Written question asked by Maria Eagle (Labour) on Thursday, 30 June 2011, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 4 July 2011. It was answered by Mike Penning (Conservative) on Wednesday, 20 July 2011 on behalf of the Department for Transport.

Ports

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with the EU Transport Commissioner on the harmonisation of port entry and clearance formalities across the EU.

Answer: Officials from the Department are involved in regular discussions, together with their counterparts in other members states, with the European Commission on the implementation of Directive 2010/65/EU on reporting formalities for ships calling at/departing from ports in the EU.There have been no direct discussions with the EU Transport Commissioner on the matter of harmonisation of port entry and clearance formalities.The Department will continue to work closely with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, the UK Borders Agency and HM Revenue and Customs on implementation.

Secondary information