Opinion of the Committee of the Regions towards a future Maritime Policy for the European Union
Date: 2007-02-13
Institutions: European Committee of the Regions
Subjects: EU financing, environmental protection, maritime area, maritime surveillance, public awareness campaign, shipping policy, sustainable development

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Opinion of the Committee of the Regions towards a future Maritime Policy for the European Union

(2007/C 146/03)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS

— considers that the overall objective of the future EU maritime policy is to recognise and preserve the
great potential of Europe's seas and to design an active maritime policy in such a way that future
generations can also share in the environmental, economic, biological and cultural wealth of the sea;

— requests the Commission to present a European Maritime Action Plan which is to include, among

others, the following actions:

— to set up a catalogue of existing national, regional and local best practice examples, particularly
with regards to regional economic clusters, research networking, public-private sector cooperation,
spatial planning and good governance and to promote existing best practise examples and their
transfer to other regions or entities;

— to create a European maritime platform in which a regular, efficient and resource-saving exchange
of European, national, regional and local best practice examples can be supported and in which
the Commission and the Committee of the Regions are included;

— to support the use of the renewable sources of energy identified in the Green Paper, inter alia
offshore wind energy and wave energy and including further research and innovation in this
sector;

— to work out in detail to what extent individual economy sections are currently supporting Euro-
pean competitiveness and innovation, especially in view of the goals and priorities established in
the Lisbon Agenda;

— to further clarify how the Thematic Strategy for the Marine Environment and the Marine Strategy

directive will be integrated in the future overall maritime policy;

— to examine the option of revising the EU financial system towards one single simplified system for

all or most of the maritime issues within a European Coastal and Island fund.

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THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

Having regard to the Communication from the Commission of 7 June 2006 — Towards a future Maritime
Policy for the Union: A European Vision for the Oceans and Seas — COM(2006) 275 final;

Having regard to the decision of the European Commission of 7 June 2006 to consult it on this matter
under the first paragraph of Article 265 of the Treaty establishing the European Community;

Having regard to its Bureau's decision of 25 April 2006 to instruct the Commission for Sustainable Devel-
opment to draw up an opinion on the subject;

Having regard to Articles I-13 and I-14 of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (1), which
refers to aspects of maritime policy;

Having regard to the Communication from the Commission of 26 January 2005 on the Strategic objec-
tives 2005-2009 (2), which refers to the particular need for ‘an all-embracing maritime policy aimed at
developing a thriving maritime economy and the full potential of sea-based activity in an environmentally
sustainable manner’;

Having regard to its own-initiative opinion of 12 October 2005 on the ‘EU maritime policy — a question
of sustainable development for local and regional authorities’ (3);

Having regard to its opinion of 26 April 2006 on the Directive of the European Parliament and of the
Council establishing a framework for Community Action in the field of Marine Environmental Policy
(Marine Strategy Directive) COM(2005) 505 final — 2005/0211 (COD) and on the Communication from
the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament — Thematic Strategy on the Protection and
Conservation of the Marine Environment COM(2005) 504 final (4);

Having regard to the Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2002
concerning the implementation of integrated coastal zone management in Europe (5);

Having regard to the agreement for the Implementation of the Provisions of the United Nations Conven-
tion on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982;

Having regard to its draft opinion (CdR 258/2006 rev. 1), adopted on 27 November 2006 by its Commis-
sion for Sustainable Development (rapporteur: Mr Uwe Döring, Minister for Justice, Employment and Euro-
pean Affairs of Schleswig-Holstein (DE/PES));

Whereas:

1.

2.

3.

4

oceans and the seas constitute an important basis for life on earth, maintaining a high level of biodi-
versity, helping to regulate the climate, providing important resources such as food (fish, seaweed,
seafood etc.), energy and minerals as well as serving as a main transportation carrier, especially for
the intercontinental trade;

Europe is a maritime continent and needs an integrated maritime policy in the spirit of the preamble
of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea stating, inter alia, that ‘issues relating to the
law of the sea’ are to be settled ‘in a spirit of mutual understanding and cooperation’, that ‘the
problems of ocean space are closely interrelated and need to be considered as a whole’, that ‘interna-
tional communication’ should be facilitated, and that an ‘equitable and efficient utilisation of their
resources’ and ‘the conservation of their living resources, and the … protection and preservation of
the marine environment’ should be promoted;

a good European maritime policy has to take into account the complex and often divergent realities
existing within the different geographical areas of Europe, with special emphasis being given to the
diversity in nature and the availability of resources, as well as the extent of the utilisation, sustain-
ability and interaction thereof;

the seas and oceans represent a value for humanity in themselves and therefore their sustainable
exploitation and environmental protection should be objectives towards which the European Union
must work actively;

(1) OJ C 310 of 16.12.2004, p. 1.
(2) COM(2005) 12 final.
(3) CdR 84/2005.
(4) CdR 46/2006.
(5) OJ L 148 of 6.6.2002, p. 24.

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5.

regional and local authorities in particular in coastal areas have a broad range of experiences resulting
in a strong regional and local interest in the development of a future maritime policy;

unanimously adopted the following opinion at its 68th plenary session, held on 13 and 14 February
2007 (meeting of 13 February ):

1. Views of the Committee of the Regions

The Committee of the Regions

General considerations

1.1 welcomes the Green Paper which attempts to provide a
holistic outline of the main elements for establishing a common
maritime policy;

the holistic approach,

integrating major
1.2 welcomes
fisheries,
sectoral policies such as transport,
energy, environment and tourism in a common European Mari-
time Policy;

industry, ports,

1.3
acknowledges the Commission's view that this holistic
approach has to be mirrored in an integrated governance
approach on the European, national, regional and local level;

1.4
emphasises that the various aspects of the European
maritime policy must address the need for international coordi-
nation in this matter,
in order to ensure the effectiveness of
sustainable exploitation and environmental protection of the
seas and oceans;

1.5
supports the Green Paper's determination that the future
European maritime policy takes into account the criteria estab-
lished through the Lisbon Agenda and the Thematic Strategy on
the Protection and Conservation of the Marine Environment;

1.6 welcomes the broad and long lasting Commission
consultation process involving all relevant stakeholders and citi-
zens, whose views should be taken into account in the formula-
tion of the future European maritime policy;

1.7
acknowledges that importance is given to the collection
and transparent dissemination of information as a precondition
for the effective bringing together of diverse sectoral policies
and interests;

1.8
continues to offer to play a significant partnering role
in the ongoing consultation process launched by the Green
Paper and underlines the utility of a long-term publicity
campaign involving local and regional authorities
thereby
ensuring that the European citizens who will be most directly
affected by such a new policy not only understand what is being
proposed but are also encouraged to put forward their views,
ideas and concerns;

the

importance

appreciates

the
1.9
the regional dimension in the
Commission to the role of
management of maritime activities and underlines the relevance
of regional and local authorities in shaping and implementing
the future European maritime policy;

acknowledged by

believes there is a need to give due attention to
1.10
specific local, regional and eco-regional factors within the Euro-
pean larger and smaller sea basins such as the Baltic, the Black
Sea, the English Channel, the Mediterranean, the North Sea, and
the Northern Atlantic as well as the seas which surround the
the Atlantic Ocean and its African
EU's outermost regions:
coast, the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean, which are the seas
which give the EU its global presence;

1.11 welcomes with favour the view of the Commission
on the local and regional governments' role in the implementa-
tion of the principles and objectives established in the new
maritime policy and reaffirms its willingness to be associated
in the elaboration of the future policy priorities and be regularly
informed on the developments of such a policy;

Time for a second step towards the European maritime policy

1.12
underlines that this draft opinion addresses two basic
questions: ‘How can a new European maritime policy be imple-
mented?’ and ‘Is there an added value of a future integrated
approach versus the present sectoral maritime policy?’ that have
to be answered with priority;

Implementing the new European maritime policy

continues to consider that the overall objective of the
1.13
future EU maritime policy is to recognise and preserve the great
potential of Europe's seas and to design an active maritime
policy in such a way that future generations can also share in
the environmental, economic, biological and cultural wealth of
the sea;

1.14
sees the need for collecting and proper analysing suffi-
cient data and ensuring the access to information thereby
enabling policy makers and stakeholders to make sound deci-
sions based on a steadily improving scientific understanding,
drawing on excellence in marine research, technology and inno-
vation;

1.15
supports the participation of the relevant players from
the different sectoral policy areas concerned, and welcomes the
Commission's efforts towards making the general public more
aware of the importance of the maritime sector in general and
of this policy in particular;

considers that

1.16
European maritime policy should not hinder
progress of
should be developed in an environmentally sustainable way;

the implementation of an integrated
the parallel
the individual sectoral maritime policies, which

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1.17
stresses that a European maritime policy must be
defined and implemented on the basis of the principles of subsi-
diarity and proportionality;

1.18
supports the idea of European territorial pacts and
trusts that these pacts will make it possible to deliver the EU's
key political goals and priorities flexibly, effectively and on a
voluntary basis and to secure the effective management of
tripartite contracts and agreements as initially proposed by the
European Commission so as to arrive at solutions that reflect
grassroots concern;

1.19
favours the development of concrete measures for the
attainment of the major objectives described in the green paper
such as the wellbeing of
the
sustainable use of the maritime resources, the development of
good maritime governance and the increased awareness by
Europeans of the European maritime heritage, while preserving
the local and regional cultural diversity;

the people and communities,

1.20
considers that a European Maritime Action Plan with a
set of concrete bench marks including a three step approach
should be set up: for each bench mark to define an objective, a
detailed description and a proposal on implementation whereas
the latter should be ideally taken by 2008, and the proposals for
the financial measures by 2007.

2.1.5
to evaluate and coordinate specific strategy plans, along
the lines of those established within the Thematic Strategy on
the Protection and Conservation of the Marine Environment
advocating the setting up of wider marine regions, the specific
strategy plans for the European oceans, the North East Atlantic
ocean and the Arctic Ocean and the semi-enclosed larger and
smaller sea basins such as the Mediterranean, the Baltic, the
North Sea, the Black Sea and the English Channel, that are
suggested by the Commission to be prepared by the Member
States. HELCOM has already begun the work with an action
plan for the Baltic Sea, an ambitious and extensive project that
can be seen as a pilot-project or study for the Marine strategy,
which is why such a plan should be carried out in cooperation
with them;

to support thematic regional networks aimed at devel-
2.1.6
oping common projects in the field of transport, strengthening
and re-qualification of infrastructures, environmental protection,
coordination of the fisheries activities, and commercial coopera-
tion and to take the already existing fisheries councils into
account;

2.2 Sound data basis and maritime research

2. The Committee of the Regions' recommendations

The Committee of the Regions

2.2.1
to especially improve the regional data basis at the
regional and local level on the basis of GIS-related systems and
to include spatially integrated land and sea based data from
satellites, planes and buoys such as local sea levels, movement
of ships or climate data resulting in Ocean Monitoring systems;

requests the Commission to present a European Maritime
Action Plan which is to include the following actions:

2.1 Regional expertise for the maritime policy

2.1.1
to set up a catalogue of existing national, regional and
local best practice examples, particularly with regards to regional
economic clusters, research networking, public-private sector
cooperation, spatial planning and good governance and to
promote existing best practise examples and their transfer to
other regions or entities;

to encourage and support regions in the development
2.1.2
of such best practice examples and therewith to develop Euro-
pean centres of maritime excellence;

2.1.3
as major defining, implementing and evaluating entities;

to strengthen the role of the coastal regions and islands

2.1.4
to create a European maritime platform in which a
regular, efficient and resource-saving exchange of European,
national, regional and local best practice examples can be
supported and in which the Commission and the Committee of
the Regions are included;

to raise data on the economic and environmental
2.2.2
aspects of individual marine resources and the social
impact
thereof; to introduce a standardised European marine register
system;

2.2.3
to monitor fishery stocks in Community waters and
migratory species, and to apply a data collection model to the
exploitation of fishery stocks by encouraging the construction
of a telematics network for fish markets linked to databases;

to follow the proposal of setting up a European Marine
2.2.4
Observation and Data Network (EMODN) underlining the view
that this Network should be used to integrate existing and new
maritime data, thereby enabling a long-term monitoring and a
high quality risk assessment process, particularly with respect to
such issues as safety in maritime transport, natural resource
exploration and exploitation and protection of the marine envir-
onment and its biodiversity;

2.2.5
schemes much more in consideration;

to take the integrative approach within future research

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to support closer linkages among the existing European
2.2.6
research institutes towards a network of
‘European Oceans
Research Institutes’ in order to further encourage joint European
maritime research. This would provide for top quality maritime
research and make Europe a world leader in this field;

2.2.14
to encourage and promote research to identify para-
meters to help define the level of environmental and social
sustainability of all human activities (fisheries, aquaculture,
sport, tourism and leisure, transport, energy etc.) involving use
of maritime resources;

to pool

2.2.7
research vessels and large-scale equipment
within a European Maritime research network for uniformity of
measuring systems, cost effectiveness and quality improvement
and to support this approach by a joint procurement that could
be promoted through the European Investment Bank;

to support the use of the renewable sources of energy
2.2.8
identified in the Green Paper,
inter alia offshore wind energy
and wave energy, provided that they are compatible with other
socio-economic and environmental activities and interests, and
including further research and innovation in this sector;

2.2.9
and gas fields;

to explore CO2 sequestation in exhausted marine oil

2.3 European excellence in maritime economy to be further developed

2.3.1
to put forward a strategy on how the European Union
will hold and extend market shares within individual maritime
economy sections in the world wide competition taking sustain-
ability, cost and technology factors into account;

in detail

to work out

2.3.2
individual
economy sections (e.g. energy, transport, tourism, fisheries and
blue biotechnology and shipbuilding) are currently supporting
European competitiveness and innovation, especially in view of
the goals and priorities established in the Lisbon Agenda;

to what extent

2.3.3
extent these individual economy sectors will contribute

to present scientific data on whether and to what

2.2.10
to strengthen efforts in respect of the development of
scientific and technological breakthroughs in the field of marine
research,
such as blue biotechnology, navigational guiding
systems and tourist activities, thereby addressing present and
potential
future threats particularly with regards to climate
change, dwindling fish stocks, unsustainable tourism and the
changing demographic patterns within coastal populations, and
consequently to formulate and promote easily accessible incen-
tives promoting research and development in such spheres of
activity;

a. to increase the European competitiveness in the future,

b. to create more jobs in the future European labour market,

c. to use resources and to enhance efficiency of this use,

d. to the further integration of these economic sectors;

in the field of sustainable fish farming,

to formulate incentives to promote research and
2.2.11
development
laying
down production protocols to which producers must adhere, in
the conviction that fish constitutes a key basic foodstuff and in
view of the fact that fish farming is a highly resource-intensive
process;

2.2.12
to intensify the analysis of potential threats to the
European marine environment particularly through climate
change and the ensuing rise in sea levels as well as in moni-
toring the tectonic activity beneath sea level, and to identify
adequate responses thereto;

2.2.13
production protocols for organic acquaculture;

to encourage the implementation and development of

to encourage the further development of the interface
2.3.4
between research and industry, in particular maritime clusters.
The establishment of a European maritime cluster conference
could serve as an ideal forum in which marine scientists and
industry can meet and interact on a regular basis;

2.3.5
to strengthen the role of transport in the framework of
the future maritime policy, against the background that trans-
port is one of the most important and cross-cutting maritime
activities;

2.3.6
to support the notion of the identification of motor-
ways of the sea, noting that this ambitious project will increase
the volume of maritime traffic in European seas and oceans by
their completion in 2010. For this reason, asks Commission to
spur Member States to implement a more attentive environ-
mental monitoring of the state of pollution on the main mari-
time routes and thinks that the new GMES technology could be
successfully employed for this purpose;

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2.3.7
to reinvigorate the efforts for completing the sea term-
inals, starting from those with clear inter-modal characteristics
against
the realisation of some TEN-T
projects affecting the maritime dimension are lagging behind;

the background that

to facilitate the further development of off shore wind
2.3.15
farms in the EU.
i.e. to foster projects showing up solutions
dealing with the difficulties of multiple responsibilities on the
national, regional and local level especially for the cable lines or
with combined uses e.g. wind turbines and mussel farms;

to improve port infrastructure and transport links with
2.3.8
the islands, specifying and implementing the necessary measures
so as to include the outermost regions, and to ensure their
access to continental markets, whilst ensuring that the frequency
and pricing of maritime goods and passenger transport services,
both with the continent and between islands within the same
archipelago, are acceptable, and to step up the development of
secondary networks in such a way that islands and, in particular,
the outermost regions are fully connected to the ‘motorways of
the sea’ without unnecessary delays;

2.3.9
to continue to work together with Member States and
improve and develop shipping
marine regions to strengthen,
routes and to ensure that they are given proper consideration as
part of the trans-European networks;

2.3.10
tages for the setting up of a common European flag;

to forward a study on the advantages and disadvan-

to strengthen the role of

2.3.11
the strategic ports as a
priority for the development of the future maritime policy and
to commission a study on the inter-connections
in parallel
between major and secondary ports and on the possible deloca-
lisation and de-concentration of certain port activities towards
smaller centres;

2.3.12
to set up a network of European maritime vocational
schools for improving training and education of seafarers and
formalising career paths as a tool for ensuring that Europe is
equipped with a professional and qualified workforce and to
forward a proposal for education and life long learning in all
maritime sectors not only on sea;

to urgently forward a proposal on the development of
2.3.16
new technological breakthroughs in the field of other renewable
ocean energy sources, such as tidal flows or oceans streaming in
which spheres of activity the EU could develop a strategic
leadership at the global level;

2.3.17
to regulate the extraction activities of traditional mari-
time energy resources such as oil and gas on the basis of well
defined environmental security standards and to implement
effective monitoring of such activities;

2.3.18
to develop scenarios for coastal protection measures
that may be necessary, based on the various forecasts for the
rise in sea levels and changing weather conditions; existing
scenarios like those set up from the Wadden Sea Forum should
be considered;

2.3.19
able exploitation of shared fishery stocks (migratory species);

to foster international agreements to ensure sustain-

2.3.20
systems which,
destruction of Posidonia oceanica plantlife;

to implement research projects to develop anchoring
in areas of particular value, can prevent the

to establish a coastal public structure integrating tasks
2.3.21
such as environment inspectorates, frontier control, sea rescue
services, fisheries inspectorates, health assistance, civil protec-
tion, for people working at sea;

2.4 Marine environment to be protected for future generations

2.3.13
to ensure the existence and enforcement of Europe
wide minimum standards for employment and working condi-
tions in maritime transport and all other maritime sectors and
to prevent any abusive practices;

2.4.1
to show how the existing environment can be success-
fully protected and restored as well as to define and to imple-
ment protection criteria at a common European level and to
ensure the quality of coastal and off shore ecosystems and habi-
tats;

2.3.14
to develop a new framework for the establishment of
a coordinated approach towards a sustainable maritime tourism
in the EU, especially reflecting the needs of the regions, noting
that maritime tourism is one on the strongest contributors to
maritime economies with excellent growth potentials but which
is also a contributor to the increase in coastal pollution, the
unsustainable use of resources and the deterioration of
the
natural coastal environment;

2.4.2
to further clarify how the Thematic Strategy for the
Marine Environment and the Marine Strategy directive will be
integrated in the future overall maritime policy, keeping in view
the revised time frames suggested by the Committee of the
Regions.
In order to be as efficient as possible, these time
frames should be coordinated with other major EU programs
like the structural and the agricultural funds;

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2.4.3
to coordinate and assist the marine regions in identi-
fying ways for the successful protection of the existing environ-
ment and in particularly in establishing trans-regional and/or
trans-national marine protection zones and developing concrete
proposals for the significant reduction of radioactive discharges,
of pollution caused by ships (in particular the gases emitted,
discharges and ballast water, as the latter can contribute to the
introduction of alien species) and of the damage caused by
human activity to marine habitats of special interest referred to
in the Habitats Directive, and to support efforts ensuring the
quality of coastal and off shore ecosystems and habitats, also
keeping in view the significant impact which economic activity
can have on the state of the marine environment, particularly
through the discharge of nutrients into the sea;

to work out in detail where and how environmental
2.4.4
friendly technology can replace standard technologies and to
provide financial incentives and assistance programmes encoura-
ging and facilitating such a shift;

2.4.5
to intensify the pressure on, and to seek legal sanction
against, those who are in breach of legal requirements and stan-
dards particularly with respect to the illegal dumping of waste at
sea,
illegal fishing, or the illegal transportation of persons or
goods;

2.5 Funding and legal instruments

funds,

to prepare a catalogue of existing individual funding
2.5.1
i.e. the
instruments for maritime policies at European level,
structural
the European Agricultural Fund for Rural
Development Regulation, the European Fisheries Fund, the life-
the 7th Community Framework
long learning fund or
Programme for Research & Development and to study their
effectiveness with a view of determining whether such instru-
ments need to be simplified or better advertised;

2.5.2
time sector already funded by the Commission;

to present a compendium of those projects in the mari-

2.5.3
schemes (from 2014 onwards) much more in consideration;

to take the integrative approach within future funding

to examine the option of revising the EU financial
2.5.4
system towards one single simplified system for all or most of
the maritime issues within a European Coastal and Island fund;

to provide financial support

for areas of particular
2.5.5
biological, environmental and architectural value experiencing
severe problems, whose economies depend largely on maritime
activities;

2.4.6
to better secure maritime routes and investigate the
possibility to introduce mandatory pilotage for oil tankers and
other ships with dangerous cargo and to investigate the possibi-
lity to introduce general mandatory pilotage in narrow shipping
passages;

2.5.6
to review the existing EU legal framework from a more
maritime perspective and to address bottlenecks and missing
links in the integration potential of policies, and the better regu-
lation of the existing legal framework;

to support initiatives aimed at upgrading or improving
2.4.7
port facilities for reception of oily waters and to favour techno-
logical innovations in shipping and the handling of oil, also in
order to prevent the introduction of invasive exotic species;

to devise and apply specific financial

instruments in
2.5.7
areas of high environmental and cultural value,
typified by
small-scale inshore fishing, sometimes combined with family-
type farming, where existing financial
instruments cannot be
applied because their economic and size-related requirements
are not met by such small-scale undertakings;

2.4.8
to support and encourage international agreements to
conserve commercially viable fish stocks of highly migratory
species, in the awareness that applying conservation measures
to Community fleets alone has no appreciable effect for the
purposes of protection;

2.4.9
to facilitate the establishment of a network of protected
European maritime zones and of a monitoring network, particu-
larly between the Member States of the European Union and
neighbouring countries,
to promote exchanges of
experience and best practices in the management field;

in order

to introduce financial

2.5.8
instruments for coastal regions
and islands to help offset the costs incurred in actions carried
out by such regions in upholding the general
interest of the
European Union, particularly in tackling drugs and people traf-
immigration and marine pollution and super-
ficking,
vising Exclusive Economic Zones;

illegal

2.5.9
mentation of international law on the basis of UNCLOS;

to develop further international cooperation and imple-

2.6 Integration of the maritime space including islands, the hinter-

land, peripheral and outermost regions

to support initiatives for the establishment of proto-
2.4.10
cols for the management and handling of ballast water from
ships, as this can be a source of
the introduction of alien
species, which can contribute to a loss of marine biodiversity;

to explore how spatial planning and integrated coastal
2.6.1
zone management can be successfully applied, highlighting the
special case of islands, to support the integration of sectoral
policies in areas that might be required for different uses;

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2.6.2
for the
to develop a strong geography-related tool
maritime sector of an instrument similar to the land-based
INSPIRE spatial information system;

to help overcome the seasonable nature of their economies;
these would include cultural tourism, nautical tourism, social
tourism or rural tourism, amongst others;

2.6.3
European coastguard service,
with the different marine regions;

to urgently address the need for the setting up of a
identifying the particular needs

(i)

towards

in the short

to identify ways for the better use of EU financial
2.6.4
instruments
term assisting those
Member States or Regions that are directly affected by the ever-
growing wave of illegal immigration, and (ii) in the longer term
to assist
third countries to attain a level of political and
economic development thereby stemming the demand for their
nationals to seek illegal entry into EU territory. In this context,
supports
the European Parliament's Budgets Committee
proposal for the setting up of an Agency specifically responsible
for tackling the issue of illegal migration and asylum seeking by
third country nationals, which is to be situated in Malta;

2.6.5
to offer greater levels of support to regional and local
authorities in addition to the national authorities in managing
new migrants once they are on their territory;

to take into consideration the inland dimension and
2.6.6
the interactions between inland areas,
inland waterways and
rivers, coastal areas and the sea, thereby making the various
existing linkages transparent;

2.6.7
to ensure further development and implementation of
the highest standards of ship safety in European waters to avoid
shipping accidents on the high seas,
in coastal areas and in
ports;

to include specific programmes and measures for outer-
2.6.8
most regions and islands, given their particular conditions and
difficulties, particularly in such spheres of activity as

a. the preservation of the fishing industry, through the sustain-
reserves, by
able management and exploitation of
adopting measures aimed at renovating and modernising its
fishing fleets and by promoting actions in support of small-
scale and coastal fishing;

its

b. the strengthening of the tourism economy through alterna-
tive forms of high-quality and sustainable ‘maritime tourism’

Brussels, 13 February 2007.

c. and the management and control of the environmental pres-
sures associated therewith, by implementing environmental
management plans in order to preserve islands' coastlines
and the quality of their waters and to improve the manage-
ment of their waste;

d. and the better establishment of communication and trans-

portation links with the mainland;

2.6.9
to develop short- to medium-term strategies to curb
the increasing abuse of Europe's oceans and seas, not least with
respect to the illegal trafficking of human beings into Europe;

2.6.10
to analyse the operational disadvantages arising from
the varying degrees of remoteness of maritime regions, drawing
up maritime transport policies based on the concept of cohe-
sion, in order to improve the integration of these regions into
Europe;

2.6.11
to promote practical trials of integrated management
of coastal areas through which organisational structures and
procedures can be set up and promoted involving mechanisms
for coordination between governments, as well as to promote
social participation in the adoption of decisions affecting coastal
areas;

2.7 Public awareness and maritime heritage

to include a proposal

to systematically raise public
2.7.1
the maritime issue within an ongoing process
awareness of
including aspects of the common maritime tradition, culture
and identity in Europe;

2.7.2
to forward a proposal on how the maritime dimension
could be integrated within the upcoming European year of the
intercultural dialogue 2008;

for the purpose of

2.7.3
to
develop a systematic strategy for a modern maritime policy in
order to have it firmly embedded at grassroots level and to
ensure its actual implementation.

improving public awareness,

The President

of the Committee of the Regions

Michel DELEBARRE