It should be recalled that in October 2007 the Commission adopted an Action Plan which puts forward the main actions that it will carry out until the end of its mandate to implement an Integrated Maritime Policy for the European Union. Some of the actions that the Commission wants to pursue will raise concerns over subsidiarity.
The Commission has said that it will take steps towards a European network for maritime surveillance and it will develop a roadmap to facilitate the development of maritime spatial planning by Member States. Obviously, the Commission has kept its promise.
The European Commission has recently published a report on maritime surveillance starting, in this way, the process that will lead to development of an integrated maritime surveillance system in the EU. The Commission has identified the current state of play of surveillance, monitoring, tracking, identification and reporting systems put in place by EU member states and EU agencies, as regards drugs, arms and human traffic, illegal fisheries, illegal migration, pollution and terrorism. The Commission has also identified the steps which must be taken and the challenges to be resolved in order to achieve an integrated maritime surveillance network for the EU.
The European Commission has concluded that “(…) there is already substantive sectoral cooperation taking place at Community and Member State level on matters relating to border control, maritime safety and security, fisheries.” However, according to the Commission further work must be carried out.
The Commission has already proposed that the European Border Surveillance System (EUROSUR) should be built as a "system of existing systems" in three phases. The first phase would entail interlinking national infrastructures in a communication network for border control authorities. The second would involve the creation of a “pre-frontier intelligence picture.” Whereas these two phases would deal with the surveillance of land and maritime borders the third phase would create a “common information sharing environment for the EU maritime domain.”
The Commission services are working towards identifying which EU Legislation needs to be revise in order to ensure progress towards a common information sharing environment for the EU maritime domain and also to make sure that any new legislative proposals would contain provisions to allow data to be exchanged within an integrated system.
Obviously, the Commission project of interlinking maritime surveillance systems entails several legal issues related to the exchange of information collected for different aims and from different sources. The Commission does not know yet how personal data would be processed in an integrated maritime surveillance network.
The Commission plans for an Integrated Maritime Policy would entail the EU coordination of the Member States existing structures for the purpose of developing an integrated maritime surveillance network. The European Commission has called on the Member States to assess the extent to which their internal administrative cooperation across sectors is appropriate for promoting an integrated maritime surveillance network. The European Commission has urged all Member States to cooperate in order to move towards greater integration on a cross-sectoral level of exchange of surveillance data.
The Commission will fund two pilot projects to assess how member states can improve crosssectoral exchange of surveillance data and carry out joint activities. The 2008 Commission Legislative and Work Programme allocated €3.7 million to a surveillance pilot project in the Western Mediterranean and its Atlantic Approaches. The geographical scope of the project would be the whole Mediterranean basin. Moreover, the 2009 preliminary draft budget allocate €1.9 million for surveillance actions to be implemented by a pilot project in a sea basin other than the Mediterranean. Such project would involve border control, customs, fisheries control, prevention and suppression of criminal activities, maritime safety, marine pollution response, maritime security of ships and ports activities and would be carried out by authorities of at least three coastal Member States. The Commission is planning to by the end of 2008 to publish calls for proposals for projects to benefit from grants for the purposes of setting up cross-border and cross-sector surveillance actions in the Mediterranean and in other sea basins.
There are already several surveillance initiatives at EU level such as the Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) for fisheries control, SafeSeaNet system to combat maritime pollution, the border management operations set up as part of Frontex. There are also integrated surveillance initiatives at regional and national level. There is no need for further integration on maritime surveillance. The Commission wants to set up integrating surveillance systems at EU level which will affect national security, maritime security and safety, border control and law enforcement.
On 25 November the Commission adopted a Communication “Roadmap for Maritime Spatial Planning: Achieving Common Principles in the EU.” The Commission presented a roadmap on Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) in order facilitate the development of spatial planning for both marine and coastal spaces and help coastal areas to prepare for climate change impacts. The Commission has pointed out that the fast growth in maritime activities such as maritime transport, port development, aquaculture, offshore drilling, tourism, offshore renewable energy, blue biotech and underwater technologies, is putting more pressure on already limited marine space.
The maritime spatial planning is a new instrument to address the challenges emerging from the growth in competing uses of the sea and it has been considered an important instrument for the EU’s Integrated Maritime Policy (IMP). It is a new process which several Member States are now developing in order to manage their maritime activities. The Commission is endeavouring to facilitate the development of MSP by Member States and promote its implementation at national and EU level. Implementation of MSP is the responsibility of the Member States however the European Commission wants to develop a common approach to maritime spatial planning which forms part of the Integrated Maritime Policy for the EU.
The Commission with this Communication is taking the first steps towards a common approach on MSP. According to the Commission “Action at European level can provide significant added value in facing common challenges such as climate change, the global competitiveness of the EU's maritime economy, cross-border issues and the management of maritime activities in line with ecosystem requirements.” The Commission has briefly explained the current maritime spatial planning practices in EU Member States and in third countries, delineates the instruments which impact upon it and puts forward key principles supporting it.
The Commission is seeking to promote a broad debate on how a common approach to maritime spatial planning can be achieved in the EU. The Commission wants to put forward an EU strategy as well as legislation clarifying which rules should apply to seaside tourism, maritime transport, ports development, offshore drilling and the development of offshore renewable energy sources.
Member States have been taking different approaches to maritime spatial planning. The UK has prepared a Marine Bill which sets up a maritime planning system for all UK waters which provide for a new administrative structure (the Marine Management Organisation) to simplify permit and licensing procedures. Portugal adopted in 2006 the National Strategy for the Seas aiming at integrating sectoral policies and to define principles for MSP and Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM). Several Member States have developed integrated maritime management plans providing guidance for decisions relating to the concerned marine area. Spain has developed integrated plans to manage its costal zones.
The Commission has based its road map for maritime spatial planning on the experiences of some Member States as well as on existing legal EU instruments which have an impact on maritime spatial planning such as the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, the Water Framework Directive, the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive (NATURA 2000), the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), the recommendation on the management of coastal areas and the communication on the development of offshore wind energy. The Commission has identified key principles both from ongoing practice and existing regulations to promote the debate on the development of MSP in the EU. The Commission has therefore defined several common principles to be implemented by Member States.
The Commission has suggested planning the maritime space according to the region, the type of activities and their impact on the environment. According to the Commission “MSP simplifies decision making and speeds up licensing and permit procedures (…).” The Commission believes that the implementation of MSP must be carried out with coordination among Member States. The Commission believes that the MSP must be legally binding if it is to be effective. The Commission has insisted on the need to develop cross-border cooperation, consultation and control procedures in the planning process. Moreover, the Commission wants to ensure terrestrial spatial planning are coordinated with MSP. The Commission has pointed out that “MSP has to be based on sound information and scientific knowledge. Planning needs to evolve with knowledge (adaptive management).” Hence, the Commission has already carried out scientific and data gathering tools that will assist MSP in this process such as a European Marine Observation and Data Network, an integrated database for maritime socio-economic statistics, the European Atlas of the Seas and the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (Kopernikus).
The Commission is planning to organise in 2009 several workshops to discuss the principles suggested in this Communication and to launch pilot projects aimed at developing cross-border cooperation aspects of MSP. The Commission will also draft a progress report based on the results of the workshops and, at that time, will put forward legislative proposals.
