The Delegation of the European Union to the Philippines confirms that a delegation led by Vice-Admiral Robert Empedrad, the head of the Philippine Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) and Mr Henrik Hololei, Director-General and other officials of the European Commission Directorate General for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE) met in Brussels on February 8th , 2022.
The meeting, which took place at the request of the Philippine side, was the opportunity to clarify EU procedures and expectations following the transmission of the notification letter of 20 December 2021 concerning EU reassessment of the maritime education, training and certification system of the Philippines.
EU Ambassador to the Philippines, Luc Véron, who attended the meeting in Brussels on February 8th, 2022 said, “While Director-General Hololei was grateful to Vice-Admiral Empedrad for meeting informally in Brussels and for his oral presentation, he made clear that the Commission’s assessment would solely be based on the written reply to the Commission notification, to be provided no later than 10 March 2022. He reiterated that this formal reply should contain concrete evidence of the measures already taken by the Philippine authorities to ensure compliance with the country’s obligations under the Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) Convention.”
The Commission explained to the Philippines’ relevant authorities (CHED and MARINA) the procedure to be followed as requested in the notification letter as well as the next steps following the Philippines’ reply.
The Commission provided concrete examples on what it expects to receive in the Philippines reply.
Lastly, the Commission encouraged the Philippines to enhance their efforts to comply with the STCW Convention.”
