The European IWT Platform took part in the CESNI meetings held between 2 and 5 February 2026, represented by EBU and the ESO Secretaries of the EU IWTP Social and Education Committee.

Below is a short overview of the main issues discussed during the February 2026 sessions, focusing on medical fitness, qualifications, crewing tables and e-tools.

CESNI/QP/QM – 2 February

Medical fitness criteria and medical fitness certificate

Medical fitness criteria and the medical fitness certificate were discussed. It was noted that some medical conditions are currently treated differently across Member States, which is not in line with the purpose of the Directive. The existing medical fitness criteria were developed by a working group of experts, and there is an intention to reconvene this group to discuss the identified differences. It was also highlighted that the current model of the medical fitness certificate has led to variations in interpretation. For this reason, a proposal was made to amend the model.

Database for multiple-choice questions for boatmasters

It was noted that not all Member States have responded to the Secretariat’s questionnaire. These Member States will be contacted to provide their input, which is necessary to take the next steps in the creation of the database.

CESNI/QP/Crew – 4 – 5 February

EU recommendation on crewing tables

The Commission explained that the crewing tables will take the form of a non-binding European recommendation. The tables themselves will be included in an annex, allowing for easier and more regular updates. The main text of the recommendation, which is more difficult to amend, will define the scope.

Initially, the Commission proposed including definitions and all information necessary to read the tables within the recommendation itself. However, this would also require changes related to S2 or exploitation modes to be handled via the Commission. For this reason, it was agreed to include these elements in the annex as well. The Commission concluded that, as a result, the annex text will be significantly longer than the recommendation itself.

The timeline for the crewing tables and related e-tools was also discussed. A deadline was set for the September meeting to conclude, at a minimum, on the scope of the recommendation, the table for motor vessels, the relevant definitions, and the articles to be taken from the RPN that are necessary to read the tables.

At this stage, unfortunately tables for passenger vessels and convoys are not included. These tables refer to the function of an engineer, which is not currently covered by the Professional Qualifications Directive. As there is therefore no European qualification for engineers, this function will need to be developed and added to the Directive before these tables can be introduced.

Technological developments and their impact on crewing tables were also discussed. As this work depends on input from other CESNI working groups (PT and TI), the topic will be addressed to these groups with the aim of developing new standards (S3–S5). These standards would then feed into a new crewing table that takes technological developments into account.

E-tools

Progress was also made on e-tools and the functionalities required for a digital registration system to replace current paperwork and reduce administrative burden. The discussion focused first on the “must-haves”, notably the registrations currently carried out in the logbook and service record book, and how these should be transferred to a digital system. In addition, a list of “nice-to-haves” for future development was discussed, such as the registration of working and rest times alongside the existing logbook registrations. In the next meeting this development will be continued.

Next CESNI meetings

The next CESNI/QP/QM, CESNI/QP/Crew and CESNI/QP are scheduled to take place from 18 to 21 May.

Author: Social & Education Committee