Kalkara mayor Michael Cohen, as a member of the Committee of the Regions (CoR), is urging the European Commission to be more ambitious in its efforts to achieve a sustainable marine environment and reverse the effects of decades of deterioration on sub-aquatic ecosystems.
The Brussels-based assembly, where regional leaders meet to have their say on proposed European laws and future EU strategy, yesterday approved a report submitted by Mr Cohen, calling on the Commission to achieve its marine conservation targets by 2018 at the latest.
The Commission had previously suggested a deadline of 2021.
In an address Mr Cohen said that in the CoR's view this was too late as the EU needed to address the problems affecting the marine environment with far greater urgency.
The Socialist member stated that manmade factors such as pollution and contamination of the seas, as well as the impact of unsustainable patterns of overfishing, were chiefly to blame for the deterioration of Europe's marine environment.
"Unless adequate remedial action is taken at the earliest opportunity, there is a strong risk of potentially irreversible changes to Europe's marine ecosystems," he warned.
Mr Cohen also expressed concern about current methods of monitoring the state of the marine environment, labelling them as neither integrated nor complete.
The report, which is a response to a proposed directive establishing a framework for Community action in the field of marine environmental policy and to the Commission's thematic strategy for the protection and conservation of the marine environment, generally welcomes the EU's approach in most areas.
In particular, the rapporteur highlighted the Commission's strong commitment to 'subsidiarity', the principle which requires that laws and decisions are made at the lowest feasible administrative level and as closely as possible to the citizen.
Concerning the proposed directive, Mr Cohen welcomed the concept of establishing European marine regions and sub-regions aimed at ensuring effective implementation of maritime policy measures.
Malta currently has five members in the CoR, three representing the Nationalist Party and two representing Labour.