MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

EU reiterates commitment with conservation of oceans and seas

EC President José Durao Barroso hopes the proposed measures be approved this quarter

The president of the European Commission (EC), Jose Manuel Durao Barroso, has emphasised that the fight against environmental deterioration of the oceans and seas is an urgent matter and that Brussels will impose new measures in the case that the current policies are insufficient or inefficient.

"There is no time to lose" on this issue, since the natural marine environment continues "deteriorating with the increase of economic activity," stressed Barroso during the opening ceremony of the High Level Conference on the European Union (EU) Maritime Policy held in Lisbon. Before the 27 Member State ministers of the European block, the president of the EC said the EU Executive is "aware of the problem" and determined to "consider other options for action" if the present policies do not produce expected results. "That is why the EC has been working hard on this front as well. We have proposed measures to protect the marine environment that I hope will be adopted under the Portuguese Presidency. He also underlined that one of the EU objectives is a sustainable fishery sector, and that illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishery activities "world-wide, reel in larger volumes than all the legitimate fishing in the EU combined". A few days back, the EC approved a broad plan of action targeting a unified maritime policy in the EU in order to co-ordinate sectors such as fishery, aquaculture, transportation, and energy production, to confront environmental situations, particularly those concerning climate change. "Europe will need to rely even more on its maritime transport and on better and more efficient ports. It is through the complex web of maritime logistics that 90% of the EUs external trade is carried out," specified Barroso, he also added that the development of the marine industry and European ports represent an urgent challenge. At the conference, Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates, said that EU maritime development must prioritize economic aims, such as its relation with transportation, port activity, marine construction, fisheries, tourism, and marine resources, biotechnologies and renewable resources. Socrates affirmed that an integrated maritime policy with economic, environmental, and security benefits demands a concrete common endeavor with the oceans and seas within the EU territory. "We can answer effectively to these demands if we organise the maritime territory, the coastal areas in an integrated manner and construct a common frontier," he said. Conclusions from this meeting will be presented before the Heads of State and Government Summit to be held in December this year in Brussels announced the Secretary of State of Maritime Affairs of Portugal, João Mira Gomes, and the Commissioner of EU Fisheries, Joe Borg, during a press conference. "We are pressed to go forward, but it must be done within the framework of a broad consultation system involving all members at a local, national and European level, where topics on the environment must not be treated individually without first considering its possible impact," explained Borg. (FIS/MP)