04 Marzo, 2005
Il discorso di José Manuel Barroso in occasione della giornata del mare.
We are here today to commit ourselves to a sustainablefuture for the oceans and seas, for the maritime sectors

Discorso del Presidente della Commissione europea José Manuel Barroso in occasione dell'apertura ufficiale della Giornata europea del mare (Roma, 19 maggio 2009)

                  Prime Minister,

                  Ministers,

                  Ladies and gentlemen,

                  We  are  here  today to commit ourselves to a sustainable

                  future  for the oceans and seas, for the maritime sectors

                  and for our coastal regions. I am delighted that you have

                  come in such great numbers to share this commitment.

                  Europe is a maritime continent. Half her inhabitants live

                  less  than  50km  from  the  sea,  like here in Italy for

                  instance,  and the maritime area under our Member States'

                  jurisdiction is greater than their territorial land mass!

                  So  it is no surprise that the sea has always played such

                  a central role in the lives of Europeans.

                  Even  in  the  wake  of  the most serious economic crisis

                  since  the  Second  World War, that central role will not

                  decline.  European  shipping  continues to control 40% of

                  the  world  fleet,  European  shipbuilders still have the

                  assets  to  remain world leaders in terms of turnover and

                  innovation,  and  Europe’s  coasts  remain  an attractive

                  asset  to  people and industry, in particular the coastal

                  and maritime tourism industries.

                  Millions  of  people are employed in maritime sectors and

                  we  will do all we can to offer them a prosperous future.

                  With the new European Integrated Maritime Policy, that we

                  are   building,   our   coastal   regions   will   remain

                  instrumental  in securing Europe’s global competitiveness

                  and a high quality of life for all our citizens.

                  In the past, the o nly brakes o n our mastery of the oceans

                  have  been  technological  constraints  and the forces of

                  nature.  But  there  is  increasing evidence that we have

                  been  wrong  about this. The loss of biodiversity is very

                  worrying  and  puts  all  the  wealth we draw from marine

                  resources at risk.

                  To ensure a prosperous future for our coastal regions, we

                  must  also act to both fight and adapt to climate change.

                  We   have  to  make  sure that rising sea levels, coastal

                  erosion,  increasingly  prevalent  storms  and  flooding,

                  drought    and   salination   –   particularly   in   the

                  Mediterranean  – do not become insurmountable barriers to

                  investment and growth.

                  More  than  ever,  our maritime challenges require a firm

                  response.  We  must  demonstrate that the EU's Integrated

                  Maritime  Policy  is  not a luxury for fair-weather days,

                  but  the  key  -  in  good  times  and  bad - to creating

                  investment, jobs and wealth by making the best use of our

                  seas and oceans.

                  And  I  insist  that this can be done while enhancing the

                  sustainability  of  our seas. The loss of our oceans as a

                  source  of wealth would mean the end of a way of life and

                  of  our  maritime identity. Impoverished biodiversity and

                  the  irreversible  effects of climate change would plunge

                  us into debts we could never pay back.

                  If  we  –  politicians,  administrations,  scientists and

                  industry  – join forces, like here today, we can lead the

                  world  into  a  new  era  of genuine sustainable maritime

                  activity.  We can do more for green transport, for energy

                  efficiency, for ways to deal with climate change.

                  Together  we  can  push  for  research and technology, to

                  innovate  and  change the way we do business. To give but

                  one  illustration, we have just allocated €500 million to

                  investment  in  renewable  ocean  energy,  as part of our

                  response to the economic downturn.

                  Ladies and gentlemen,

                  Our  initiative for an Integrated Maritime Policy has the

                  tools to get us to our destination.

                  Our  integrated  approach  has led us away from dispersed

                  efforts   under   environmental,  transport  or  industry

                  policies. We now have a consistent framework to steer our

                  efforts  in  the same direction in a co-ordinated manner:

                  towards  our ambitions for sustainable growth in maritime

                  sectors  and  coastal economies. We now have the means to

                  deliver  maritime prosperity and sustainability. And I am

                  very   proud  to  say  that  this  vision  is  the  joint

                  achievement  of all Europe’s maritime community, to which

                  many of you have contributed.

                  Two  thousand  years  ago,  the  Roman philosopher Seneca

                  declared:  “if  one  does  not  know to which port o ne is

                  sailing,  no  wind is favourable”. And for the Integrated

                  Maritime  Policy,  it  is time to choose our next port of

                  call.  It is time to look at what should be the future of

                  the Integrated Maritime Policy .

                  This  Commission  has  pursued  an  ocean-oriented agenda

                  without  precedent  since  the  Treaty of Rome was signed

                  more  than  fifty  years  ago.  As  a  result,  the  EU’s

                  Integrated  Maritime  Policy has been at the forefront of

                  an   international   trend  towards  integrated  maritime

                  governance.  Australia,  Canada,  Japan  and  the US have

                  spearheaded   the   movement   through   dedicated  ocean

                  policies,  but  they  have  not  been  alone  in this. In

                  Europe, Norway, France, Portugal and the Netherlands have

                  gradually been applying integrated approaches.

                  More  recently,  we have witnessed a real sea change – if

                  you'll  excuse the expression -  with initiatives towards

                  integration  in  many  Member  States, including Germany,

                  Ireland, Poland, Sweden and the UK.

                  In short, everyone is o n board. It is now time to prepare

                  for  the  next  phase  of consolidating and enhancing our

                  policy for the future. I think the best way to do this is

                  to concentrate o n five strategic directions.

                  First,   governance.  The  Commission  will  continue  to

                  develop  its forward-looking vision and translate it into

                  not  only  a  combined  maritime  agenda  but  a specific

                  Commission  work  programme.  Only  by   coordinating our

                  sea-related  initiatives  from a very early stage will we

                  be  able  to  achieve  a  genuine  integrated approach to

                  maritime  affairs.  We  trust  that other EU institutions

                  will  continue to accompany us in building the governance

                  structure needed to deliver o n this agenda.

                  Member  States  must  also  continue  their  progress  in

                  integrating  their own policy-making, at both central and

                  regional  level.  And  we  will  continue  to  strengthen

                  stakeholder  involvement  and support the organisation of

                  stakeholders across different interests.

                  Second,  in the context of integrated governance, we need

                  to  pursue  the logic of cross-sectoral tools, notably to

                  support economic development.

                  For  example,  we  will  promote further maritime spatial

                  planning  to  allow new, growing uses of the sea. We will

                  promote  maritime  clusters, access to knowledge and data

                  on marine issues, as well as joint research programming.

                  We  will  also integrate fragmented sectoral surveillance

                  systems,     thereby    enhancing    safety,    security,

                  environmental monitoring and law enforcement o n the seas;

                  this  is  vital  for Europe’s security, for the health of

                  our oceans, and for quality of life o n our coasts.

                  Third,  we  must  further enhance a sea-basin approach to

                  address    specific    maritime    challenges    in   the

                  Mediterranean, the Baltic, the North Sea and others.

                  Our   sea-basin  approaches  have  considerable  economic

                  potential.   They   can   help   unlock  and  co-ordinate

                  investment  into  such key infrastructure as pipelines or

                  power  cables.  They can help approach the ecosystem in a

                  much   more   consistent   manner   and   conduct   joint

                  environmental impact assessments.

                  Fourth,  we  need  to look beyond Europe. Oceans and seas

                  have  no  borders.  We  will  push to make the idea of an

                  Integrated  Maritime  Policy an established principle and

                  practice in international maritime governance.

                  Fifth,  we  can  do  better  to demonstrate that not o nly

                  economic benefits, but truly sustainable development will

                  be  derive  from  our  integrated  approach  to  maritime

                  affairs.  In  this vein, we will explore strong synergies

                  between  the  European  Energy  Policy and the Integrated

                  Maritime  Policy.  We will promote energy generation from

                  the sea and we will use it more for energy transportation

                  as well.

                  We  will  also link better Europe's Climate Change Policy

                  with  Integrated  Maritime  Policy.  We  will  invest  in

                  knowing much more about the role of the oceans in climate

                  change.  We  will  develop  a  strategy for adaptation to

                  climate  change in our coastal and maritime areas, aiming

                  at  protecting our critical coastal infrastructure and in

                  preserving our much threatened marine biodiversity.

                  On  the  issue  of  preserving the marine environment, we

                  will  use  the  integrated  approach  to  push  for  full

                  implementation  of the Marine Directive and assist Member

                  States to deliver the initial assessments of their marine

                  waters.

                  We  will  also  have  to  work  hard  and  promote better

                  maritime transport. We will deliver o n the actions of our