Brussels, 25/03/2008 (Agence Europe) - During the consultation period following publication of the Green Paper on Maritime Policy, various actors - including the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions (CPMR) - supported the initiative to set in place a European Day of the Sea. After discussion, the European Commission suggested 20 May would be appropriate for celebrating the sea in Europe. Each year on 20 May, as of 2008, the European Union will turn its attention to the sea in order to promote maritime culture and heritage and to strengthen the maritime identity. Therefore, on the next 20 May, the European Commission and the European Parliament will work to promote maritime activities. The Commission will organise a conference in Brussels to be attended by many stakeholders including the CPMR, and the EP will vote in Strasbourg on the launching of European maritime policy; Such was the content of the letter sent on 18 March from the president of the CPMR and of the Tuscany region, Claudio Martini, and the president of the Brittany region, Jean-Yves Le Drian, to the presidents of the CPMR member regions calling on them to organise events in their regions in order to highlight the efforts being made by the Commission in building European maritime policy.
Furthermore, the sailing boat, christened the Treaty of Rome, is preparing to leave on a trip round Europe (from April to December 2008) with the “moral and financial” support of the European institutions. The boat will serve as a “mobile European info point” in the European maritime regions that will be hosting the boat in their ports. For further information: http://www.crpm.org (G.B.)