A 2-day “Seminar on the Evolving EU Maritime Policy and the Proposed Action Plan – A vision for an integrated Maritime Policy for the EU and Neighbouring States” is being organized by the IOI-Malta Operational Centre of the University of Malta, with the support of the EC Task Team on the Green Paper on Maritime Policy, at Sundown Courts, Kappara on the 3rd and 4th December (Refer to agenda hereunder).
This event follows the recent Communication issued by the European Commission on the 10th October 2007 which sets the vision for an Integrated Maritime Policy for the EU and introduces a detailed action plan for the coming years. The focus of this policy is the holistic approach in maritime affairs intended to maintain European excellence and competitiveness, based on research and advances in science and technology, and targeting globalization, climate change and pollution problems affection the seas and oceans.
The seminar will review aims, objectives and underlying principles of the policy together with the EU Green Paper consultation process. It will tackle the institutional mechanisms and sectoral responses necessary to achieve the policy, which ideally would not only tackle the European framework, but also point to a mechanism for greater coherence with neighbouring countries. The regional and international impact of the evolving policy together with the implications of the policy for EU Small Island jurisdictions will also be addressed.
Dr. Awni Behnam, President of the International Ocean Institute will open the event and speakers will include Rafal Mazanek and Izolda Bulvinaite, members of the EU Task Team on the Maritime Policy, Dr. Aldo Drago, Director of IOI-Malta Operational Centre, and Dr. Gordon Cordina, Rev. Prof. Peter Serracino Inglott and Dr. Ranier Fsadni of the University of Malta.
This event is also being organized as part of the IOI Malta Training Course on Ocean Governance for the Mediterranean and Eastern European Countries, a flagship activity of the International Ocean Institute and a very prestigious international course for the University of Malta which runs annually over a 5-week period. The course is specifically designed to benefit mid-career professionals, government officials, educators, researchers and civil society participants, preferably with coastal/marine-related responsibilities, of the Mediterranean, the Black, the Baltic and the Caspian Seas. It draws upon the conduct of maritime affairs in line with the Lisbon Strategy targeting the Millennium Development Goals and building upon a holistic and integrated maritime policy following the principles enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Another focus is the linkage between the natural, social and economic sciences to the development of sustainable ocean governance, and on the research-management interface that can render governance operable. The emphasis of this year’s course is on the implications of the EU maritime policy for the European regional seas.
The course is accredited by the University of Malta and sponsored by the Lighthouse Foundation, the United Nations University/EHS and the International Maritime Organisation.
Please register for this seminar by sending an email with your contact details to Dr. Aldo Drago, Director of IOI-MOC on aldo.drago@um.edu.mt or by calling on 21 440972
