Brussels, 14/07/2008 (Agence Europe) - During the second meeting of the Aquamarina group of the Conference of Peripheral and Maritime Regions (CPMR) on 8 July, the European coordinator for the motorways of the sea, Luis Valente de Oliveira, launched the idea of a label for maritime ports. This will set up a system that defines ports according to their accessibility, loading and unloading times, environmental criteria and information transfer etc. Mr De Oliveira said that, “such a system will undoubtedly strengthen competitiveness in the ports and improves port services to transport companies”. He also drew attention to the importance of developing the motorways of the sea, “with 18000 lorries transit France and Spain everyday, the roads of our continent are no longer able to accommodate growth in world transport. The motorways of the sea could be an alternative”. The motorways of the sea and the setting up of the barrier-free maritime area was the subject to the second group meeting set up by the CPMR on 19 January (EUROPE 9584-9629). Members of the group will still meet up seven times between 2008-09 under the presidency of Jean-Yves Le Drian, the president of the Regional Brittany Council, to pursue dialogue with the European institutions on the subject of maritime policy and strategy adopted in the European Commission's Blue Book. Mr Le Drian declared that, “maritime transport in the Blue Book is, above all, the notion of the European maritime area, which is becoming a 'European transport area'”. He also said that this, “evolution is not anodyne and poses the question of the exact scope and ambition sought by Europe…Is it to create a genuine European maritime area? The rules will be common between member states, their nationals and third countries. They already are in part, for example, the protection of maritime area or maritime security, for fishing. Getting rid of tax barriers and customs will be a new stage”. (A.By/trans/rh)