EU says maritime policy on track despite national objections

Bayonne: The EU has insisted that implementation of its maritime policy is “well on track”, despite suggestions that member states are opposed to elements of a 2005 maritime safety package.
 
Speaking on Thursday, Joe Borg, the commissioner responsible for fisheries and maritime affairs, said that one year on from the adoption of a blue paper on integrating EU maritime policy, the “list of achievements is quite significant”.
 
Borg, who was addressing the opening day of the general assembly of the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions of Europe (CPMR) in France, strongly refuted claims that so-called Erika 3 package, released in 2005, would be delayed due to national opposition.
 
The Maltese official said, “I can confidently state that implementation of the first set of key actions foreseen in our policy is well on track and the commission is already dealing with them.”
 
He cited as an example the issue of maritime surveillance, saying, “The commission has been working hard on this issue to assist the [French] presidency and we are preparing future action in this field.”

Member states are blocking some of the measures, notably the duty of countries to ensure that ships flying their flag meet certain safety standards and shop operator liability, because they claim they would impose too many extra costs for their administrations.
 
The Rennes-based CPMR has also called for speedy implementation of all measures contained in the Erika 3 package, which was designed to avert similar disasters to those caused by the sinking of the Erika and Prestige oil tankers.

On EU energy policy, Borg told the assembly that Europe should “enhance” its reliance on oceans, seas and ports, adding, “It will be necessary to develop further the use of our oceans and seas to promote the EU’s energy goals.”
 
However, Borg warned that implementation of an integrated maritime policy, which, for the first time, adopts a “holistic”, cross-sectoral approach to all sea-related issues, “will require a regional focus if it is to succeed”.
 
He said that while maritime affairs are now becoming more central to EU policy thinking: “We need to press home the message that maritime policy can make a real difference to the quality of life of all EU citizens.”
 
Member states, he said, had committed future EU presidencies to making the policy work, but, he said, if it is to succeed, “we will need to take our message to every corner of Europe”.
 
Borg praised the CPMR for supporting the commission’s “ambitious” maritime agenda which, he said, offers an “integrated focus, straddling sectors and involving stakeholders at different levels”.
 
Nearly 400 leading representatives of Europe’s coastal and outermost regions have gathered in the French city, in the heart of the Basque country, for the two-day general assembly.

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