THE publication of the European Commission’s findings in its investigation into IACS has confirmed that the association’s membership criteria and transparency were the key concern for the EU regulators.

According to IACS officials, the commission has still declined to shed any light on the full reasoning behind its investigation and their concerns.

However, IACS permanent secretary Richard Leslie confirmed that the commission’s investigation had focussed primarily on the manner in which IACS establishes and applies its membership criteria and the transparency associated with developing and publishing IACS unified requirements and other technical requirements.

IACS had explained to the commission why it did not agree with the views set out in the published Market Test Notice, and stressed its belief that its activities had been compliant with all applicable laws and disputed the few specific concerns that the commission has expressed. “To the extent that the commission has shared its views with us, we would emphasise that our activities have always been consistent with all applicable laws and that there has not been any finding by the commission, provisional or otherwise, regarding any possible infringement of [EU] competition law,” said IACS chairman Oh Kong-gyun.

While IACS does not agree with the commission’s finding, it is confident that the series of new commitments will put an end to the investigation, potentially within the next few months.

Further details about how the guidelines are to be interpreted are expected to be made public shortly. Particular interest is likely to be paid to the new commitments to qualitative rather than quantitative membership criteria.

Under the new rules, non-IACS members will be entitled to apply for membership if they can demonstrate that they have fulfilled new quality criteria, effectively removing the traditional size barrier to entry. Applicants will also have recourse to an appeals board, appointed by IACS but independent of its control.

IACS remains confident that the commitments, which have been published in full today on the EU competition directorate’s website, will allow the association to maintain its current standards. “This is all part of the very careful dialogue we have had with the commission to ensure that there is no dilution of the quality of our work,” Mr Leslie told Lloyd’s List.

“The primary concern of all IACS member societies is to promote the safety of life, property and the natural environment,” Mr Oh said. “We believe the commitments we have offered to the commission are in line with those core principles and are also closely aligned with the commissions’’ own approach to evaluating recognised organisations under the recently adopted EU RO directive.”

Richard Meade
Lloyd's List, 10 June 2009