At the request of the Commission, the programme for monitoring visits to Member States has been extended to verify the effective implementation of other legislative acts in the field of maritime safety and marine pollution. During 2010, the Agency expects to carry out monitoring visits to Member States in respect of three EU Directives, namely Directive 2000/59/EC on port reception facilities for ship-generated waste and cargo residue, Directive 2002/59/EC on vessel traffic monitoring and information systems and Directive 2009/15/EC on common rules and standards for ship inspection and survey organisations and for the relevant activities of maritime administrations, the latter based on the provisions of Directive 94/57/EC until the Member States to be visited have transposed Directive 2009/15/EC.

In addition, as has been the case in previous years, the Agency is expected to be requested to participate as an observer on behalf of the Commission in the voluntary flag State audit scheme carried out by the International Maritime Organization when auditing EU Member States.

Finally, the Commission may request the Agency to visit Member States to verify the implementation of other EU legislative acts in the field of maritime safety or ship-sourced pollution.