Communication from the Commission to the Council the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions - Towards the integration of maritime surveillance: A common information sharing environment for the EU maritime domain {SEC(2009) 1341}
Date: 2009-10-15
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: computer system, cross-border cooperation, external border of the EU, information system, maritime area, maritime surveillance, transmission network

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 15.10.2009 
COM(2009)538 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL THE 
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

Towards the integration of maritime surveillance: 

A common information sharing environment for the EU maritime domain 

{SEC(2009) 1341} 

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TOWARDS THE INTEGRATION OF MARITIME SURVEILLANCE: 

A COMMON INFORMATION SHARING ENVIRONMENT FOR THE EU MARITIME 
DOMAIN 

1. 

INTRODUCTION 

In  its  Communication  on  the  Integrated  Maritime  Policy  for  the  European  Union,  the 
European  Commission  undertook  to  "take  steps  towards  a  more  interoperable  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."1 

The  General  Affairs  Council  of  8  December  2008,  encouraged  the  Commission  to  work 
towards interoperability between national and Community systems so as to increase the cost 
effectiveness  of  maritime  surveillance  operations.  This  approach  towards  further  integration 
of maritime surveillance was confirmed in the roadmap for the development of the European 
Border Surveillance System (EUROSUR), which foresees the gradual creation of a Common 
Information  Sharing  Environment  for  the  EU  maritime  domain,2  as  well  as  in  the  recent 
updating of the Community vessel traffic monitoring and information system3. 

The aim of integrated maritime surveillance is to generate a situational awareness of activities 
at  sea  impacting  on  maritime  safety  and  security,  border  control,  the  marine  environment, 
fisheries control, trade and economic interests of the European Union as well as general law 
enforcement and defence so as to facilitate sound decision making.  

Maritime situational awareness is the effective understanding of activity associated with the 
maritime  domain  that  could  impact  the  security,  safety,  economy,  or  environment  of  the 
European Union and its Member States. On the basis of clearly defined user needs and rights, 
it  assists  the  authorities  responsible  for  monitoring  and  surveillance  activities  in  preventing 
and  managing  in  a  comprehensive  way  all  such  situations,  events  and  actions  related  to  the 
EU maritime domain. 

The EU maritime domain encompasses the EU Member States' Territorial waters, Exclusive 
Economic  Zones  and  Continental  Platforms  as  defined  by  the  1982  United  Nations 
Convention on Law of the Sea as well as all maritime-related activities carried out therein, on 
the seabed, subsurface, surface and above the sea such as installations, cargo, small boats and 
vessels flagged, owned, managed by or bound to the EU. Beyond the above, it also comprises 
any Search and Rescue Area and any Area of Operations that has been designated for an EU 
Maritime Operation under civil or military authority.4 

1 
2 
3 

4 

COM (2007) 575 final of 10.10.2007 
COM(2008) 68 final of 13.2.2008, 9. 
Directive  2009/17/EC  amending  Directive  2002/59/EC  establishing  a  Community  monitoring  and 
information system, OJ L131, 28 5 2009, 101. Equally relevant is Regulation (EC) No 725/2004 of 31 
March 2004 on enhancing ship and port facility security, OJ L129, 29.4.2004, 6. 
While all of the areas included in the ‘EU Maritime Domain’ have a direct or indirect impact on EU 
policy and interests, not all of them are subject to EU competence. 

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There is a clear need to share maritime surveillance information. Different sectoral authorities 
dealing  with  monitoring  and  surveillance  of  actions  at  sea  gather  data  and  operational 
information so as to establish the best possible maritime awareness picture for their own use. 
For  many  user  communities,  at  present,  this  picture  does  not  include  complementary 
information gathered by other sectoral users due to the lack of mutual exchange. Developing 
the  necessary  means  to  allow  for  such  data  and  information  exchange  should  enhance  the 
different  users'  awareness  picture.  Such  enhanced  pictures  will  increase  the  efficiency  of 
Member States' authorities and improve cost effectiveness.  

The objective of this Communication is to set out guiding principles for the development of a 
common  information  sharing  environment  for  the  EU  maritime  domain  and  to  launch  a 
process  towards  its  establishment.  To  achieve  this,  enhanced  coordination  and  coherence 
between  the  European  Commission,  the  Member  States  and  those  interlocutors  whom  the 
European defence community may indicate for this purpose, should be established. 

2. 

CHALLENGES 

The  following  challenges  are  currently  being  faced  with  regard  to  the  development  of  a 
common information sharing environment for the EU maritime domain: 

Diverse  user  and  operator  communities:  Both  at  national  level  and  at  EU  level,  national 
authorities  responsible  for  defence,  border  control,  customs,  marine  pollution,  fisheries 
control,  maritime  safety  and  security,  vessel  traffic  management,  accident  and  disaster 
response,  search  and  rescue  as  well  as  law  enforcement  are  collecting  information  for  their 
own purposes. 

While the technological means exist to share this information in a meaningful manner, most 
of  the  information  needed  to  build  up  this  maritime  situational  awareness  is  still  being 
collected by numerous sectoral systems at national, EU and international level. 

While in some cases the involved authorities are unaware that similar information is collected 
by  other  authorities  and  systems,  in  other  cases  they  are  aware  but  unable  to  share  this 
information  with  one  another  because  information  sharing  standards,  agreements,  policies 
regarding information exchange processes currently exist only in certain user communities. 

Diverse legal frameworks: The different maritime surveillance activities fall under each of the 
three  pillars  of  the  EU.  Surveillance  systems  have  been  developed  on  the  basis  of  sector-
specific,  international  and  EU  legislation.  Regardless  of  the  given  EU  framework,  nothing 
should prevent the Member States to integrate their maritime surveillance activities.  

Cross  border  threats:  Threats  faced  by  Member  States  in  the  EU  maritime  domain  often 
require  an  improved  trans-national  and  sometimes  even  a  trans-sectoral  approach,  in 
particular with regard to the high seas. 

Specific  legal  provisions:  International  and  EU  legislation  frame  maritime  surveillance 
activities  on  the  high  seas  and  with  regard  to  the  processing  of  personal,  confidential  or 
classified data.  

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3. 

SCOPE 

Given  the  challenges  identified  above,  the  definition  and  implementation  process  for  the 
establishment of the common information sharing environment can only be successful in full 
consultation and coordination with all the relevant user and operator communities and in full 
respect  of  the  principle  of  subsidiarity.  Neighbouring  third  countries  should  be  involved, 
whenever deemed appropriate. 

The  different  components  of  the  Common  Information  Sharing  Environment  shall  be 
understood as follows: 

– 

– 

– 

– 

'Common':  As  the  information  is  to  be  shared  between  the  different  user 
communities, data used for this information should be collected only once. 

'Information'  must  enable  user-defined  situational  awareness.  Coming  from 
disparate  user  communities,  information  should  be  identifiable,  accessible, 
understandable  and  usable.  Processing  such  information  with  the  appropriate 
security safeguards must be ensured. 

'Sharing'  means  that  each  community  receives  but  also  provides  information 
on the basis of previously agreed standards and procedures. 

'Environment'  refers  to  interconnected  sectoral  information  systems  that 
allows for users to build up their specific situational awareness pictures, which 
enable them to identify trends and detect anomalies and threats. 

The establishment of the common information sharing environment should ensure: 

Interoperability:  Ways  and  means  have  to  be  found  to  enable  the  exchange  of  information 
between  sectoral  systems  both  operational5  and  those  currently  being  developed  by  the 
European  Union  and  its  Member  States  supported  by  EU  agencies  such  as  EMSA,  CFCA, 
FRONTEX and EDA.6 This requires that existing and future standards, interconnections, non-
technical  processes  and  procedures  are  developed  and  established  enabling  information 
sharing  and  the  protection  of  information  shared  on  the  basis  of  agreed  access  rights.  This 
should  also  lead  to  improved  interoperability  between  sectoral  systems  within  a  Member 
State. 

Improving  situational  awareness:  The  information  obtained  in  this  environment  should 
considerably improve the situational awareness within the EU and the Member States. 

Efficiency:  Furthermore,  this  environment  should  also  contribute  to  a  unity  of  effort  across 
entities with maritime interests by avoiding duplications in the collection of information and 
thereby  considerably  reducing  the  financial  costs  for  all  actors  involved.  In  time,  a  multi 
purpose approach could be envisaged when using surveillance tools and assets from different 
user communities. 

5 
6 

E.g. SafeSeaNet, CleanseaNet, EU LRIT Data Centre operated by EMSA. 
A  glossary  of  terms  and  acronyms  is  to  be  found  in  a  Commission  Staff  working  document 
accompanying this Communication. 

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Subsidiarity: The vast majority of monitoring and surveillance activities at sea are carried out 
under  the  responsibility  of  Member  States.  Following  the  principle  of  subsidiarity,  Member 
States are responsible for coordinating the collection and verification of information from all 
their  agencies,  administrations  and  national  operators,  preferably  via  a  single  national 
coordination  mechanism.  Member  States  will  also,  where  applicable,  manage  third  party 
access  rights,  qualify  the  information  and  data  security  levels,  and  approve  and  control  the 
selective dissemination and data security mechanisms. 

4. 

GUIDING  PRINCIPLES  FOR  THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  A  COMMON  INFORMATION 
SHARING ENVIRONMENT FOR THE EU MARITIME DOMAIN 

4.1. 

Principle 1: An approach interlinking all user communities 

The  common  information  sharing  environment  should  enable  Member  States'  authorities  to 
make a more efficient use of maritime surveillance information. Common rules and standards 
should be developed at Community level to optimise the exchange of information between the 
different  user  communities.  Each  of  these  communities  should  be  given  the  possibility  to 
provide  and/or  receive  information  at  national  level  from  international7,  regional8, 
Community9,  military10,  and  internal  security  systems  and  mechanisms11  on  a  need-to-know 
basis,  in  line  with  conditions  of  use  and  defined  user  access  rights,  in  order  to  build  up  its 
individual user-defined situational picture. 

4.1.1. 

Issues to be considered 

(1) 

A  flexible  information  sharing  environment:  While  the  common  information  sharing 
environment has to be sufficiently secure, it should also be flexible enough to adapt to 
new users' needs and situations. This situation points to the need to enable each user 
community  participating  in  the  common  information  sharing  environment  to  have 
access to as much information as possible, so as to build up an individual situational 
picture  that  meets  its  operational  requirements.  Such  a  need  has  been  identified  for 
instance in the Frontex joint operations to prevent illegal activities at the southern EU 
external borders.  

(2) 

Providing  comprehensive information for better decision making: Improved  decision 
making capacity can only be achieved if all communities contribute. For instance, the 
information exchange must be two-directional between civilian authorities and defence 
forces, while respecting information security related rules.  

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11 

E.g. AIS, LRIT.   
E.g. BSRBCC, BSBC. 
E.g. SafeSeaNet, EU LRIT Data Centre, CleanSeaNet, VMS, EUROSUR. 
E.g. MSSIS, VR-MTC, SUCBAS. 
E.g. MAOC-N, CeCLAD, FRONTEX Information System. 

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4.1.2.  Recommendations 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

No data duplication: Traffic monitoring data should be disseminated only once via the 
Safe-Sea-Net system12. This same data could then be made available to all recognized 
users  including  the  defence  community  in  accordance  with  the  existing  legal 
framework at EU level or though its modification as appropriate. 

Interoperability across EU user communities: EU military forces’ support to civilian 
led  maritime  safety  and  security,  including  disaster  response  missions,  requires  an 
improvement  in  interoperability  and  connectivity  of  all  relevant  actors  at  national 
level.  

National coordination: Enhanced governance of maritime surveillance related matters 
should be achieved first of all at national level. Towards this end, it is recommended 
that  authorities  already  identified  as  sectoral  information  hubs  should  serve  as 
interfaces in the common information sharing environment. 

International  and  regional  cooperation:  Whilst  building  up  interfaces  between  the 
different maritime surveillance systems within the EU, due care should be given to the 
potential  of  sharing  selected  parts  of  information  with  third  countries.  Issues  of 
security  and  reciprocity  of  such  information  should  also  be  considered.  The  five 
regional  sea  basins  (Baltic,  North,  Atlantic,  Mediterranean  and  Black  Seas)  and  the 
Outermost Regions all represent a wide area with specific threats. Further efforts are 
needed to adequately respond to these threats. 

4.2. 

Principle  2:  Building  a  technical  framework  for  interoperability  and  future 
integration 

Building a 'Common Information Sharing Environment' for the EU 'maritime domain' may be 
best  achieved  through  a  non-hierarchical  technical  framework  of  maritime  monitoring  and 
surveillance systems. Such architecture should be designed as a cost effective interaction of 
different  information  layers  to  enable  the  improvement  of  user  defined  pictures.  The  system 
architecture  must  allow  data  to  be  inter  alia collected, merged, analysed, disseminated and 
managed  at  the  appropriate  level  of  decentralisation,  depending  on  security  concerns 
(e.g. intelligence) and in compliance with data protection regulations, international rules and 
functional requirements. Best use should be made of existing systems. 

4.2.1. 

Issues to be considered 

(1) 

Interoperability and interconnection of systems: Instead of putting all the information 
together into a single database, each user community, should make its data accessible 
to other user communities who need it and are authorised to receive it. Thus, each user 
community should become a publisher of its own information as well as a subscriber 
to the information published by the other user communities on a need-to-know basis. 
The  architecture  should  make  the  information  usable  through  common  standards, 

12 

Council directive 2002/59 as amended by 2009/17 article 22 a 

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(2) 

(3) 

enable all users to trust the information they are receiving, whilst maintaining access 
to authorised users only. 

Use of  a Community based  system: For certain categories of information, it is easier 
and  more  cost-efficient  to  collect  and  disseminate  the  data  in  a  centralised  manner. 
The Community system SafeSeaNet should be used by all relevant user communities 
and be developed further to function as the main platform for information exchange in 
the  EU  maritime  domain  with  regard  to  port  arrival  and  departure  notifications, 
notifications  on  dangerous  goods,  maritime  security  notifications,  incident  and 
accident  information,  AIS,  LRIT  and  pollution  monitoring.  The  management  and 
future  evolution  of  this  system  is  carried  out  by  the  Commission,  assisted  by  the 
SafeSeaNet High Level Steering Group, as defined by Directive 2002/59/EC. 

Use of sectoral systems for the sharing of classified information: However, for certain 
categories  of  information  such  as  classified,  security-sensitive  data  (e.g.  intelligence 
related  to  internal  security  and  defence),  a  sectoral  approach  needs  to  be  pursued  to 
safeguard  the  security  interests  of  the  concerned  user  communities  or  recipients.  In 
principle, such information should be exchanged on a need-to-know basis only within 
the  relevant  user  community.  If  needed  and  as  appropriate,  this  information  can  be 
shared with other user communities or recipients at national level in accordance with 
legislation, as well as with other Member States using Community-based systems.  

(4) 

Regional approaches: Member States should consider whether to develop a capacity 
to  elaborate  a  joint  situational  awareness  of  legal  and  illegal  activities  at  sea  which 
would contribute to an improved regional reaction capability.  

4.2.2.  Recommendations 

(1) 

Technical  framework:  While  fully  taking  into  account  the  competences  of  national 
authorities  as  established  by  national  and  Community  legislation,  such  architecture 
should be designed as a cost effective interconnection of different information layers 
based on interoperability and common standards. These layers should provide the user 
with  the  best  technical  solution  for  information  access,  powerful  data  mining, 
correlation  processes  and  harmonised  criteria  for  detection  of  normal  and  abnormal 
patterns. For this purpose, interoperable data models and standards on the handling of 
data have to be agreed upon, and, secure communication lines have to be established 
between relevant data users based on pre-defined access rights. 

Example of information layers (non-hierarchical): 

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COMMON INFORMATION 
COMMON INFORMATION 
SHARING ENVIRONMENT
SHARING ENVIRONMENT

NATIONAL 
AUTHORITIES

Maritime 
authority

Fishery control

Internal security

Defence

Information
sharing

?

INFORMATION 
LAYERS

SAFESEANET

VMS

EUROSUR

PT MARSUR

User-defined COP

The  collection,  fusion,  analysis  and  dissemination  of  information  could  be  carried  out  as 
follows: 

– 

– 

– 

– 

Collection: The multiple collection of information to be disseminated, e.g. by 
military and civil authorities, can be avoided by using the same tools (ground 
based, satellite, sensors). 

Fusion: Fusion of data can fill information gaps and reduce the uncertainty in 
information received from various sources. 

Analysis: Security sensitive analysis should be carried out separately. 

Dissemination:  The  right  information  should  be  moved  to  the  right  decision 
maker  at 
information  requires  appropriate 
permissions. 

time.  Access 

the  right 

to 

(2) 

(3) 

Interoperability  and  common  standards:  The  architecture  also  calls  for  the  best 
technical solution for service synchronisation, data quality and standard methodologies 
for vocabulary and data exchange building-up on best practices. This is of fundamental 
importance  to  ensure  coherence  between  EU  actions  and  those  undertaken  by  our 
neighbours, particularly in shared regional seas.  

EU  Agencies:  Relevant  EU  Agencies  play  an  important  supportive  and  coordinative 
role  within  their  user  community.  They  could  also  serve  as  hubs  for  the  information 
exchange as appropriate.  

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4.3. 

Principle 3: Information exchange between civilian and military authorities 

Surveillance information should be shared between civilian and military authorities to avoid 
duplications  and  to  be  cost  effective.  Whilst  recognising  their  distinct  purposes  and 
underlying mandates, this requires common standards and procedures for access to and use 
of the relevant information to allow for a two-directional information exchange. 

4.3.1. 

Issues to be considered 

(1) 

(2) 

In  respect  of  the  missions  and  competences  of  national,  regional  or  international 
authorities  as  established  by  national  and  Community  legislation,  the  support  of 
Member  States’  military  forces  to  civilian-led  maritime  safety  and  internal  security 
missions is important and requires improved interoperability and connectivity between 
all  relevant  actors.  Similarly,  civilian  generated  data  can  be  of  assistance  to  military 
operations. 

The enforcement of national and Community legislation requires rules and capabilities 
to  operate  on  the  High  Seas.  Technology  such  as  the  gathering  and  analysis  of  high 
resolution  satellite  images,  air  patrolling,  the  operation  of  unmanned  platforms,  the 
detection  and  analysis  of  underwater  sounds,  which  so  far  are  typical  defence 
capabilities, are increasingly perceived as being valuable for civilian use. Conversely, 
civilian  user  communities  can  provide  the  defence  community  with  a  large 
contribution of relevant information on the basis of the Common Information Sharing 
Environment to the Recognized Maritime Picture. 

4.3.2.  Recommendations 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

Enhanced  coordination:  To  achieve  the  afore-mentioned  goals  in  developing  the 
common information sharing environment, a close coordination between the European 
Commission, the Member States and those interlocutors whom the European defense 
community  may  indicate  for  this  purpose,  should  be  established.  Translating  this 
enhanced coordination into policy orientations will be done in full respect of each user 
community's legal framework. 

Better use of surveillance tools across communities: Authorised civilian and military 
users should be enabled to task and to receive data from European surveillance tools 
for the purpose of maritime surveillance. At the technical level, this requires common 
rules to share, compile and present this information to individual users, as necessary. 

Space generated data: Europe is committed to the development of its own operational 
capability for Earth observation through the Global Monitoring for Environment and 
Security  program  (GMES).  Improvement  of  maritime  situational  awareness  using 
space assets can support operations carried out by civilian and military authorities such 
as monitoring of maritime traffic, sea pollution and the fight against illegal activities at 
sea.  Already  today,  the  use  of  space  observation  for  monitoring  marine  pollution  is 
part  of  the  CleanSeaNet  system  operated  by  EMSA.  These  issues  are  also  being 
addressed by GMES, contributing to security applications in the fields of surveillance 
of EU maritime external borders and support to EU external action. 

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4.4. 

Principle 4: Specific legal provisions 

Obstacles to the exchange of monitoring and surveillance data for the purpose of setting up a 
common information sharing environment should be identified in EU and national legislation. 
In removing these obstacles, due consideration must be given inter alia to the respect of data 
confidentiality, intellectual property rights issues and the protection of personal data as well 
as ownership of data in accordance with national and international law. 

4.4.1. 

Issues to be considered 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

Processing of personal data: The different activities referred to in the previous sections 
may involve the processing of personal data. The principles of personal data protection 
law  applicable  in  the  European  Union  are  to  be  observed  in  the  framework  of  the 
common  information  sharing  environment13.  Personal  data  should  be  collected  for  a 
legitimate  purpose,  used  and  transferred  for  a  purpose  that  is  compatible  with  the 
initial purpose of collection. 

Confidentiality  requirements:  It  appears  that  a  significant  amount  of  maritime 
reporting and surveillance data is qualified and/or has to be treated as (commercially) 
confidential. As regards confidentiality, the basic obstacle is the explicit nature of the 
confidentiality  provisions  in  some  of  the key  instruments  relevant  to  monitoring  and 
surveillance. As a consequence, the processing and the onward transfer of this type of 
data will need to ensure that recipients of the data are equally bound by confidentiality 
and  professional  secrecy  obligations,  as  is  the  case  with  the  current  provisions  for 
LRIT. 

Civil/military data sharing: With regard to a possible  information and data exchange 
between  different  authorities  (including  military  authorities),  it  has  to  be  further 
examined  how  the  integrity  of  classified  information,  confidential  business  data, 
information related to criminal investigations and the protection of personal data can 
be guaranteed. 

4.4.2.  Recommendations: 

(1) 

For  the  sake  of  the  legal  security  of  all  the  actors  involved,  it  is  proposed  that  any 
mechanism  aiming  at  the  cross-border  exchange  of  data  from  various  existing 
databases is made subject to a clear legal framework on a need-to-know basis, defining 
at  least  the  nature  of  the  data  involved,  the  capability  of  the  data  providers,  the 
purposes (and the methods) of the exchange and the potential recipients of the data, as 
well  as  incorporating  the  necessary  safeguards  with  regard  to  the  confidentiality  and 
security  of  (certain)  data  and  the  protection  of  personal  data,  where  this  may  be 

13 

Directive  95/46/EC  on  the  protection  of  individuals  with  regard  to  the  processing  of  personal  data  and  on  the  free  movement  of  such  data  (OJ  L  281, 

23.11.1995, 31) and national provisions implementing it; Regulation (EC) 45/2001 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal 

data by the Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data, (OJ L 8, 12.1.2001, 1); Council of Europe Convention for the Protection 

of Individuals with regard to the Automatic Processing of Personal  Data of 28 January 1981 (ETS 108). The Convention is supplemented by the Additional 

Protocol  to  the  Convention  regarding  supervisory  authorities  and  trans-border  data  flows  (ETS  181,  8  November  2001)  and  the  Council  of  Europe 
Recommendation No. R(87) 15 of 17 September 1987 regulating the use of personal data in the police sector. 

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relevant  and  taking  into  account  existing  legal  provisions  and  operational  systems  at 
EU level.  

(2) 

The  processing  of  personal  data  for  military,  State  security  and  criminal  law 
enforcement  currently  remains  outside  of  the  general  legal  framework  for  data 
protection. However, data protection may be addressed on an ad hoc basis in specific 
legal instruments in these fields, both at Community and Member State level.14 As a 
consequence, additional safeguards will be required in case it would be envisaged to 
share  personal  data  between  authorities  falling  within  the  scope  of  the  existing  legal 
framework  for  data  protection  (e.g.  fisheries  authorities)  and  authorities  (currently) 
falling outside that scope (e.g. military, state security authorities). 

5. 

LOOKING AHEAD 

The  Guiding  Principles  for  the  development  of  a  common  information  sharing  environment 
for the EU maritime domain, as explained above, aim to trigger a reflection process at EU and 
Member  State  level.  This  work  will  need  to  encompass  all  user  communities  so  that  their 
needs,  and  the  policy  options  necessary  to  meet  such  needs,  are  clearly  identified.  Towards 
this end, the Commission's services cooperate with the European Defence Agency's Wise Pen 
Team in the framework of their mandate to issue a report on maritime surveillance.  

It  is  proposed  that  in  this  framework,  a  permanent  and  structured  cooperation  between 
different  EU  actors  in  the  civilian  and  military  domains  of  the  Member  States  should  be 
established to find innovative solutions within the given legal framework. Such coordination 
could contribute to improved interoperability and connectivity between existing civilian and 
military systems. 

It  is  proposed  that  work  towards  the  development  of  a  common  information  sharing 
environment  should  be  carried  out  in  the  framework  of  the  Commission's  Member  States 
Expert  Group  on  Integration  of  Maritime  Surveillance,  in  compatibility  with  other  ongoing 
work  in  sectoral  groups  and  Committees  within  their  respective  competences.  In  particular, 
the  Group  would  address  the  system  architecture  for  the  information  exchange  between  the 
different  sectoral  systems,  taking  into  account  the  existing  legal  frameworks  and  examining 
procedural, and technological barriers to information sharing. 

The  building  up  of  the  common  information  sharing  environment  should  not  in  any  way 
hinder the development of existing and planned sectoral information systems, including their 
evolution,  as  long  as  the  need  for  interoperability  enabling  an  information  exchange  with 
other relevant systems is taken into account. 

Following an iterative approach, the Guiding Principles may be revised, in particular in light 
of the outcome of the following three projects, which will be carried out in order to evaluate 
the  ability  of  users  from  different  Member  States  and  user  communities  to  exchange 
information: 

14 

Council  Framework  Decision  2008/977/JHA  of  27 November  2008  on  the  protection  of  personal  data  processed  in  the  framework  of  police  and  judicial 
cooperation in criminal matters, OJ L 350, 30/12/2008, p.60. 

EN 

11 

   EN 

 
                                                 
(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

Pilot project on the integration of maritime surveillance in the Mediterranean Sea and 
its Atlantic approaches15. The purpose of this 2-year project is to test the capacity of 
six  Member  States  in  this  region  to  exchange  surveillance  information  relating  to 
border  control,  combating  of  narco-trafficking,  fighting  terrorism,  combating  the 
smuggling of illegal goods and preventing marine pollution. The project is expected to 
start at the end of 2009. 

Pilot project on the integration of maritime surveillance in the Northern European Sea 
basins16  with  similar  objectives  and  duration  as  the  above  mentioned  pilot  project  in 
the Mediterranean Sea. 

large  scale 

Under the 2010 work programme of the 7th Framework Programme for Research and 
Development  (security  theme),  a  call  for  proposals  has  been  published  for  a 
demonstration  programme  aiming  at 
integration,  validation  and 
demonstration of a systems-of-systems solution for maritime border surveillance. The 
main  issues  covered  are  the  detection  of  small  craft,  fusion  of  information  to  detect 
anomalies, interoperability and affordability. The solution shall be tested in a selected 
area of the external maritime border, showing – from a technical point of view – the 
way forward for the development of the common information sharing environment for 
the  EU  maritime  domain.  In  addition,  as  part  of  the  FP  7  Space  theme,  a  call  for 
proposals has been published to develop pre-operational GMES service capabilities for 
maritime surveillance. 

A list of additional EU initiatives relevant for the integration of maritime surveillance is to be 
found in a Commission Staff working document annexed to this Communication. 

6. 

CONCLUSIONS 

An  integrated  approach  to  maritime  surveillance  should  improve  the  effectiveness  of  the 
authorities  responsible  for  maritime  activities  by  making  available  more  tools  and  more 
information necessary for the performance of their duties. This should result in more efficient 
operations and reduced operating costs. The potential savings at EU level are significant given 
the  growing  need  to  detect,  identify,  track  and  intercept  amongst  others  illegal  migration, 
illegal  fishing  as  well  as  to  prevent  accidents  at  sea,  to  safeguard  the  environment  and  to 
facilitate trade. The benefits to flow from this process will positively affect national security, 
maritime security and safety, the protection of the marine environment, border control and, in 
general, law enforcement.  

The  Commission  therefore  invites  the  Council,  the  European  Parliament,  the  European 
Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions to: 

– 

– 

Support the objectives presented in this Communication; 

Sustain the proposed approach within their respective areas of responsibility. 

15 
16 

Call for proposals MARE/2008/13 
Call for proposals MARE/2009/41 

EN 

12 

   EN