Activities of Nora MEBAREK related to 2022/2059(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the role of cohesion policy in addressing multidimensional environmental challenges in the Mediterranean basin
Opinions (1)
OPINION on the role of Cohesion Policy in addressing multidimensional environmental challenges in the Mediterranean basin
Amendments (25)
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the Mediterranean basin, which consists of EU Member States, candidate and third countries, is the living environment of 250 million inhabitants, with 1/3 of the population concentrated in coastal areas and half of whom live in the European Union; whereas the strengthening of cooperation within and beyond the EU’s borders is of the utmost importance to address common challenges such as pollution and climate change;
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion
Recital A (new)
Recital A (new)
A. whereas, according to Special Protected Areas Regional Activity Centre (SPA/RAC), the Mediterranean is one of the major reservoirs of marine and coastal biodiversity, with 28% of endemic species, 7.5% of the world’s marine fauna and 18% of its marine flora;
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion
Recital B (new)
Recital B (new)
B. whereas the Mediterranean basin is home to over 150 million inhabitants, including numerous fishing communities; whereas 84 % of the fishing fleet is small- scale and artisanal; whereas the fisheries sector represents one million direct and indirect jobs;
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion
Recital C (new)
Recital C (new)
C. whereas the Commission proposed in its 2030 biodiversity strategy to have at least 30 % of the sea area in the EU protected; whereas according to the Mediterranean Protected Areas Network (MedPAN) 8.33 % of the Mediterranean Sea is currently under protection status;
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion
Recital D (new)
Recital D (new)
D. whereas the Mediterranean basin is warming 20% faster than the global average, with the occurrence of marine heatwaves doubling since the 1980s; whereas Mediterranean Experts on Climate and environmental Change (MedECC) estimates that this could lead to the local extinction of up to 50 % of commercial fish and marine invertebrates by 2050;
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion
Recital E (new)
Recital E (new)
E. whereas, according to the latest General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) report on the state of Mediterranean and Black Sea fisheries (2020), the proportion of overfished stocks decreased from 88 % in 2014 to 75 % in 2018;
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion
Recital F (new)
Recital F (new)
F. whereas marine litter is a major concern in the Mediterranean, with micro plastics concentration in the Mediterranean reaching a record level of 1.25 million fragments per km2, making the Mediterranean one of the most polluted seas in the world; whereas fisheries both contributes to and suffers from this situation;
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion
Recital G (new)
Recital G (new)
G. whereas an integrated and sustainably-managed blue economy strategy, bringing together such activities as shipping, seagoing passenger transport, fisheries, energy generation, ports, shipyards, coastal tourism and land-based aquaculture, has the potential to address the multidimensional environmental challenges the Mediterranean is facing, while providing decent jobs and preserve the livelihood of local communities, contribute to food security and underpin the green transition of the broader Mediterranean area;
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion
Recital H (new)
Recital H (new)
H. whereas such a strategy requires adequate maritime multilevel governance, allowing countries and regions across the Mediterranean sea to coordinate action, develop policy tools more effectively and maximise the use of funding and financial instruments;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)
Recital I a (new)
Ia. whereas macro-regions play a key role in strengthening the economic, social, and territorial cohesion of the European Union and its close neighbourhood by empowering cross- border areas to address specific and shared challenges collectively, through exchange and cooperation and implementation, contributing to increased policy effectiveness and impact;
Amendment 34 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 (new)
Paragraph -1 (new)
Amendment 35 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 a (new)
Paragraph -1 a (new)
-1a. Commends the invaluable contribution of the GFCM towards achieving a fully sustainable management of maritime resources, including through its IUU Plan of Action and its Regional Plan of Action for Small-Scale Fisheries in the Mediterranean and Black Sea; regrets that not all of the management recommendations adopted by the GFCM are followed through by its member parties;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I b (new)
Recital I b (new)
Ib. whereas there is a need for Mediterranean territories to finally have an operational instrument, such as a macro regional strategy, enabling them to develop and implement a concrete action plan and joint projects in response to common priorities identified in existing frameworks such as the UfM, ARLEM, etc.;
Amendment 36 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 b (new)
Paragraph -1 b (new)
-1b. Regrets that these numerous initiatives are yet to fully bear fruits, as the environmental prospects for the Mediterranean remain bleak; agrees with the State of Environment and Development in Mediterranean (SoED) 2020 report conclusion that “to avoid projected failures [...] current trajectories must urgently be corrected”;
Amendment 37 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 c (new)
Paragraph -1 c (new)
-1c. Remains in particular extremely concerned about the very slow rate of progress on overfishing in the Mediterranean; furthermore fears that further deteriorations of the maritime environment in the Mediterranean, as projected, would hit coastal and fishing communities the hardest, and hamper the future sustainable development of the entire EU;
Amendment 38 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 d (new)
Paragraph -1 d (new)
-1d. Recalls that the EU fisheries and aquaculture sector has suffered a series of setbacks in recent years prompted by Brexit, the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s war of aggression on Ukraine, and remains extremely fragile to this date;
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Is concerned about the increasing pollution by plastic and domestic waste and calls for a historic effort to limit and manage them by promoting the circular economy; calls on the creation of a pilot project on zero marine pollution in the Mediterranean, thus testing the core principles of a Mediterranean macro- regional strategy around a concrete objective;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Takes note that expenditure for the EU’s southern and eastern neighbourhoods has been increased by EUR 280 million in the 2023 budget and calls for this financial envelope to be used, inter alia, to support ambitious environmental actions in the Mediterranean;
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Considers that the Mediterranean area shares a unique historical and cultural heritage and a Mediterranean climate resulting in similar environmental characteristics, and that it faces similar risks of natural disasters such as fires, floods, earthquakes, drought and increasing scarcity of water resources; in this respect, invites the Commission to study the possibility of adapting the EU civil protection mechanism and the EU solidarity fund to the Mediterranean basin;
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Welcomes the WestMed sea basin strategy in the Western Mediterranean and Interreg programmes such as MARITTIMO and NEXT MED, as good examples of direct and diversified cooperation, including at regional level, with shared objectives;
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Calls on the Commission to provide support for a macro-regional strategy in the Mediterranean taking account of its ‘new agenda for the Mediterranean’, in particular its point five on the ‘ecological transition, climate resilience, energy and the environment’; considers that the diversity and the size of the territory concerned require, in addition, the implementation of three distinct but coordinated strategies, namely strategies for the Western Mediterranean, the Adriatic and Ionian Seas, and the Eastern Mediterranean; calls for the support of the countries and authorities concerned and for a central role of regions in their governance;
Amendment 111 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Considers that this macro-regional strategy must be based on a solid and representative multi-level governance scheme involving regional and local authorities; believes that such a strategy could be used more specifically to encourage circular economy projects, fight plastic pollution, protect biodiversity, strengthen relations with third countries regarding IUU fishing, contribute to resolving use conflicts through proper maritime spatial planning, preserve the socio-economic contribution of fisheries to the well-being of coastal communities, in particular in islands, support the diversification of fishermen's activities, including retraining and conversion, promote stock management measures throughout the Mediterranean basin, and encourage third countries to implement MPAs in their territorial waters;
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 b (new)
Paragraph 17 b (new)
17b. Calls on the European Council to refer the matter to the European Commission to draw up a Mediterranean macro-regional strategy, with a view to its approval under the Spanish Presidency in 2023;
Amendment 114 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 c (new)
Paragraph 17 c (new)
17c. Points out that a large amount of funding can be mobilised through the EU budget to support Mediterranean projects, with NDICI, ETC, Horizon Europe, LIFE or Erasmus programmes which are also open to third countries;