European Council Urges Boosting EU's Integrated Maritime Policy
November 19, 2009 // Published as a news service by IHS
The General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) of the European Council cited the progress achieved in integrated maritime policy in the European Union (EU) and endorsed the integrated approach to maritime affairs recommended by the European Commission (EC).
During its Nov. 16-17 meeting, the GAERC also called on the EC to maintain the momentum behind its integrated maritime policy.
It pointed to the need to enhance the economic potential of maritime sectors, improve the effectiveness of governmental actions at sea and generate synergies in pursuing economic growth, environmental stability and a solid social dimension for maritime activities.
Furthermore, the GAERC pinpointed a number of future avenues for EU's integrated maritime policy. These include defining a strategy for growth, jobs and sustainability, pursuing maritime spatial planning initiatives, coming up with proposals on governance in marine and maritime research to enhance the role of scientific knowledge in decision-making and making further progress towards integrated maritime surveillance.
In particular, the GAERC called for further development of strategic approaches to regional sea basins, thus building on the EC's recent work in the Arctic, Baltic and Mediterranean Seas and extending it into other regions.
Welcoming the EC's recent communication on developing the international dimension of integrated maritime policy (see MEMO/09/453), the GAERC recognized the importance of such dialogue at the international level and other maritime issues in relevant forums, including those on the ratification and implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
In a separate set of conclusions, the GAERC endorsed the EC's approach to integration of maritime surveillance (see MEMO/09/454), which lays the foundations for a common information-sharing environment.
The GAERC asked the EC to work closely with EU member states and relevant EU bodies to bring together the appropriate civilian and military aspects of maritime surveillance to establish an integrated approach to surveillance activities. To this end, it called on the EC to draw up a roadmap by the end of 2010, listing the necessary steps towards this integrated approach.
The roadmap would then be updated in 2011 to reflect the results of relevant projects and the lessons learned from European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) operations.
The GAERC also called on the EC, European Parliament, EU member states and future GAERC presidencies to keep the integration of maritime surveillance on the front burner and to explore the potential opportunities and synergies to be derived from cooperation and mutual support on a cross-sectoral and cross-border basis, including ESDP aspects, as appropriate.
For more information, see the Integrated Maritime Policy progress report and the EC's Integrated Maritime Surveillance web page.
Source: European Commission (EC).