Brussels, 08/09/2009 (Agence Europe) - The competitiveness of the European shipbuilding industry and the maritime satellite observation system will be the focus of Industry Commissioner Günter Verheugen's agenda during two meetings in Germany on 10 and 11 September. The first day, in Bremen, Mr Verheugen will inaugurate the Circumarctic Environmental Observatories Network (CEON) for promoting land and navigation observation services to provide the maritime industry with information on security, surveillance of the icecap and the control of greenhouse gases via the satellite services GMES and Galileo. He will then go on to a conference on the security of container transport. As part of the LeaderSHIP 2015 initiative, Mr Verheugen will chair a meeting in Bremerhaven on 11 September on the situation in the maritime sector. CEOs of the main shipyards and manufacturers of marine equipment, as well as ministers of the relevant member states and trade union representatives are invited to attend. Launched in 2002, the LeaderSHIP 2015 initiative provides a long term strategic policy framework for competitiveness of the sector. (E.H./transl.jl)