lucyna kaminska european commission maritime affairs and fisheries mediterranean and black sea

An Integrated Maritime Policy for the European UnionA sustainable future for the oceans and seas

1 http://ec.europa.eu/maritimeaffairs

Lucyna KaminskaEuropean Commission

Maritime Affairs and FisheriesMediterranean and Black Sea

Malta, IOI Seminar, 2 December 2009

EU Integrated Maritime Policy

- two years later -



Why there was a need foran EU Integrated Maritime Policy?

Lucyna KaminskaEuropean Commission

Maritime Affairs and FisheriesMediterranean and Black Sea

Malta, IOI Seminar, 2 December 2009



Europe’s seas and oceans

Europe is surrounded by four seas:• The Baltic Sea• North Sea• Mediterranean Sea• Black Sea

And two oceans:

• The Atlantic• The Arctic

Over 2/3 of the EU’s borders are coastal

The maritime spaces under the MSs jurisdiction

Are much larger than their terrestrial territory



Our oceans and seas

A precious and unique natural environment A rich source of life, food, energy, medicine

The world’s climate regulator

A source for discovery and research

A place for transport, travel, trade and leisure

A source of income for around 5 million Europeans and 40% of share in the GDP of the EU



How all this started?

In its strategic objectives for 2005-2009, the Commission declared:

”the particular need for an all-embracing maritime policy aimed a developing a thriving maritime economy, in an environmentally sustainable manner. In addition, such a policy should be supported by excellence in marine scientific research, technology and innovation” • Green Paper – published in 2005 and followed by one year of consultation;• Blue Paper – adopted on 10 October 2007 and endorsed by the Council in December 2007;• Regional implementation of the IMP;• International dimension of the IMP.



Main objectives

The main goal of the Integrated Maritime Policy

is to ensure coherence and synergy whenever there is an interaction

between human activities which depend on the marine domain

and/or has an impact on marine ecosystems



Maritime policy and sectoral policies (2)

Two situations:

Strong interaction - activities where two or more sectors interact or there are strong synergy potentials: • Environment/climate change• Competition for space• Living conditions and development in

coastal communities• Data and information

Weak interaction - activities which does not (or only marginally) interact with other sectors, e.g. fishing herring away from shipping lanes and oil rigs



General policy framework – regional implementation

Competitiveness

JobsSkills

Environment

Marineresources

Spatialplanning

Research

Observation anddata collection

Safety and Security Coordination



Strategic policy orientations for future developments:

Integration of maritime governance - permanent structures for cross-sectoral collaboration and stakeholder consultation need to be put in place at European, national and regional levels of government;

Development of cross-cutting policy tools - maritime spatial planning, comprehensive marine knowledge and data, and integrated maritime surveillance. These tools are to streamline the way we manage maritime space and maritime activities and help preserving marine ecosystems.

Defining boundaries of sustainability - in the framework of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive which should help developing all maritime activities with greater regard to their cumulative impacts on the environment.

Implementation of the IMP - future outlook (1)



Implementation of the IMP Action Plan - future outlook (2)

Strategic policy orientations for future developments:

Development of sea-basin strategies to allow adapting priorities and policy-making tools to the unique geographical, economical and political context of each sea basin;Development of international dimension of the Integrated Maritime Policy - to strengthen the EU's position and role in multilateral and bilateral relations; Renewed focus on sustainable economic growth, employment and innovation - through, e.g. strengthened links between the IMP and energy/climate change polices to help promoting renewable energies from the sea and develop climate change adaptation strategy for coastal and maritime areas.



IMP – maritime governance

“Guidelines for an Integrated Approach to Maritime Policy: Towards best practice in integrated maritime governance and stakeholder consultation” - published on 26 June 2008;

At an informal meeting on 13 July 2008 in Brest, Europe ministers acknowledged the necessity to reinforce maritime governance, as a result Member States information fiches on MS maritime governance have been drawn up. MS reports on progress made.

Interactive Website for on all actions related to maritime affairs and stakeholders consultation is under preparation (beta version is ready).



IMP – European Maritime Day

IMP Action Plan included a proposal for a European Maritime Day – A Joint Tripartite Declaration establishing a "European Maritime Day“ on 20 of May has been signed by the Council, the EP and the Commission on 3 December 2007.

European Maritime Day 2008 held on 20 May in Brussels.

European Maritime Day 2009 held on 19-21 May in Rome (Italy)

European Maritime Day 2010 will be held on 20-21 May in Gijon (Spain).



IMP – international dimension (1)

In the Blue Paper it has been stated that:

« The EU will work towards more efficient international governance of maritime affairs and effective enforcement of international maritime law, urging Member states to ratify the relevant instruments. It will promote coordination of European interests in key international fora. »

« Maritime affairs will be a regular topic in discussions with the EU’s partners that have already taken steps towards an integrated maritime approach, such as Australia, Canada, Japan, Norway and the US, as well as with other partners such as Brazil, China, India and Russia. The EU will also develop shared responsibility over the seas it shares with its closest neighbours»




Enhance the EU profile in international fora and strengthen its relations with partners

• Establishing and publishing a database and scoreboard on ratifications by Member States;

• Assessment of the EU’s role in the international maritime organisations: Study has been completed;

• Communication on the international dimension of the IMP adopted on 15 October 2009.




Key themes that call for international cooperation:• International governance based on the rule of law, in

particular UNCLOS; • Sustainable exploitation of fish stocks and protection

of marine biodiversity, including in the high seas;

• Climate change and the role of seas and oceans in this process;;

• Maritime safety and security as well as freedom of navigation, focusing inter alia on combating piracy;

• Promoting decent working conditions in the maritime sectors;

• International coordinated research programmes to know and understand the sea better.




High Level Dialogue – main objective:

Introducing maritime affairs into dialogues withthird countries, including developing countries• High Level Dialogue with Strategic Partners (USA,

Canada, Russia, Japan) - Analysing the possibility/opportunity to enlarge the scope of the existing High Level Dialogue meetings with strategic partners on fisheries to maritime affairs issues;

• European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) Mediterranean and Black Sea/ Union For the Mediterranean / ENP dialogue structures;

• Bilateral fisheries agreements with third countries; • Bilateral agreements with non-EU countries




Draft Model Agenda for HLD: Issues of common interest under IMP, e.g.

• Marine observation / data collection• Climate-change mitigation • Maritime security and safety, including

piracy• Maritime surveillance

Issues specific to the country

Other Issues

• Law of the Sea developments• International fisheries issues incl.

coordination concerning multilateral negotiations and processes

• Trade regime for fisheries products



IMP – cross-cutting tools

• Maritime Spatial Planning;

• Marine knowledge - European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODNET);

• Maritime surveillance.

These are cross-sectoral instruments of the IMP that will be further developed on the basis of the results obtained in the pilot phase.



IMP cross-sectoral tools – maritime surveillance (1)

Why do we need a more integrated surveillance?

So far, many maritime surveillance systems are developed at EU, MS and regional level and in its majority they remain sector-specific but threats and challenges at Sea are trans-national and trans-sectoral.

Therefore there is a need to build up a more interoperable maritime surveillance system to bring together existing monitoring and tracking systems used for maritime safety and security, protection of the marine environment, fisheries control, control of external borders and other law enforcement activities.




Working documents describing organisation of offshore activities and identifying surveillance, monitoring and reporting systems in Europe:

• Working Documents I: Organization of Offshore Activities in Littoral EU Member States;

• Working Documents II: Maritime Cross-Border Cooperation between EU Littoral Member States in Five Sea Regions;

• Working Documents III: Maritime Surveillance Systems.

These documents were published between June -November 2007.




Actions under the Work Plan for an integrated network of European maritime surveillance systems:

A study on Legal aspects of maritime surveillance – October 2008;

A Commission Staff Working Document on maritime surveillance was published on 13 October 2008 and it:

• describes the current state of play as regards the surveillance, monitoring, tracking, identification and reporting systems put in place by Member States and agencies;

• identifies challenges to be addressed and resolved in order to achieve an integrated maritime surveillance network for Europe.




Pilot Projects on maritime surveillance: 1. Call for proposals for a Pilot project in

the Mediterranean and its Atlantic approaches - published on 17 December 2008 – negotiations with a Lead Partner are ongoing (32 partners);

2. Call for proposals for a Pilot Project in the Northern European Sea Basins published on 15 September 2009 –negotiations with a Lead Partner are ongoing (10 partners +1 from Norway);




Main goal of Pilot Projects - Testing the integration of surveillance

• Determine the extent to which the project partners are potentially able to set up an exchange of information mechanism that is viable and durable in time;

• Identify obstacles that may hinder the exchange information on a long-term basis;

• Identify existing experience in exchanging the information, best practices and/or legal adjustments;

• Test the capacity of project partners to exchange surveillance information;

• Identify how this cooperation has resulted in added value




The Blue Paper Action Plan announced a Communication to present a work plan towards integration of European maritime surveillance systems which was adopted on 15 October 2009.Its main objectives are to:

• Explain the rationale of the ongoing processes towards integrating maritime surveillance at national and EU level;

• Propose a number of principles that will allow to move progressively from a sectoral to an integrated approach with regard to maritime surveillance at EU and national level;

• Provide an update of surveillance actions undertaken at Commission level.




The four main Guiding Principles are the following:

• An approach that would allow for interlinking all user communities;

• Building up a technical framework for interoperability and future integration;

• Information exchange between civilian and military authorities;

• Compliance with specific legal provisions.




Guiding principles towards the establishment of a “Common Information Sharing Environment”

• Common: basic data collected only once;

• Information: must enable user-defined situational awareness;

• Sharing: each community receives but also provides information;

• Environment: interconnected sectoral information systems allowing users to identify trends and detect anomalies.



IMP – maritime clusters

Focus on the development of multi-sectoral clusters and regional centres of maritime excellence:

• A staff working document on Maritime Clusters was published on 17 October 2007;

• Study: “The role of maritime clusters to enhance the strength and development of maritime sectors” describing characteristics and functions of clusters with a view to facilitating cooperation and learning from best practice was completed in November 2008;

• Focus on maritime clusters during events around the European Maritime Day in 2009.



IMP- other relevant maritime initiatives (1)

Marine Strategy Framework Directive establishing a framework for community action in the field of marine environmental policy was published on 17 June 2008;

Action on Mitigation and Adaptation to Climate Change - White Paper: Adapting to climate change: Towards a European framework for action“ published on 1 April 2009;

Study "The economics of climate change adaptation in EU coastal areas completed in May 2009;

A European Strategy for Marine and Maritime Research - A coherent European Research Area framework in support of a sustainable use of oceans and seas – published on 3 September 2008.



IMP- further relevant maritime initiatives (2)

Communication “Offshore Wind Energy: Action needed to deliver on the Energy Policy Objectives for 2020 and beyond” published on 13 November 2008;

Sustainable Maritime Tourism Agenda for a sustainable and competitive European tourism published on 19 October 2007;

Study “Tourists Facilities in Ports” launched on 29 August 200;

Review of the Common Fisheries Policy – Green Paper, published on 22 April 2009.



IMP- further relevant maritime initiatives (3)

Maritime Transport Strategic goals and recommendations for the EU’s maritime transport policy until 2018 – published 21 January 2009.

Communication on a European Ports Policy published on 18 October 2007;

Third Maritime Safety Package published on 11 March 2009;

Revision of Trans-European Transport Networks Guidelines (TEN-T) Green Paper: TEN-T policy review. Towards a better integrated trans-European transport network at the service of the common transport policy published on 4 February 2009



Thank you for your attention!

http://ec.europa.eu/maritimeaffairs



IMP – regional implementation (1)

Seas are different – regional specificities

• Geography• Political context• Economic situation• Social situation• Environmental challenges

Main objective

• Adapting the IMP to regional challenges and opportunities for specific policy development

• Providing added value




Regional implementation of the integrated maritime policy requires cooperation of all coastal states to address common challenges such as:

• Environmental concerns• Climate change• Maritime security and safety issues• Globalisation

How can the IMP help us to address these challenges?




Examples of actions – e.g. promotion of:• maritime spatial planning and integrated coastal

zone management• a viable and enforced regulatory framework for

protection of marine resources for all coastal states;

• maritime clusters;• cleaner transport solutions;• shore side electricity in ports;• the use of renewable energy (e.g. offshore energy;• improved coordination/more integration in the

area of maritime surveillance;• value added jobs by bringing together maritime

industry/services/science/education;• maritime professions



IMP – What has been achieved so far -The Arctic (1)

What is the Arctic?

• The region around the North Pole opposite to the Antarctic around the South Pole;

• The area north to the Arctic Circle (21.2 mln km²

• A vast ice-covered ocean (2/3) surrounded by treeless, frozen ground (1/3);

• A unique marine ecosystem and a unique culture of indigenous people



IMP – The Arctic (2)

The main goal - setting out EU interests and proposing actions for EU Member States and institutions around three main policy objectives:

• Protecting and preserving the Arctic in unison with its population;

• Promoting sustainable use of resources;• Contributing to enhanced Arctic multilateral

governance

“The European Union and the Arctic Region”- Communication adopted on 20 November 2008



IMP – The Arctic (3) Protecting and preserving the Arctic in unison with its population:

• Enhancing environmental research, monitoring and assessments to better understand the Arctic environment, ecosystem, landscape and people as prerequisite for appropriate policy responses;

• Improving the environmental management to prevent and tackle processes with negative impact in the Arctic;

• Preserving the rights of indigenous people and helping them to maintain their livelihood and culture.




Promoting sustainable use of natural resources:

• Ensuring sustainable exploitation of Arctic fisheries resources and support the development of an international management framework for the Arctic waters;

• Promoting disaster prevention and combating, strengthening civil protection mechanisms in case of emergencies;

• Ensuring the sustainable, safe and clean exploration and exploitation of oil, gas and other non living resources;

• Securing freedom of navigation and minimising detrimental effects of shipping.




Contributing to enhanced Arctic multilateralGovernance:

• Working towards an overarching integrated Arctic governance system (but no Arctic Treaty);

• Contributing actively to the Arctic debate and make it more policy driven in all relevant for a;

• Reinforcing implementation of current international agreements relevant for the Arctic by Arctic States;

• Striving for full membership in the Arctic Council• Increasing EU internal coordination and transparency of

activities towards the Arctic.



IMP – what has been achieved so far–The Baltic (1)

Baltic Sea Strategy

December European Council conclusions (2007)

Commission was invited by the Council to present the EU strategy for the Baltic Sea by June 2009

Inter alia to address the urgent environmental challenges

The Northern Dimension – political framework providing the basis for the external aspects of co-operation

The Baltic Sea Strategy adopted on 10 June 2009



Baltic Sea Strategy (2)

Four overall objectives:

To make the Baltic Sea Region:

• Environmentally sustainable (e.g. process waste water);

• Prosperous place (e.g. promoting innovation in SMEs);

• Accessible and attractive (e.g. improving transport links);

• Safe and secure (e.g. better accident response).




An environmentally sustainable place – proposed actions

• Accelerate the implementation of the Marine Strategy Directive by 2 years;

• Full report on the implementation of Water Framework Directive and related legislation by 2010);

• Establish networks of Marine Protected Areas;• Implement an eco-system approach to fisheries through

management plans and discards policy;• Model region for clean shipping; Agreement among the ports

to install shore-side electricity facilities by 2015; Award of best port performance




A prosperous place – proposed actions

• Necessary changes to the existing regulatory and administrative framework to allow the implementation of the European Space for Maritime Transport without barriers;

• Launching the Baltic Sea Cluster Conference under the auspices of the Baltic Sea Region Business Forum;

• Coordinate implementation of the Action plan on Offshore Wind Energy by Baltic Sea states;

• Achieve sustainable fisheries by all Baltic Sea states by2015, including 100% traceability and certification of caught fish;

• Reducing the Baltic fleet capacity with the assistance from the EEF;

• Full coordination of fisheries control activities by 2015.



Baltic Sea Strategy (5)An accessible and attractive place to live and work

• Motorways of the Sea in the Baltic Sea; implement necessary measures to facilitate the procedures affecting short sea shipping;

• Establish a Baltic Network of marine research institutions - strengthening the cross-border cooperation;

• Establish a network of maritime educational institutions aiming at delivering a common format for a certificate of maritime excellence;

• Establish a system of exchange of best practices and awards among Baltic islands to encourage the development of specific island projects.




A safe and secure place – proposed actions

• Eliminate to the extend possible the fishing boats accidents by 2015;

• Establish a fund for the implementation of surveillance systems on ships in the Baltic;

• Launch a single disaster response mechanism in the Baltic Sea Region.




Four flagship actions in the field of maritime policy

• Maritime spatial planning (including a pilot project);• Maritime surveillance (including a pilot project);• Clean shipping;• Sustainable fisheries.




Examples of projects:

• Phosphates from detergents will be removed in all Member States with the aim of reducing nutrients in the sea;• A “Baltic Energy Market Interconnection Plan” to better connect Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia to European networks;• The ‘Rail Baltica’ to connect Warsaw with Tallinn by 2013, with a target speed of 120 km/h:• An attempt to establish a joint maritime surveillance system – a pilot project on maritime surveillance;• A fund for innovation and research will be set-up, using national and private funding for tailored research activities matching the specific strengths of the region.



Mediterranean Sea (1)Regional context:Number and variety of status of coastal states in the region: (EU Member States, candidate countries and potential candidate

countries, non-EU states);Different legal systems and administrative cultures Different political frameworks, structures and instruments:

- ENPI – Southern Region- ENPI – CBC – Mediterranean Sea Basin programme- Barcelona Process – Union for the Mediterranean- Enlargement process- Bilateral negotiations between the EU and third countries

Some attempts as regards the establishment of EEZs/fisheries/ecologicial zones

Regional fisheries management organisation – GFCMMediterranean RAC – created on 15 Sept 2008 (first General

Assembly held in April 2009;Barcelona Convention – EC is a full member



Mediterranean Sea (2)What has been done so far?

• High-Level Mediterranean Conference in Piran (Slovenia) – 10 June 2008;

• Online consultation on the implementation of the IMP in the Mediterranean – opened between May–December 2008;

• Pilot project on maritime surveillance - contractor has been selected and the contract is under negotiations;

• Expert group on maritime governance in the Mediterranean was established in January 2009, the expert group report available on DG MARE website;

• Communication “EU strategy to improve maritime governance in the Mediterranean Sea”– adopted on 11 September 2009;

• A Working Group consisting of representatives of all Mediterranean states to discuss the implementation of the Mediterranean strategy is to be established – target date mid-December 2009.



Mediterranean Sea (3)The Communication sets out a vision for the development of an IMP in the Mediterranean and better maritime governance:

• An integrated approach to maritime affairs at the appropriate levels is encouraged, in dialogue with non-EU Mediterranean coastal States;

• Structured and effective dialogue amongst coastal States on governance of the marine space to be stimulated at the appropriate fora;

• Stakeholder platforms to regularly address the Mediterranean Sea and its specificities, and working towards basin-wide stakeholder dialogue (including from non-EU coastal states);

• The potential of engaging in Maritime Spatial Planning in specific sub-regions or sea-areas in the Mediterranean to be fully explored;



Mediterranean Sea (4)

• The Integrated Coastal Zone Management in coastal areas and islands needs to be strengthened, particularly as regards coherence between onshore and offshore planning;

• The development of marine knowledge and integration between marine and maritime research efforts need to be fully pursued as it forms the the basis of an ecosystem-based approach to the management of activities at sea;

• The integration of surveillance of maritime activities and operations in the Mediterranean will be furthered, with the objective of making the Mediterranean Sea a more safe and secure maritime space.



Black Sea (1)Regional context:

• Numerous countries concerned;• Variety of status of coastal states in the region (EU MSs,

candidate countries, non-EU states); • Several different legal systems;• Compliance problems with existing rules; • EEZs declared but not fully enforced – court case

between Ukraine and Romania resolved (final judgement delivered by ICJ in February 2009;

• No regional fisheries organisation (ongoing discussions);• Stakeholder dialogue and civil society organisations

need to be strengthened.• Bucharest Convention – the only regional sea convention

where EC is not a full member (observer status).



Black Sea (2)Existing EU policy framework and financial

instruments:• European Neighbourhood Policy - ENPI Eastern

Region; • ENPI CBC – Black Sea Basin programme - first call for

proposals were launched; • Black Sea Synergy – covers all littoral states of the

Black Sea + Greece, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Moldova; First implementation report adopted in June 2008,

• Enhancing the BSSynergy – new initiative by Bulgaria, Greece and Romania - sectoral partnerships in the area of Environment, Energy and Transport are being established;

• The Eastern Partnership - covers Eastern EU neighbours (Russia and Turkey are not part of it);

• Bilateral agreements between EU and non-EU countries (EU-Ukraine AA ongoing).



IMP – regional implementation

Conditions for success:

• Setting up priorities;• Linking them to overall objectives;• Identifying main drivers of the process;• Securing support from main political actors;• Involving maritime stakeholders and maintaining

their commitment;• Shared responsibility among all coastal states for

the region's common challenges • Communicating efficiently with general public• Patience



Thank you for your attention!

http://ec.europa.eu/maritimeaffairs