Brussels, 06/07/2006 (Agence Europe) - In a letter addressed to the president of the European Parliament, Josep Borrell, and the presidents of the political groups, the president of Tuscany and the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions (CPMR) on 30 June, Claudio Martini requested the setting up of a temporary committee on maritime affairs where members of the Parliamentary committees involved with the Green paper on maritime affairs would sit. The European Commission published the Green Paper on 7 June (EUROPE 9206).
A CPMR press released indicates that this Green Paper is the result of cooperation between seven European Commissioners: Joe Borg (Maritime Affairs), Danuta Hübner (Regional Policy), Jacques Barrot (Transport), Günter Verheugen (Industry), Janez Potocnik (Research), Stavros Dimas (Environment) and Andris Pielbags (Energy). The press release also points out that the text is expected to be examined at the EP by several committees or by the ad hoc temporary committee, as sought by Willi Piecyk (PES, Germany) during its presentation by Joe Borg to the EP. According to the CPMR, this Green Paper constitutes a genuine opportunity for the European Parliament in these areas. The CPMR is continuing its reflection on maritime affairs, backed up by a project for inter-regional cooperation and experts on the different themes covered by the Green Paper, which make all this documentation available to MEPs.