Brussels, 13/10/2011 (Agence Europe) - France and the European Commission called on Tuesday 11 October for a stronger EU maritime policy.
European Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki and French Ecology, Sustainable Development, Transport and Housing Minister Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet agreed on the need to give priority to job creation and the sustainable development of economic activities, “blue growth”, for example, in areas such as sea-based energy and aquaculture. They also spoke of the crucial importance of enhancing our knowledge of the sea and the oceans in order, for example, to be able to discern the threat to the marine environment. They discussed the proposals brought forward by the Commission on the reform of the common fisheries policy (CFP) and agreed on the usefulness of proposing certification of fisheries products promoting responsible fishing and better protecting consumers' rights.
Kosciusko-Morizet supported the European initiative of marine special planning, which takes up one of the flagship measures of the French government-industry conversation on the sea. The commissioner and minister discussed the maritime strategy for the Atlantic which will be presented by the Commission and which aims to make the most of all that is offered by the Atlantic basin where France is a major player. (LC/transl.rt)