Brussels, 13/07/2007 (Agence Europe) - Prior to the 11 July plenary session vote on the report by Willi Peicyk (PES, Germany) entitled “Towards a future maritime policy for the Union: a European vision for the oceans and seas” (see EUROPE 9467), the Conference of the Peripheral Maritime Regions (CPMR) organised a conference in the Azores on 9-10 July on “maritime policies and globalisation”. This provided a new opportunity to contribute to the consultation phase initiated by the European Commission with publication of its Green Paper. Given the challenges facing the European Union (climate change, decline of marine biodiversity, explosion of maritime traffic, growing urbanisation of coastal towns, etc.), the participants were thus able to debate and share experiences. Joe Borg, the European Commissioner for maritime policy, also attended.
As countries like Canada, Australia and the United States are on track towards an integrated and coordinated maritime policy, Mr Borg stressed how urgent it was for the European Union to climb onto the bandwagon and to display the same resolve. Given the efforts made by these different countries, Joe Borg identified “common traits” that should be taken as an inspiration: - full recognition of the economic impact of maritime activity; - the need for sustainable management of resources; - and the setting in place of a well-thought-out and coordinated approach. For the European Union, such an approach would require better scientific knowledge of the oceans, accelerated development of partnerships between the different players, and an intersectoral vision of things. Polish Minister for Maritime Economy Rafal Wiechecki stressed the efforts provided to create “a European maritime education sector, which would allow standards to be developed in the fields of education, training and certification”. He called for the creation of a European centre for maritime education.
In addition to his recommendations on the future European maritime policy, Joe Borg took stock of the consultation phase. The European commissioner welcomed the support received on many of the ideas set out in the Green Paper. He then drew up a timetable for the next stages. A working group will meet on 19-20 July in Lisbon. Debates will focus on the theme of European governance. Once the consultation phase is over, the European Commission will present two communications for adoption, on 10 October. The first will be a summary of the contributions of the various parties involved. The second will be presented in the form of a real action plan, comprising a series of strategic measures. An inter-ministerial conference will be held on 22 October to discuss the matter. On this occasion, Joe Borg trusts that the European Council will accept the proposal for an integrated approach and will provide Europe with a base for continuing work on maritime policy.
The CPMR, speaking through its president, Claudio Martini, also presented its main recommendations. In particular, Mr Martini reacted to the report by Willi Piecyk, MEP. “We are not pleased with the report on several points. It reduces the role of the commissioner for maritime affairs, it does not see the regions as 'players' in the context of an integrated maritime policy, and it rules out the possibility of integrating the seas and oceans in post-2013 financial discussions”, he said. He continued: “The maritime regions could not accept a European maritime policy that is not unified or integrated but which resembles a puzzle of sectoral policies placed end to end”. Thus, the CPMR has worked on the drafting of nine amendments that have earned the support of 50 representatives for the maritime regions. Speaking at a press conference, Commissioner Borg also backed these amendments. (gc)