Brussels, 03/05/2007 (Agence Europe) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose country holds the rotating Council presidency until the end of June, and the president-in-office of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, opened a major international conference on the Union's future maritime policy in Bremen on Wednesday 2 May (northern Germany). The European Commission plans to adopt a communication presenting its vision of the matter on 10 October. It will present an action plan with proposals on better coordination of the different policies on oceans and seas.
The oceans and seas must retain their value for future generations, said Ms Merkel, to justify the setting in place of an integrated maritime policy for the EU. She pointed out that global warming and climate change seriously damage the marine environment, coasts and regions. She called on the EU not to only focus on economic exploitation of the oceans but also to ensure that the economy contributes to its sustainable ecological development.
This new maritime policy must help to alleviate the consequences of climate change and support the EU's energy policy, for example, by contributing to the development of future energy sources such as methane gas from the sea bed, said Mr Barroso for his part. Such exploitation, he went on to say, could open up possibilities making today's oil and gas reserves look modest in comparison.
Commissioner for Maritime Affairs Joe Borg considered the seas and oceans as a “bounty”, saying: “We have two choices: we may just spend, spend, spend with not a care for tomorrow. Or we may get together and decide how best we can enjoy the benefits of this bounty while acting in such a way as to ensure that the returns will also be there for the generations to come”. In addition to global warming, globalisation, demographic pressure on Europe's coasts, and energy sustainability and security of supply, “the proper management of the seas and oceans is increasingly seen as one of the main challenges facing us today. In this context, the second choice is the only one that can tackle these challenges”, the commissioner said. In his view, the only way to achieve this in Europe is to adopt a “cross-cutting approach” to maritime activity, for which the thematic strategy for protecting the marine environment would be one of the cornerstones.
He welcomed the fact that the creation of an integrated maritime policy received support and commitment from “across a broad spectrum”. Consultation has made it possible to open an unprecedented debate on the maritime affairs of the EU. Some member states have even recognised the value of the initiative as it has “encouraged them to articulate and coordinate their domestic positions on the different areas relating to the sea - from tourism to fisheries, shipbuilding to maritime financial services, environmental protection to shipping, marine science to aquaculture, and maritime heritage to immigration”, said Mr Borg, who took a stance, moreover, in favour of developing “maritime clusters”, which contribute to economic development and competitiveness through creating synergies used by all actors to advantage, including SMEs.
Mr Borg then spoke of the areas in which, he believes, “action at European level is not only desirable, but necessary”.
Spatial planning: “As economic activity on our coasts and seas intensifies, so does the potential for conflict of interests and uses between the various stakeholders”, said Borg. Arbitration provided by suitable spatial planning tools could be the way forward. In this context, “sea mapping in its three dimensions, that is: the surface, the water column and the sea bed, will be an important task to undertake when the data are collated and the necessary preparatory elements are available”. Mr Borg gave his assurance that it was not a matter of centralisation (“this area should remain the prerogative of member states”). The Commission recommends, however, the development of common principles and guidelines.
Marine data: In addition to the use of environmental indicators and spatial planning instruments, Mr Borg defended the creation of a European marine observation and data network, with an ambitious database.
Maritime surveillance: Action taken at European level could help to improve maritime surveillance. Mr Borg stressed that the lack of physical boundaries on the seas makes it “imperative that any systems in this area are compatible and interoperable”. (lc)