Samenwerking essentieel voor een succesvol maritiem en veiligheidsbeleid (en)

Frigate Canarias. EFE

An integrated maritime and security policy will be key to guaranteeing safer seas.

“Security problems at sea can only be solved if there is optimum collaboration on every level.” The Secretary of State for Defence, Constantino Méndez, was as unequivocal as that at the close of the “Maritime policies for a prosperous and safe Europe” two-day seminar, which has brought together the main European players involved in developing policies to guarantee safe seas.

Cooperation between people, institutions and governments, between civilians and the military, and between domestic and international policies is essential, Méndez stressed.

The secretary of state, who closed the seminar on behalf of the Minister of Defence, Carme Chacón, pointed out that as a result of this seminar a “reflection document” is going to be drawn up that will be presented at the informal meeting of defence ministers planned for the end of February.

The document will be structured around three central themes: the design of a common conceptual framework, information transfer and the efficient organisation of military operations.

“Spain will pay special attention to employing synergies to achieve an integrated maritime and security policy” that will be “the key to guaranteeing safer seas”, he emphasised. Representatives from European agencies such as FRONTEX i (European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders), EMSA i (European Maritime Safety Agency), CFCA (Community Fisheries Control Agency) and EUISS (European Union Institute for Security Studies), in addition to the Chiefs of Naval Staff of France, Belgium, Portugal and Sweden and Admirals of the Fleet of Italy and Germany, took part in the seminar.