12. 12. 92 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 364/7 COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 3577/92 of 7 Dec_ember 1992 applying the principle of freedom to provide sevices to maritime transport within Member States (maritime cabotage) THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Article 84 (2) thereof, Having‘regard to the amended proposal of the Commis- sion (%), Having regard to the opinions of the European Par- liament (3), Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (%), Whereas on 12 June 1992, the European Parliament adopted its Resolution on the liberalization of maritime cabotage and its economic and social consequences ; ‘Whereas in accordance with Article 61 of the Treaty ~ freedom to provide services in the field of maritime trans- port is to be governed by the provisions of the Title relating to transport ; Whereas the abolition of restrictions on the provision of maritime transport services within Member States is necessary for the establishment of the internal market; whereas the internal market will comprise an area in . which the free movement of goods, persons, services and capital is ensured; Whereas therefore freedom to provide services should be applied to maritime transport within Member States ; Whereas the beneficiaries of this freedom should be Community shipowners operating vessels registered in and flying the flag of a Member State whether or not it has a coastline ; Whereas this freedom will be extended to vessels also registered in Euros once that register is approved ; Whereas in order to avoid distortion of competition, Community shipowners exercising the freedom to provide cabotage services should comply with all the conditions for carrying out cabotage in the Member State in which their vessels are registered ; whereas Community shipowners operating ships registered in a Member State who do not have the right to carry out cabotage in that State should nevertheless be beneficiaries of this Regula- tion during a transitional period; () OJ No C 73, 19. 3. 1991, p. 27. (3) OJ No C 295, 26. 11. 1990, p. 687, and opinion delivered on 20 November 1992 (not yet published in the Official Journal) ¢) OJ No C 56, 7. 3. 1990, p. 70. Whereas the implementation of this freedom should be gradual and not necessarily provided for in a uniform way for all services concerned, taking into account the nature of certain specific services and the extent of the effort that certain economies in the Community showing differences in development will have to sustain; Whereas the introduction of public services entailing certain rights and obligations for the shipowners concerned may be justified in order to ensure the adequacy of regular transport services to, from and between islands, provided that there is no distinction on the grounds of nationality or residence; Whereas provisions should be adopted so that safeguard measures can be taken as regards maritime transport markets affected by a serious disturbance or in the event of an emergency ; whereas, for this purpose, suitable deci- sion-making procedures should be introduced ; Whereas, in view of the need to ensure the proper func- tioning of the internal market and of possible adaptations in the light of experience, the Commission should report: on the implementation of this Regulation and if necessary submit additional proposals, HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION : Article 1 1. As from 1 January 1993, freedom to provide mari- time transport services within a Member State (maritime cabotage) shall apply to Community shipowners who have their ships registered in, and flying the flag of a Member State, provided that these ships comply with all condi- tions for carrying out cabotage in that Member State, including ships registered in Euros, once that Register is approved by the Council. 2. By way of derogation, the application of the provi- sion of paragraph 1 requiring that ships fulfil all condi- tions for carrying out cabotage in the Member State in which they are registered at that time shall be temporarily suspended until 31 December 1996. Article 2 For the purposes of this Regulation : 1. ‘maritime transport services within a Member State (maritime cabotage) shall mean services normally provided for remuneration and shall in particular include :