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1. Without prejudice to the core tasks referred to in Article 2, the Agency shall assist the Commission and the Member States, as appropriate, in the development and implementation of the Union activities set out in paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article related to the Agency’s objectives, in so far as the Agency has established and recognised expertise and tools. The ancillary tasks set out in this Article shall:

(a) create substantiated added value;

(b) avoid duplication of efforts;

(c) be in the interest of the Union maritime transport policy;

(d) not be detrimental to the Agency’s core tasks; and (e) not infringe upon Member States’ rights and obligations, in particular as flag States, port States and coastal States.

2. The Agency shall assist the Commission:

(a) in the context of the implementation of Directive 2008/56/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (Marine Strategy Framework Directive) (), by contributing to the objective of achieving good environmental status of marine waters with its shipping-related elements and in exploiting the results of existing tools such as SafeSeaNet and CleanSeaNet;

(b) providing technical assistance in relation to greenhouse gas emissions from ships, in particular in following up ongoing international developments;

(c) as concerns the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security programme (GMES), in promoting the use of GMES data and services for maritime purposes, within the GMES governance framework;

(d) in the development of a Common Information Sharing Environment for the EU maritime domain;

(e) with respect to mobile offshore oil and gas installations, in examining IMO requirements and in gathering basic information on potential threats to maritime transport and the marine environment;

(f) by providing relevant information with regard to classification societies for inland waterway vessels in accordance with Directive 2006/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2006 laying down technical requirements for inland waterway vessels (). This information shall also be part of the reports referred to in Article 3(4) and (5) of this Regulation.

3. The Agency shall assist the Commission and the Member States:

(a) in the examination of the feasibility and the implementation of policies and projects supporting the establishment of the European Maritime Transport Space without Barriers, such as the Blue Belt concept and e-Maritime, as well as Motorways of the Sea. This shall be done in particular by exploring additional functionalities to SafeSeaNet, without prejudice to the role of the High Level Steering Group established in accordance with Directive 2002/59/EC;

(b) by exploring with competent authorities for the River Information Services System the possibility of sharing information between this system and maritime transport information systems on the basis of the report provided for in Article 15 of Directive 2010/65/EU;

(c) by facilitating voluntary exchange of best practices in maritime training and education in the Union and by providing information on Union exchange programmes relevant to maritime training while fully respecting Article 166 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union ( TFEU).