Seville, 21/01/2008 (Agence Europe) - On 19 January during the meeting of the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions (CPMR) in Seville, the president of the Brittany Regional Council, Jean-Yves Le Drian, officially launched the Aquamarina Group, a true network of regions that wish to follow and contribute to the implementation of the Commission's Maritime Policy Blue Paper.
The creation of this group had been decided by the general assembly of the CPMR on 19 October in Florence and responsibility for it had been entrusted to the Brittany Region. The work of the group covers follow-up to publication of the European Commission's Blue Paper on maritime policy of 10 October 2007 (EUROPE 9520), states a note from the Brittany Region setting out the two different kinds of action to be undertaken: - follow-up of the Blue Paper and the Community action plan in order to maintain strong mobilisation of the CPMR network and executive bodies, allowing the CPMR to react to implementation of the action plan; and, for certain priority themes, analysis of the necessity to develop Community policies which would not be taken into account in the Blue Paper and action plan, allowing the CPMR to put proposals to the EU in these areas. An indicative list of such themes will be drawn up during the first meeting of the Aquamarina Group whose aim it is to strengthen the link between the maritime regions and allow experience to be exchanged. The group will be composed of about 50 members: - representatives of regions concerned, which have recognised expertise in the field (elected representatives or executives of regional administrations); - executive secretaries of the geographic commissions concerned; - and representatives of the Brittany Region and of the CPMR general secretariat. For further information: http://www.crpm.org . (G.B.)