Looking back at two years of Integrated Maritime Policy at work, the Commission reports that, out of 65 actions in the action Plan, 56 have been completed or launched.
In a two-year progress report the Commission provides information and references for a total of 62 items related to the Integrated Maritime Policy (IMP), ranging from awareness-raising measures to legislative acts. The actions are divided into eight chapters:
- Maritime governance (8 items)
- Activities in relation to specific sea basins (8 items)
- Tools for integrated policy-making (3 items)
- Maximising the sustainable use of the oceans and seas (29 items)
- Building a knowledge and innovation base for maritime policy (2 items)
- Delivering the highest quality of life in coastal regions (5 items)
- Promoting Europe’s leadership in international maritime affairs (3 items)
- Raising the visibility of Maritime Europe (4 items)
In a statement accompanying the report, Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso called the IMP of 2007 a “key achievement” of the present Commission, scheduled to abdicate later this fall, and “also a challenge for the next Commission”. “For example, I want the Motorways of the Sea to become a reality”, he added.
Joe Borg, the Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, pronounced the IMP a success that is “changing the way Europe deals with its maritime assets and has placed maritime issues high on Europe’s agenda”, adding that “the excellent start we have made with the IMP should spur us on to even bigger and bolder thinking in the future”.