By Martin Banks - 9th January 2008
EU commissioner Joe Borg has called for a maritime day on 20 May each year to help raise public awareness of the importance of the maritime sector.
The Maltese official says the call is in response to “the widespread desire” among stakeholders to celebrate Europe’s maritime heritage.
“The aim of the European maritime day will be to highlight the entire web of relationships that bind together maritime and marine-related issues and activities across Europe,” he says.
Borg, responsible for maritime affairs and fisheries, will make his call in a speech he is due to give on Thursday at a policy briefing event organised by the European Policy Centre in Brussels.
In a wide-ranging speech he will say that the marine environment can play a “vital role” in mitigating many of the mounting risks from global warming and can also “hold the solution” to current energy concerns.
“No Lisbon strategy, no Gothenburg strategy, no climate change and energy policy, can make full sense without a marked maritime dimension," he says.
Borg will also tell the audience that the commission has already “begun to deliver” on its much-vaunted maritime policy for the EU, ratified at last December’s EU summit.
“We have opened consultations on a European maritime transport space without barriers and made far-reaching proposals to ban destructive fishing practices," he says.
“We have started a reassessment of the exclusion of the maritime sector from EU labour law and adopted a working document on maritime clusters.”
In his speech,he adds, “Where do we go from here? Needless to say, any maritime policy for the EU is bound to be a work in progress and as it unfolds, there are various elements that will underpin our efforts.
“The first of these is that the integrated approach will remain at the heart of what we do.
“I would also like to signal that we are moving towards a regional implementation of the policy and that we will continue to ensure extensive stakeholder participation.”
Borg says he and the EU has two years to make progress on its maritime action plan before the commission reports back to member states at the end of 2009.
“Navigating the ocean of opportunity before us requires a joint venture and not a solo expedition," he says.
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