On Tuesday, 08 April, adopted an own-initiative report by Willi Piecyk (PES – DE) on the proposed Commission Action Plan on integrated maritime policy for the European Union. MEPs called for a more ambitious plan than the one the Commission proposed in October 2007. The report will be put to vote in the plenary in May.

The transport and tourism committee feels that the Action Plan includes too few practical measures and urges the Commission to use the instruments at its disposal under the EU Treaty. Members say that climate change challenges are addressed in a non-binding way, and that it should be the task of European Maritime Policy to prepare in particular for rising sea levels, with the increased risk of flooding of ports and coastal regions. MEPs call for maritime policy to make a substantial contribution to reducing greenhouse emissions, including incorporating shipping in emissions trading and stepping up research efforts with a view to exploiting the seas as a source of renewable energy. They also urge the Commission to be more ambitious in combating sulphur and NOx emissions as well as emissions of solids from ships. The committee also points out that land-based pollution of the seas constitutes a significant proportion of overall maritime pollution and that the Commission has yet to get to grips with this issue. According to the report, the Commission should put forward an action plan to reduce such pollution and the Member States should act promptly to transpose the legislation in this field into their national laws. Finally,  the document says that an action plan is also needed to identify and remove old munitions from past wars dumped in the North Sea and the Baltic.

For more information please refer to the text of the EP report and to the Commission communication.