Commission welcomes Parliament's adoption of Maritime Spatial Planning legislation
22 Apr 2014 12:46 PM
The European Parliament last week endorsed a
Directive for Maritime Spatial Planning which should help Member States develop
plans to better coordinate the various activities that take place at sea,
ensuring they are as efficient and sustainable as possible. In coastal and
maritime areas, many activities compete for the same space and resources:
fishing grounds, aquaculture farms, marine protected areas exist alongside
maritime infrastructures such as cables, pipelines, shipping lanes and oil, gas
and wind installations. The new Directive will help avoid potential conflicts
between such diverse uses and create a stable environment attractive to
investors, thereby contributing to sustainable growth.
With rapidly increasing demand for maritime space
for new activities, from renewable energy to aquaculture installations, better
and coherent planning of maritime activities at sea is indeed needed. The
Directive sets minimum requirements for the drawing up of national maritime
spatial plans. These plans will identify all existing human activities, taking
into account land-sea interactions, and the most effective way of managing
them. As many of the activities run across national borders, the Directive will
help Member States co-operate better.
European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and
Fisheries Maria Damanaki and Environment Commissioner Janez Potočnik said:
"Today's vote in the European Parliament is an important
step in creating new growth opportunities across all maritime sectors by better
managing our seas and ensuring their sustainability. Only if we coordinate the
various activities taking place in our seas can we make access to maritime
space more predictable for investors and at the same time reduce the impact of
maritime activities on the environment."
Background
Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) is a cornerstone of
the Commission's Blue Growth strategy and of the EU Integrated Maritime
Policy. It allows improved understanding of the distribution of marine
resources and offers investors greater certainty about potential economic
development. With MSP, operators will know what, where and for how long an
activity can take place. Maritime Spatial Planning will also reduce existing
over-regulation and administrative complexity. For instance, in some countries
up to nine executive agencies need to be contacted before securing a permit for
an offshore aquaculture site. Better coordination will speed up procedures
which will generate economic gains. For instance by accelerating investments in
offshore aquaculture or renewables by 1, 2 or 3 years, economic gains from
€60 million to over €600 million could be generated by
2020.
Maritime Spatial Planning will also contribute to a
more efficient implementation of EU environmental legislation in marine waters
and will help Member States reach good environmental status of their waters by
2020. It should help establish coherent networks of Marine Protected Areas, for
which cooperation on planning across borders is essential, and ensure the
participation of all stakeholders in planning processes.
Next steps
Once finally adopted by ministers, Member States
must transpose the Directive into their national legislation by 2016 and
nominate the Competent Authority in charge of the implementation of MSP. Member
States must also draw up their national maritime spatial plans by 2021. They
are free to tailor the content of the plans and strategies to their specific
economic, social and environmental priorities, and their national sectorial
policy objectives and legal traditions, but must respect the minimum
requirements of the Directive.
For further
information