CoR makes European Maritime Day call for change

The EU's Assembly of Regional and Local Representatives

COR/10/40

Brussels, 20 May 2010

CoR makes European Maritime Day call for change

The massive oil pollution in the Gulf of Mexico and the devastation it has caused to maritime ecosystems is a timely reminder of the constant threat facing the world's oceans. The Committee of the Regions has marked European Maritime Day with a call for a fundamental change in the way maritime issues are coordinated within the EU and on the global stage to safeguard and protect the environmental, economic, biological and cultural wealth of Europe's seas.

Speaking at the EMD event in Gijon, Spain, CoR First Vice-President Ramón Luis Valcárcel Siso (EPP/ES) said: "The aim of EU maritime policy is to recognise and preserve the richness of Europe's seas. To achieve this, an innovative approach is needed, involving national, regional and local governments both from within and outside the EU. But greater coordination is only part of the solution – we also need more effective means of financing maritime policy, which is why the CoR supports the idea of a single financial mechanism for all maritime issues."

Valcárcel stressed that regions had a key role to play in developing this new approach, highlighting the work of Brittany, whose coastal charter has been praised by the European Commission as a prime example of how an integrated maritime strategy should work. He also called on coastal regions to take advantage of the opportunities provided by European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC) legislation to work more closely with each other on tackling maritime issues.

Also taking part in the Gijon event was Michael Cohen (PES/MT), the CoR's rapporteur on proposals for an integrated maritime strategy for the Mediterranean, whose geopolitical situation means that cooperation between EU and non-EU states in tackling maritime issues is even more important.

"There are 22 different countries that share a coastline on the Mediterranean, and most of them are not in the EU, so working with those other countries, and in particular with their local and regional authorities, is a necessity. The CoR, and the local and regional authorities it represents, needs to be actively involved in the discussions already taking place in the various working groups on the Mediterranean, which is not always the case. The Euro-Mediterranean Local and Regional Assembly (ARLEM) should also be supported more widely in this field."

Notes for editors

Michael Cohen's draft opinion is due for adoption at the June plenary session of the Committee of the Regions.

Visit the CoR's website: www.cor.europa.eu

The Committee of the Regions

The Committee of the Regions is the EU's assembly of regional and local representatives. The mission of its 344 members from all 27 EU Member States is to involve regional and local authorities and the communities they represent in the EU's decision-making process and to inform them about EU policies. The European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council are obliged to consult the Committee in policy areas affecting regions and cities. It can appeal to the EU Court of Justice if its rights are infringed or it believes that an EU law violates the subsidiarity principle or fails to respect regional or local powers.

For more information, please contact:

Chris Jones

Tel. +32 (0)2 546 8751

christopher.jones@cor.europa.eu

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