Government's maritime initiatives

Crafting a holistic policy for Maltese maritime affairs with a European and Mediterranean dimension is one of the government's major initiatives, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi told a stakeholder conference in St Julian's on February 21.

Entitled 'Towards a holistic maritime policy', the conference was organised by the Ministry of Competitiveness and Communications. Participants included-representatives of Government, the private sector, tourism, local councils and NGOs. Dr Gonzi indicated that, in addition to shipping, coastal tourism, fishing and aquaculture, the Government was also taking initiatives in other areas, such as coastal management, spanning a range of ministries.

The aim was to build Maltese expertise in production, services, training of personnel, research and the development of technologies to explore, exploit, conserve or manage the marine environment.

"The three central considerations of these consultations - resources, pollution and high seas - indicate that Malta's efforts cannot be secured unless in partnership with the other member states," Dr Gonzi emphasised.

"Given the interrelated nature of maritime problems, and their relevance for Europe's Lisbon Strategy, our partnership will have to develop not just in conjunction with those member states that have a Mediterranean coast, but with all member states, including, as Malta insisted prior to the publication of the Commission's Green Paper, the landlocked states of Europe."

Malta has proposed a network for regional management to bring together and consolidate the work and perspectives of the General Fisheries Council for the Mediterranean, the International Maritime Organisation, the Mediterranean Action Plan, the Mediterranean Science Commission and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission. This approach would include seeking to reach maritime co-operation agreements with non-EU neighbours, the Union offering them special development aid to help finance their participation.

Tasked with co-ordinating the consultations and policy design, the Minister for Competitiveness and Communications, Censu Galea, reported that a Maritime Permanent Forum chaired by him had been set up within government.

"This national conference is the second phase: the initiation of a wider consultation outside government and the authorities," he said "and will launch the compilation of a register of stakeholders, to be continuously updated."

All stakeholders were invited to transmit their views on the European Commission's Green Paper on an integrated maritime policy for Europe, so government could integrate them into its forthcoming response to Brussels. "Malta will be organising an international conference on marine spatial planning in the Euro-Med region," Mr Galea added.

Patrick Tabone, chef de cabinet to European Commissioner for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Joe Borg, said the Commission's Green Paper "tries to identify the potential for beneficial interfaces and synergies between all sectoral policies which have an impact on the oceans and seas.

"It seeks to strike the right balance between the economic, social, safety and environmental dimensions of sustainable development, while ensuring the preservation of the seas as the ultimate resource-base."

The Commission's recently adopted Thematic Strategy for the Marine Environment would deliver the environmental pillar of a future maritime policy, while marine-related science and research activities had been identified as a key cross-cutting priority in the EU's 7th Research Framework Programme.

Ing. Anton Bartolo (Malta Enterprise) urged that the government's emerging Euro-Mediterranean Institute of Technology and Innovation (EuroMedITI) should host one of the six Knowledge and Information Communities - which could focus on cutting-edge marine technologies - proposed for the European Institute of Technology project, whose launch was expected at the end of the year.

Dr Gordon Cordina (University of Malta) said that roughly 15% of Malta's gross domestic product arose in the marine sector (compared to EU's average 3-5%), while its marine area was 13 times its land area. "Malta's coastal area amounts to roughly one-fifth of its land area," he added. "There is insufficient 'new economy' activity based on research and knowledge creation, which can build sustained competitive advantages," he warned. "A number of opportunities are still to be reaped, such as energy, biotechnology, weather services, climate research, sustainable tourism."