Com- munity, and in particular Article 71 thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee ('), After consulting the Committee of the Regions, Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty (%), Whereas: (1) The deployment of information and communication technologies on inland waterways helps to increase significantly the safety and efficiency of transport by inland waterway. In some Member States national applications of informa- tion services are already being deployed on various waterways. In order to ensure a harmonised, interoper- able and open navigational aid and information system on the inland waterway network of the Community, common requirements and technical specifications should be introduced. For safety reasons and in the interests of pan-European harmonisation, the content of such common require- ments and technical specifications should build on work carried out in this field by relevant international organi- sations, such as the International Navigation Association (PTANC), the Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine (CCNR) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). River information services (RIS) should build on intero- perable systems that should be based on open and public standards, available on a non-discriminatory basis to all system suppliers and users. On national navigable inland waterways not linked to the navigable network of another Member State these requirements and technical specifications need not be mandatory. It is however recommended that RIS, as defined in this Directive, be implemented on those inland waterways and that existing systems be made interoperable with it. () OJ C 157, 28.6.2005, p. 56. (*) Opinion of the European Parliament of 23 February 2005 (not yet published in the Official Journal). Decision of the Council of 27 June 2005. (6) (10) The development of RIS should be based on objectives such as safety, efficiency and the environmental friendli- ness of inland navigation, which are fulfilled by tasks like traffic and transport management, environment and infrastructure protection and the enforcement of specific rules. The requirements regarding RIS should concern at least the information services to be provided by the Member States. The establishment of technical specifications should include systems such as electronic navigational charts, electronic ship reporting, including a uniform European vessel number system, notices to skippers and vessel tracking and tracing. The technical compatibility of the equipment necessary for the use of RIS should be ensured by a Committee. It should be the responsibility of the Member States, in cooperation with the Community, to encourage users to comply with the procedures and equipment require- ments, taking into account the small and medium-sized structure of the companies of the inland navigation sector. The introduction of RIS will entail the processing of personal data. Such processing should be carried out in accordance with Community rules, as set out, inter alia, in Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (}) and Directive 2002/58EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 July 2002 concerning the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector (). The introduction of RIS should not lead to uncontrolled processing of economically sensitive data relating to market operators. For the purposes of RIS for which exact positioning is required, the use of satellite positioning should be recommended. These technologies should, wherever possible, be interoperable with other relevant systems and should be integrated with them, in accordance with applicable decisions in this field. () OJ L 281, 23.11.1995, p. 31. Directive as amended by Regulation (EC) No 1882/2003 (O] L 284, 31.10.2003, p. 1). () OJ L 201, 31.7.2002, p. 37.