COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT on a Draft Roadmap towards establishing the Common Information Sharing Environment for the surveillance of the EU maritime domain
Date: 2010-10-20
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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EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 20.10.2010 
COM(2010) 584 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE 
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT  

on a Draft Roadmap towards establishing the 
Common Information Sharing Environment 
for the surveillance of the EU maritime domain 

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COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE 
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 

.on a Draft Roadmap towards establishing the 
Common Information Sharing Environment 
for the surveillance of the EU maritime domain 

Draft Roadmap towards establishing the 
Common Information Sharing Environment 
for the surveillance of the EU maritime domain 

1. 

INTRODUCTION 

On 15 October 2009 the Commission adopted a Communication1 "Towards the integration of 
maritime  surveillance  in  the  EU:  A  common  information  sharing  environment  for  the  EU 
maritime domain" (CISE), setting out guiding principles towards its establishment. 

In its conclusions of 17 November 2009, the External Relations Council2 endorsed the above 
Communication, requesting the Commission to present by end 2010 a step by step roadmap to 
establish  the  CISE.  This  roadmap  is  to  be  further  detailed  in  2011  to  take  into  account  the 
results of the pilot projects. The Commission is also tasked to deliver by 2013 an assessment 
of the financial resources necessary for the implementation of the CISE. The General Affairs 
Council3  reiterated  the  same  approach  in  its  conclusions  of  14  June  2010  on  the  Integrated 
Maritime Policy. 

The present communication responds to the Council's request. 

In preparing the present draft Roadmap the Commission consulted the Member States Expert 
sub-Group on the integration of maritime surveillance ('MS EXPERT GROUP') acting as the 
forum  for  coordination,  as  mandated  by  the  Council's  conclusions.  The  wide  cross-sectoral 
representation  in  these  meetings,  including  representatives  from  the  Defence  Community  at 
Member States' level, allowed for a substantial contribution to the common understanding of 
the issues at stake. In the preparation of the roadmap the Commission also liaised with other 
sectoral groups, such as the High Level Group for SafeSeaNet. 

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

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COM (2009)538 final 
http://ec.europa.eu/maritimeaffairs/pdf/external_relations_council_conclusions_17112009_en.pdf 
http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/EN/genaff/115184.pdf, page 16 

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The  added  value  of  integrating  maritime  surveillance  is  to  enhance  the  present  sectoral 
maritime  awareness  pictures  of  the  sectoral  User  Communities4  of  EU  Member  States  and 
EEA  States,  with  additional  relevant  cross-sectoral  and  cross-border  surveillance  data  on  a 
need  to  know  and,  a  need  and  responsibility  to  share  basis.  The  requirement  to  share 
information,  particularly  in  case  of  an  imminent  threat,  should  be  balanced  by  its  owner 
against  the  risk  of  not  sharing  it.  Such  enhanced  pictures  will  increase  the  efficiency  of 
Member States' authorities and improve cost effectiveness. 

Tackling  this  information  sharing  exercise  from  an  overarching  European  perspective  will 
ensure  that  all  User  Communities  are  represented  in  an  equal  footing,  that  their  sectoral 
objectives  and  constraints  are  taken  into  account  and  that  development  of  the  Common 
Information  Sharing  Environment  also  results  in  added  value  for  each  sectoral  User 
Community. Additionally it will also ensure that European systems are put to best use whilst 
complying fully with the principle of subsidiarity. 

2. 

OVERVIEW OF THE ROADMAP 

The  discussions  in  the  MS  Expert  Group  concluded  that  this  roadmap  should  lead  to  the 
creation of a decentralised information exchanging system, interlinking all User Communities 
both civilian and military. The setting up of the CISE should be a flexible process allowing 
for technical improvements and sectoral enhancements. Existing and planned systems shall be 
duly  taken  into  account  while  developing  the  CISE.  This  process  shall  also  not  hinder  the 
development  of  existing  and  planned  sectoral  information  systems,  as  long  as  the  need  for 
interoperability enabling information exchange with other systems is taken into account. The 
experience gained from information exchange systems allowing for civil-military cooperation 
should be utilised. 

Considering the significant number of potential participants in the CISE, the diversity of legal 
frameworks  and  possible  exchanges,  it  is  highly  unlikely  that  one  single  technical  solution 
will  fit  each  and  every  exchange  of  information  within  the  CISE.  For  this  reason  the  CISE 
architecture should be designed as a cost effective decentralised interconnection of different 
information  layers  that  increases  efficiency  of  maritime  surveillance  systems  by  filling 
existing information gaps across Europe while avoiding data duplication. 

These layers are managed by the respective owners of related information at Member States 
and  EU  level  based  on  the  applicable  legal  instruments.  The  competences  of  national 
authorities, as well as the mandates of EU Agencies set out in these legal instruments will thus 
be fully respected. 

Common  needs  to  most  of  the  User  Communities  are  to  obtain  an  enhanced  basic  maritime 
situation awareness picture useful to all user communities. This picture may be composed by 
data  stemming  from  a  combination  of  systems  and  sensors  detecting  cooperative  and  non 
cooperative targets of any size. 

Data  of  this  basic  maritime  traffic  picture  is  not  classified  and  could be  shared  without  any 
restrictions between all Communities provided the necessary safeguards are put into place. 

Specific needs for certain User Communities to complement this basic maritime picture are: 

4 

For a detailed list of all the User Communities see point 3.1 and the annex 

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(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

To  obtain  data  as  regards  illegal  activities  and  threats  impacting  on  both 
internal  and  external  EU  security,  and  involving  any  type  of  vessel.  Such 
information  is  gathered  essentially  by  coast  guards,  border  guards,  police 
services and defence forces. 

To obtain specific catch information, combining it with position information of 
fishing vessels to fight against illegal fishing. 

To obtain advanced electronic data concerning all goods entering and leaving 
the EU customs territory in order to enable a pre-assessment of the safety and 
security of goods. 

Some of the information handled by these Communities is highly sensitive and may therefore 
be transmitted only point to point or via and between secured sectoral networks. At present, 
the  information  and  intelligence  exchanged  within  these  communities  take  place  within  a 
strictly defined scope, often framed by international agreements. The CISE will therefore not 
be based on the principle "everybody shares everything", but it shall be based on "sharing on a 
need-to-know and responsibility-to-share basis". 

Example of information layers (non-hierarchical) 

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

User communities will have to be fully involved in elaborating the following six steps and an 
impact assessment identified by the Commission and the MS Expert Group as necessary for 
the CISE development: 

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Step  1  -  Identifying  all  User  Communities:  Member  States  and  the  Commission  shall 
identify  the  participants  to  the  information  exchange.  Due  to  the  diversity  in  administrative 
organisation in the EU Member States and EEA States it is necessary to focus on "functions" 
based on already established 'User Communities' rather than on types of national authorities. 

Step 2 - Mapping of data sets and gap analysis for data exchange to ensure that there is an 
added value to the CISE: By (a) drawing up a map of data exchanges already taking place at 
EU and national level and (b) drawing up a gap analysis to identify the sectoral demand for 
data currently not matched by supply. 

Step  3  -  Common  data  classification  levels,  addresses  the  problem  that  sectoral  User 
Communities  classify  same  type  of  data  in  a  different  manner.  Without  interfering  with 
national  data  classification  levels  and  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  data  exchange  within  the 
CISE, Step 3 shall identify which national classification levels correspond to each other and 
thus establish common grounds for data exchange under the CISE. 

Step  4  -  Developing  the  supporting  framework  for  the  CISE  defines  the  supporting 
technical framework for the CISE, thus for setting up the interfaces between the existing and 
planned  sectoral  systems  in  view  of  enabling  cross-sectoral  data  exchange.  This  should  be 
worked out by the representatives of the various sectoral user communities based on available 
results of FP7 and pilot projects (e.g. MARSUNO, BluemassMed, EUROSUR pilot project on 
the communication network, GMES, PT MARSUR, SafeSeaNet based pilot projects). 

Step 5 - Establishing access rights entails the identification of the rights of users belonging 
to different sectoral communities to cross-sectorally access various data sets. This relates only 
to data which should be shared via the CISE in the EU and the EEA5 

Step  6  -  Ensuring  respect  of  legal  provisions  aims  at  ensuring  that  there  is  a  clear  legal 
framework for the exchange, defining at least the nature of the data involved, the capability 
and the right of the data providers and recipients to exchange the data, the purposes (and the 
methods) of the exchange 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  relevant.  Obstacles  to  the  exchange  of  the  data  present  in  EU  legislation  must  be 
identified and solutions to overcome them should be explored. 

3. 

STEPS TOWARDS A ROADMAP 

Principle 1: 

An  approach  interlinking  all  User  Communities 
including the Defence Community 

3.1. 

Step 1: Identifying all User Communities 

Aim: to identify the members of the CISE 

Description:  Considering  that  the  internal  organisation  of  the  Member  States'  authorities 
varies  considerably,  it  is  proposed  to  determine  the  User  Communities  participating  in  the 
CISE in relation to the following ‘functions’ performed: 

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Environmental data should be open access in line with the Aarhus Convention. 

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(1)  Maritime Safety 6 (including Search and Rescue), Maritime Security 7 and prevention 

of pollution caused by ships8, 

(2) 

Fisheries control 

(3)  Marine pollution preparedness and response; Marine environment 

(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

Customs9 

Border control10 

General law enforcement11 

Defence12 

An indicative description of those functions is given in Annex. 

Action:  Each  Member  State  should  identify  which  authority(ies)  perform(s)  the  above 
mentioned  functions.  More  than  one  authority  can  be  identified  per  function.  On  this  basis, 
these authorities will be recognised as members of the User Community and as such entitled 
to  "provide  and/or  receive  information  at  national  level  from  international,  regional, 
Community, military and internal security systems and mechanisms, in line with conditions of 
use and defined user access rights, in order to build up its individual user-defined situational 
picture" (Principle 1 of the 2009 Communication). 

Each  identified  authority  shall  additionally  indicate  if  it  is  linked  to  a  national,  regional  or 
European network and identify the other members of the said network. 

In  particular  at  EU  level,  function  (1)  is  already  covered  by  the  European  Vessel  Traffic 
Monitoring Directive13. As the system is operational, its users have already been defined. 

At EU level, function (5) will be covered by EUROSUR, which will give Member States the 
appropriate  technical  and  operational  framework  for  increasing  the  situational  awareness  at 
their external borders and for improving the reaction capabilities of their national authorities. 

Function (6) concerns a wide area, covered in particular by internal security responsibilities 
dealt  with  by  EUROPOL  and  other  relevant  agencies.  The  integration  of  data  within  the 
EUROSUR network should also be taken into account. 

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13 

Maritime Safety, within the scope of relevant IMO conventions in particular the SOLAS, STCW and 
COLREG conventions and related EU legislation. 
Maritime  Security,  within  the  scope  of  SOLAS  Chapter  XI-2,  Regulation  725/2004  and  Directive 
2005/65/EC.  According  to  Article  2  of  Regulation  725/2004:  "maritime  security"  means  the 
combination  of  preventive  measures  intended  to  protect  shipping  and  port  facilities  against  threats  of 
intentional unlawful acts. 
MARPOL 73/78 Convention and related EU legislation 
With focus on control of goods. 
With focus on the prevention of illegal immigration and cross-border crime at EU external borders. 
With focus on the prevention of any criminal / illegal activity and on police administrative activities in 
the EU maritime domain. 
See also principle 3 below. 
2002/59/EC as amended by 2009/17/EC. 

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In parallel to this action, the Commission shall list the relevant EU agencies/institutions under 
the relevant functions. 

Actors: Member States, the Commission and the relevant agencies 

Timing: End 2010 

3.2. 

Step 2: Mapping of Data Sets and Gap Analysis for Data Exchange 

Aim: To determine existing and future maritime surveillance data sets and to identify the EU 
wide demand for cross-sectoral data exchange currently not matched by supply. This is to be 
carried out at national, regional and EU level. 

Description: Monitoring and surveillance data relevant for the CISE is to be found in EU and 
national  systems  developed  under  EU  law  as  well  as  in  national  and  regional  systems 
developed  under  national  provisions.  Drawing  up  a  map  covering  each  User  Community's 
available  surveillance  data  and  its  demand  for  relevant  data  from  other  communities  shall 
allow  to  identify  the  respective  gap  between  demand  and  supply  for  maritime  surveillance 
data. 

Identifying such present gap shall reveal the added value that will be achieved by bridging it 
through future cross-sectoral maritime surveillance data exchange throughout the EU. 

Action: 

(a)  Data  mapping:  Each  User  Community  in  coordination  with  their  respective  working 
groups  and  EU  Agencies  (if  appropriate)  should  identify  the  relevant  surveillance  data  it 
currently  avails  of  (supply  mapping),  its  demand  for  relevant  data  from  other  communities 
(demand mapping) while indicating the corresponding legal basis per data set and whether it 
contains information involving personal data or intellectual property rights (IPR) or any other 
legal restrictions. 

(b)  Gap  analysis:  Based  on  this  mapping  the  gap  between  demand  and  supply  shall  be 
established. 

Actors: MS Expert Group in close coordination with sectoral working groups. 

This  work  should  be  facilitated  by  a  multidisciplinary  ad  hoc  Technical  Advisory  Group 
(TAG)  composed  of  representatives  of  each  User  Community,  a  representative  from 
BLUEMASSMED  and  MARSUNO  as  well  as  the  pertinent  EU  Agencies  and  initiatives. 
Each of these experts is meant to bring in full knowledge of sectoral advancement. The TAG 
will provide a pattern for the above demand and supply data mapping on the basis of which 
individual  User  Communities  shall  provide  their  input.  The  work  of  this  group  should  be 
facilitated  by  the  Joint  Research  Centre  of  the  European  Commission  making  best  use  of 
current and planned initiatives at EU level. Any progress made should be presented to the MS 
Expert Group. 

Timing: End 2011 

Principle 2: 

Building 
for 
interoperability  –  Making  best  use  of  existing 

framework 

technical 

a 

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systems  but  maintaining  dedicated  (point  to 
point connections) for certain types of data 

3.3. 

Step 3: Common Data Classification Levels  

Aim:  In  order  to  facilitate  cross-sectoral  information  exchange,  User  Communities  should 
develop a common approach when attributing classification levels. 

Description:  Due  to  the  fact  that  the  CISE  is  meant  to  be  only  a  transmission  tool  between 
different user communities, but not a (centralised) platform to store exchangeable data, each 
User Community remains responsible for gathering and storing its data by means of its own 
sectoral systems and security  standards. This  however  leads  to  the  problem  where  the  same 
data sets may be classified by the different user communities in a different manner. In order to 
build sufficient trust for exchanging data in a decentralised cross-sectoral manner, there is a 
need  to  develop  a  common  approach  with  regard  to  classification  levels.  The  commonly 
recognised  data  classification  levels  established  by  legislation  of  the  Council  and  the 
European Commission14 should be applied. 

Action: Developing a common ontology in order for same data to have the same or compatible 
classification in view of facilitating cross-sectoral information exchange, in two stages: 

(1) 

(2) 

A  comparative  overview  with  regard  to  the  attribution  of  data  classification  levels 
(e.g. EU Restricted, EU Confidential, etc.) to relevant data sets. Those levels will be 
reflected in future definition work. 

User Communities should verify their current practices with regard to attributing the 
various data classification levels to relevant data sets. 

Actors: 

Stage  1  should  be  carried  out  by  the  MS  Expert  Group  with  support  from  the  above 
mentioned TAG. 

Stage  2  should  be  carried  out  by  the  relevant  User  Communities,  with  support  from  the 
relevant expert working groups and EU Agencies as appropriate taking into account any other 
relevant  initiatives  such  as  ongoing  pilot  projects.  The  MARSUNO  and  BluemassMed  pilot 
projects  on  integration  of  maritime  surveillance  should  assist  user  communities  in  this 
endeavour. 

Timing: 

Stage 1: 2011 

Stage 2: First trimester 2012 

3.4. 

Step 4: Developing the supporting framework for the CISE 

Aim:  To  establish  interoperable  services  and  a  common  technical  language  to  exchange 
maritime surveillance data in a decentralised manner. 

14 

Commission  Decision  of  29  November  2001,  OJ  L  317  of  3.12.2001  as  amended  The  above 
Commission decision is based on Council Decisions of 19 March 01 OJ L 101 of 11.4.01 as amended. 

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Additionally,  attention  should  be  paid  to  ensure  and  develop  the  overall  IT  security  of  the 
CISE. 

Description:  Once  the  data  to  be  exchanged  has  been  identified  under  Step  2,  the  best 
technical means to exchange the data needs to be established. 

A common informatics language approach could be worked out in view of allowing for the 
interoperability  of  data  between  relevant  systems.  Under  such  an  approach,  User 
Communities could translate their own data coming from their own systems into a commonly 
agreed  format  available  to  all  User  Communities  and  readable  by  any  computer  system 
authorised  to  access  the  network.  To  some  extent,  the  common  software  needed  could  be 
developed jointly under an open source type umbrella. 

The advantage of such an approach for data exchange would be to: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

Allow for a Common Information Sharing Environment 'CISE' in a relatively simple 
manner (avoiding major standardisation work between different surveillance systems) 
to be developed step by step starting from the information that could be more easily 
shared. 

Existing systems of the various partners are only impacted insofar as a module must be 
added to allow the web services to catch the required data. 

An  open  source  software  development  approach  allows  for  the  common  informatics 
language  to  be  upgraded  any  time  to  future  needs,  avoiding  multiple  expensive  and 
unnecessary  developments,  vendor  lock-in  and  help  building  communities  with  a 
common interest. 

Other  circumstances,  however,  may  require  data  exchange  and  interoperability  based  on 
techniques and procedures other than the envisaged approach (e.g. in cases of real-time data, 
especially  when  of  a  classified  nature,  or  when  simultaneously  acquired  over  large  space 
distances).  In  such  cases,  different  techniques  (e.g.  based  on  satellite  technologies)  may  be 
required,  taking  into  account  international  data  standards,  such  as  those  contained  in  the 
United  Nations  Trade  Elements  Directory  (UNTDED),  the  practical  experience  of  relevant 
RTD  projects  and  already  developed  military  information  exchange  systems.  Results  from 
ongoing  research  projects,  which  are  relevant  to  the  strengthening  of  European  industrial 
competitiveness, e.g. in terms of developing appropriate inter-operability standards, may also 
be useful in strengthening the technological base for the CISE. 

Action: The above mentioned TAG is to define options to be presented and discussed with the 
User Communities. Any progress made should be presented to the MS Expert Group. 

Actors: TAG, the MS EXPERT GROUP and the sectoral working groups 

Timing: 2012 

Principle 3: 

Civilian / Military Cooperation 

The  Defence  community  must  participate  in  the  elaboration  of  the  CISE.  To  do  so,  under 
Step 1,  Member  States  identify  their  relevant  national  authorities.  Each  Member  State 
therefore should ensure that their military authorities continue to take part in the development 
of the Roadmap by participating in the Commission's Member State Expert subgroup on the 

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integration of maritime surveillance. The European Defence Agency (EDA) will participate as 
the relevant Agency in the MS Expert Group and in the TAG contributing with its knowledge 
on the Project Team on Maritime surveillance (PT-Marsur). 

The  EDA  “Wise  Pen”  Report  has  been  published  on  26/04/2010  and  provides  an  important 
contribution towards the development of an improved cooperation between CSDP and civilian 
actors of maritime surveillance, notably as regards exchange of information. 

Principle 4: 

Specific legal provisions 

3.5. 

Step 5: Defining access rights 

Aim: Step 5 consists of determining User Communities’ access rights to each others data. 

Description:  On  the  basis  of  the  previous  steps  each  User  Community  should  establish  the 
access rights it is willing to grant to other user communities for any data set (EU or national 
data) it is willing to share and that other user communities are requesting. 

User  access  rights  need  to  be  consolidated  and  updated.  To  address  specific  circumstances 
access  rights  will  be  dynamically  managed  by  information  owners  and  might  include  the 
possibility, under specific circumstances, to block or grant additional access ad hoc. 

Action:  On  the  basis  of  a  template  developed  by  the  TAG,  User  Communities  declare  their 
intention to share particular sets of their data with other User Communities on the basis of the 
data  needs  identified  in  the  above  gap  analysis.  Since  the  CISE  is  not  a  platform  for  data 
storage,  but  a  tool  for  point  to  point  data  transfer,  it  needs  to  be  studied  to  which  extent 
existing sectoral data policies can be used for cross-sectoral data exchange through the CISE. 
The TAG shall compile the proposals made by the User Communities into a comprehensive 
overview table. This table shall be submitted by the Commission to the MS Expert Group for 
validation. 

This approach would provide the following output: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

Interlinking all User Communities on a need to know/share logic 

A non-hierarchical framework for interoperability 

A  flexible  information  sharing  environment  allowing  Member  States  to  input 
national/regional data as required 

Common approach to attribution of data classification levels  

Cost efficiency as the same data is used for different purposes 

Actor: TAG, sectoral working groups in close cooperation with MS Expert Group. 

Timing: 2012 

3.6. 

Step 6: Providing a coherent legal framework 

Aim: To ensure that the data is exchanged under the proper legal framework. 

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Description: By end 2011, the pilot projects should have provided a preliminary view on the 
legal, administrative and technical obstacles to the exchange of data, best practices to promote 
the  exchange  and  identify  how  to  comply  with  confidentiality  and  information  exchange 
requirements.  Therefore  this  step  aims  at  ensuring  that  for  each  exchange  there  is  a  clear 
framework  regarding  the  respective  rights  and  obligations  of  participants  to  the  exchange. 
Due consideration must be given in parallel to other legal issues, such as data confidentiality, 
intellectual  property  rights,  protection  of  personal  data  as  well  as  ownership  of  data,  in 
accordance with national and international law. 

Action:  Identify  which  information  exchange  requirements  are  already  covered  by  an 
international or EU legal framework and those which need to be established on the basis of 
new legislative framework(s). 

Actors: MS EXPERT GROUP in coordination with sectoral expert groups. 

3.7. 

Impact Assessment including on financial implications 

The Commission will carry out an Impact Assessment to be fed by steps 1 to 6 of the present 
Roadmap  prior  to  tabling  a  proposal  to  the  Council  and  the  European  Parliament  for  the 
implementation of the CISE. It will set out an appropriate timeframe for Member States and 
the relevant EU bodies to implement the CISE. 

To ensure that the Union shall act only within the limits of the competences conferred upon it 
by the Member States in the Treaties, as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty of the EU, whenever 
actions touch on issues of national competence (e.g. step 2), these will not be reflected either 
in the roadmap nor in the Commission's proposal. 

Timing:  The  different  steps  of  the  draft  roadmap  and  particularly  the  work  within  the  MS 
Expert  Group  and  the  sectoral  working  groups  are  meant  to  constitute  various  preparatory 
elements of the Impact Assessment. The final drafting of the Impact Assessment should take 
place by 2013. 

4. 

CONCLUSION 

The  present  draft  Roadmap  sets  a  flexible  step  by  step  approach  towards  building  the 
decentralised CISE reflecting extensive consultation with the MS Expert Group as requested 
by the Council. 

Its  effective  implementation  will  depend  on  the  commitment  of  the  actors  identified 
throughout  the  different  steps.  The  Commission  will  ensure  the  coherent  implementation  of 
the Roadmap. The Commission and the Members States should ensure such coherence within 
the  sectoral  working  groups.  The  MS  Expert  Group  shall  ensure  overall  coherence  in  the 
process of integrating maritime surveillance. 

The  extent  to  which  a  regional  approach  would  be  followed  for  the  CISE  should  be  further 
reflected upon by the Member States within the MARSUNO and BlueMassMed pilot projects 
and  referred  to  the  Commission's  Member  State  Experts  sub-Group.  This  group  will  also 
reflect  on  the  extent  and  modalities  for  candidate  and  potential  candidate  countries  to  be 
associated  to  this  initiative  at  the  appropriate  stage  of  the  integration  process.  Appropriate 
association  of  certain  non  Member  States  may  further  be  considered  in  the  future.  As 
requested by the Council, this Roadmap will be revisited at the end of 2011. 

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. 

Members of the CISE 
(User Communities) 

1. Maritime safety 
(including SAR) , 
maritime security and 
prevention of pollution 
caused by ships 

2. Fisheries control 

3. Marine pollution 
preparadeness and 
response; Marine 
environment 

4. Customs 

5. Border control 

6. General law 
enforcement 

7. Defence 

ANNEX 

CISE monitoring and support functions 

(vessel 

Monitoring  of  compliance  with  regulations  on  the  safety  and 
prevention of pollution caused by ships (construction, equipment, 
crew/passengers, cargo); support of enforcement operations 
Monitoring  of  compliance  with  regulations  on  the  safety  of 
navigation 
traffic  safety);  support  of  enforcement 
operations 
Monitoring  of  compliance  with  regulations  on  the  security  of 
ships; support of enforcement operations 
Supporting  safe  and  efficient  flow  of  vessel  traffic;  vessel  traffic 
management 
Early  warning/identification  of  ships/persons  in  distress;  support 
of  response  operations  (search  and  rescue,  salvage,  place  of 
refuge) 
Early  warning/identification  of  maritime  security  threats,  within 
the scope of SOLAS Chapter XI-2; support of response operations 
Early  warning/identification  of  threats/acts  of  piracy  or  armed 
robbery; support of response operations 
Monitoring of compliance with regulations on fisheries; support of 
enforcement operations  
Early  warning/identification  of  illegal  fisheries  or  fish  landings; 
support of response operations 
Monitoring of compliance with regulations on the protection of the 
marine environment; support of enforcement operations 
Early  warning/identification  of  incidents/accidents  that  may  have 
an environmental impact; support of pollution response operations 
Monitoring of compliance with customs regulations on the import, 
export and movement of goods; support of enforcement operations 
Early  warning/identification  of  criminal  trafficking  of  goods 
(narcotics, weapons, etc.); support of response operations 
Monitoring  of  compliance  with  regulations  on  immigration  and 
border crossing; support of enforcement operations 
Early  warning/identification  of  cases  of  illegal  migration  or 
trafficking in human beings; support of response operations 
Monitoring of compliance with applicable legislation in sea areas, 
where  there  is  policing  competence  and  support  to  enforcement 
and/or response operations 
Monitoring in support of general defence tasks, such as: 
•  Exercising national sovereignty at sea; 
•  Combating terrorism and other hostile activities outside the EU; 
•  Other  Common  Security  and  Defence  Policy  tasks,  as  defined 

in Articles 42 and 43 TEU 

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GLOSSARY OF TERMS 

. 

BluemassMed: 

CISE: 

CSDP: 

EDA: 

Blue Maritime Surveillance System Med, Pilot project on integration of 
maritime surveillance co-financed by the European Commission 

Common Information Sharing Environment for the EU maritime domain 

EU Common Security and Defence Policy 

European Defence Agency 

EUROPOL: 

European Law Enforcement Agency 

EUROSUR: 

European border surveillance system  

GMES: 

MARSUNO: 

Global  Monitoring  for  Environment  and  Security  is  the  European 
Initiative  for  the  establishment  of  a  European  capacity  for  Earth 
Observation 

Maritime Surveillance in the Northern European Sea Basins, Pilot project 
on  integration  of  maritime  surveillance  co-financed  by  the  European 
Commission 

PT MARSUR: 

Project  Team  Maritime  Surveillance  -  EDA  project  on  'maritime 
surveillance network' 

SafeSeaNet: 

Safe  Sea  Network;  A  European  Platform  for  Maritime  Data  Exchange 
between Member States' maritime transport authorities.  

SOLAS: 

International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea  

TAG: 

Technical  Advisory  Group;  Composed  of  representatives  of  all  relevant 
maritime  surveillance  user  communities;  under  the  chairmanship  of  the 
European  Commission  the  TAG  shall  provide  technical  input  to 
elaborating the draft Roadmap towards the creation of the CISE 

VMS: 

Satellite-based Vessel Monitoring System used in the Fisheries sector 

Wise Pen: 

A Team of five Admirals having produced a report to the EDA steering 
board: 'Maritime surveillance in support of CSDP' 

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