PURPOSE: to establish a programme to support the further development on an Integrated Maritime Policy (IMP).

LEGISLATIVE ACT: Regulation (EU) No 1255/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a Programme to support the further development of an Integrated Maritime Policy.

CONTENT: following a first-reading agreement reached with the European Parliament, the Council adopted a regulation establishing an EU programme to further promote the development and the implementation of the EU's integrated maritime policy. The Union's Integrated Maritime Policy shall foster coordinated and coherent decision-making to maximise the sustainable development, economic growth and social cohesion of Member States, in particular with regard to coastal, insular and outermost regions in the Union, as well as maritime sectors, through coherent maritime-related policies and relevant international cooperation.

General objectives of the programme : the programme, which will support the sustainable use of the seas and oceans, and the expansion of scientific knowledge, has the following general objectives:

to foster the development and implementation of integrated governance of maritime and coastal affairs; to contribute to develop synergies and to support sea or coast-related policies, particularly in the fields of economic development, employment, environmental protection, research, maritime safety, energy and the development of green maritime technologies; to promote the protection of the marine environment, in particular its biodiversity, and the sustainable use of marine and coastal resources, in line with the "marine strategy framework directive" (2008/56/EC); to support the development and implementation of sea-basin strategies; to improve and enhance international cooperation; to support economic growth, employment, innovation and new technologies in maritime sectors in the Union.

For each general objective, more detailed operational objectives are defined.

Financial envelope : the financial envelope for the implementation of the Programme shall be set at EUR 40 000 000 for the period from 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2013 . This amount shall be broken down as follows:

development and implementation of integrated governance of maritime and coastal affairs and visibility of the IMP: at least 4%; development of cross-sectoral tools: at least 60%; protection of the marine environment and sustainable use of marine and coastal resources: at least 8%; development and implementation of sea-basin strategies: at least 8%; external cooperation and coordination of the international dimension of the IMP: maximum 1%; sustainable economic growth, employment, innovation and new technologies: at least 4%.

Up to 1% of the financial envelope may also cover necessary expenditure relating to any preparatory action, monitoring, control, audit or evaluation directly necessary in order to implement eligible actions under this Regulation effectively and efficiently and to achieve its objectives.

Reporting, evaluation and extension : the Commission shall regularly and promptly inform the European Parliament and the Council about its work. It shall submit to the European Parliament and to the Council: (a) a progress report no later than 31 December 2012; the progress report shall include an evaluation of the Programme's impact on other Union policies;

(b) an ex-post evaluation report no later than 31 December 2014. If appropriate, the Commission shall submit a legislative proposal on the extension of the Programme beyond 2013 with an appropriate financial envelope.

ENTRY INTO FORCE: 06/12/2011.

The European Parliament adopted by 541 votes to 33, with 14 abstentions, a legislative resolution on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a Programme to support the further development of an Integrated Maritime Policy.

Parliament adopted its position at first reading, under the ordinary legislative procedure. The amendments adopted in plenary are the result of a compromise negotiated between the European Parliament and the Council. They amend the Commission proposal as follows:

Subject matter : the amended text states that t he Union's Integrated Maritime Policy (‘IMP’) shall foster coordinated and coherent decision making to maximise the sustainable development , economic growth and social cohesion of Member States, in particular with regard to coastal, insular and outermost regions in the Union, as well as maritime sectors, through coherent maritime-related policies and relevant international cooperation. The Programme shall support the sustainable use of the seas and oceans, and the expansion of scientific knowledge.

Further objectives include :

to contribute to the development of cross-sectoral tools, namely Maritime Spatial Planning, the Common Information Sharing Environment (CISE) and marine knowledge on the oceans, seas and coastal regions within and bordering the Union, in order to develop synergies and to support sea or coast-related policies, particularly in the fields of economic development, employment, environmental protection, research, maritime safety, energy and the development of green maritime technologies, taking into account and building upon existing tools and initiatives; to promote the protection of the marine environment, in particular its biodiversity, and the sustainable use of marine and coastal resources and to further define the boundaries of the sustainability of human activities that have an impact on the marine environment, in particular in the framework of Directive 2008/56/EC (the Marine Strategy Framework Directive); to support the development and implementation of sea-basin strategies; to improve and enhance external cooperation and coordination in relation to the objectives of the IMP, on the basis of advancing debate within international forums; in this respect, third countries shall be urged to ratify and implement the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS); to support sustainable economic growth, employment, innovation and new technologies in maritime sectors and in coastal, insular and outermost regions in the Union.

For each general objective , operational objectives are set out in delail.

Eligible actions and beneficiaries : the Programme may provide financial assistance for the following types of actions: (i) projects, including test projects; studies; research and operational cooperative programmes, including education, professional training and retraining programmes; (ii) public information and sharing best practice, awareness raising and associated communication and dissemination activities, including publicity campaigns and events, and the development and maintenance of websites and relevant social networks and databases; (iii) pooling, monitoring and visualisation of, and ensuring public access to, a significant amount of data, best practices and databases on Union-funded regional projects, including where appropriate through a secretariat established for one or more of these purposes which will facilitate the adoption of common uniform standards for data collection and processing.

Principles for implementation : actions financed under the Programme shall not be eligible to receive assistance from other financial instruments of the Union. Synergies and complementarity shall be sought with other instruments of the Union. Actions under the Programme shall be complementary to the implementation of relevant sectoral policies.

The actions supported by the Programme shall stimulate and reinforce dialogue, cooperation and coordination with and among Member States, EU regions, stakeholders, citizens, civil society organisations and the social partners, while guaranteeing full transparency.

Budgetary resources : the financial envelope for the implementation of the Programme shall be set at EUR 40 000 000 for the period from 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2013 .

The distribution of funds among the general objectives is as follows:

(a) Development and implementation of integrated governance of maritime and coastal affairs and visibility of the IMP: at least 4%;

(b) Development of cross-sectoral tools: at least 60%;

(c) Protection of the marine environment and sustainable use of marine and coastal resources: at least 8%;

(d) Development and implementation of sea-basin strategies: at least 8%;

(e) External cooperation and coordination of the international dimension of the IMP: maximum 1%;

(f) Sustainable economic growth, employment, innovation and new technologies: at least 4%.

Up to 1% of the financial envelope may also cover necessary expenditure relating to any preparatory action, monitoring, control, audit or evaluation directly necessary in order to implement eligible actions under this Regulation effectively and efficiently and to achieve its objectives.

By a Joint Statement by the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission state that the financial envelope for the implementation of the Programme to support the further development of the IMP for 2011-13 is EUR 40 000 000. This envelope is to be composed of EUR 23 140 000 drawn from the 2011 budget without calling on the available margin of heading 2 of the multi annual financial framework, an amount of EUR 16 660 000, including an allocation for technical assistance, entered in the draft budget and accepted by Council during its reading of the 2012 budget and a further amount of EUR 200 000 for technical assistance to be entered in the 2013 budget.

Towards this end, the 2011 budget would need to be amended to create the necessary nomenclature and enter the appropriations in the reserve. The adopted budgets for 2012 and 2013 would need to include the relevant amounts for those years.

Reporting, evaluation and extension : the amended text provides that the Commission shall: (i) regularly and promptly inform the European Parliament and the Council about its work; (ii) submit to the European Parliament and the Council: (a) a progress report no later than 31 December 2012; the progress report shall include an evaluation of the Programme's impact on other Union policies; (b) an ex-post evaluation report no later than 31 December 2014.

If appropriate, the Commission shall submit a legislative proposal on the extension of the Programme beyond 2013 with an appropriate financial envelope.

Committee procedure : the Commission shall be assisted by a committee. That committee shall be a committee within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down the rules and general principles concerning mechanisms for control by Member States of the Commission's exercise of implementing powers.

The European Parliament and the Council do not exclude the possibility of providing for delegated acts in future Programmes beyond 2013 on the basis of relevant Commission proposals.

The Council took note of a report on progress in work on a draft regulation aimed at establishing a programme to support the further development of an integrated maritime policy.

The position of Member States in relation to the legislative proposal may be summarised as follows: an overall consensus was reached on the majority of the Articles. The main concerns expressed by Member States relate to the budgetary aspects and to the committee procedure .

Budgetary aspects : a majority of delegations have reservations regarding the proposed amount of EUR 50 million. One group of Member States proposes EUR 20 million. Another group of Member States can accept the amount of EUR 50 million. Some delegations can also accept the latter amount provided that the examination procedure is applied. Other delegations can be flexible on the amount provided that it is met through reallocation. The Commission proposes using the margins of Heading 2, while all Member States strongly insist on financing the Programme through reallocation.

The Presidency stressed on several occasions that this Regulation shall be without prejudice to the future decision of the budgetary authorities regarding the source of the amount.

Nevertheless, the Presidency considers it necessary to reflect the strong position of the Council on this issue and therefore proposed inserting recital (7c), bearing in mind the forthcoming negotiations with the European Parliament. The Commission opposes this insertion, considering that the decision on the source of funding belongs to the budgetary authorities and that the legislative and budgetary procedures should not be mixed up.

Concerning the financial envelope for technical assistance, the Council requested the introduction of a ceiling to be determined once agreement is reached on the total amount. One delegation proposed putting the ceiling at 1%. Commission opposes the introduction of the ceiling, arguing that it is not compatible with the Financial Regulation.

Committee procedure : all delegations objected to the use of the advisory procedure as proposed by the Commission. The Council strongly argues for the examination procedure to be used.

The Committee on Transport and Tourism adopted the report drafted by Georgios KOUMOUTSAKOS (EPP, EL) on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a Programme to support the further development of an Integrated Maritime Policy.

It recommends that the European Parliament’s position adopted at first reading, under the ordinary legislative procedure, amends the Commission proposal as follows:

Programme objectives : Members consider that the primary objective of which is to maximise the sustainable development, economic growth and social cohesion of EU coastal, island and outermost regions through coherent and coordinated maritime-related policies and relevant international cooperation. The Programme shall support the sustainable use of the seas and oceans, and the expansion of scientific knowledge.

Further objectives include : (i) supporting the development and implementation of sea-basin strategies; (ii) promoting the protection of the marine environment, in particular its biodiversity; (iii) supporting sustainable "blue" economic growth, employment, innovation and new technologies in maritime sectors and in coastal, island and outermost regions in the EU; (iv) enhancing the visibility of maritime Europe.

Operational objectives : the structure of the objectives should allow a clear attribution of operational objectives to a general objective. According to Members the operational objectives should be detailed and specific, but a measure of flexibility is needed. Therefore there should be the possibility to modify them during the implementation period. As the operational objectives are non-essential elements of this legislative act which are of general application, Article 290 of the TFEU on delegated acts must be applied.

Eligible actions and beneficiaries : the Programme may provide financial assistance for the following types of actions: (i) studies, research and operational cooperative programmes, including education, professional training and re-training programmes; (ii) public information and best practice sharing, awareness raising and associated communication and dissemination activities, including publicity campaigns, and events and the development and maintenance of websites and relevant social networks and databases; (iii) conferences, seminars, workshops, stakeholders fora and training activities for relevant professional groups.

Third countries and stakeholders in third countries should not be excluded from the list of possible beneficiaries.

Work programmes : as a framework for the implementation of the Programme, the Commission shall adopt one or several work programmes for appropriate periods by means of delegated acts.

Financing : the committee recalls that in its resolution of 21 October 2010 on Integrated Maritime Policy (IMP) , the Parliament supported the Commission's stated intention to finance the IMP with EUR 50 million over the next two years in order to build upon previous projects in the areas of policy, governance, sustainability and surveillance.

The amendments proposed by the Members stipulate that the available annual appropriations and the appropriate nomenclature shall be authorised by the budgetary authority within the limits of the current financial framework, without jeopardising the implementation of current programmes and activities, thus avoiding redeployment within the relevant heading of the current financial framework. Members state that the budgetary resources allocated to the Programme shall be taken from the margin available in heading 2 of the multiannual financial framework for 2007-2013 , without prejudice to the decision of the budgetary authority.

Areas of expenditure for various objectives : the financial envelope shall be earmarked for the following areas:

integrated maritime governance and sea-basin related activities; tools for the development of an integrated maritime policy; promotion of the international dimension of the integrated maritime policy and the visibility of maritime Europe; definition of sustainability limits in respect of maritime activities through the marine Strategy Framework Directive, as well as sustainable economic growth, job creation and innovation.

Reporting, evaluation and extension : Members call on the European Parliament and the Council shall be regularly and promptly informed about the Commission's work.

The Commission shall submit to the European Parliament and the Council:

a progress report no later than 31 December 2012. The progress report shall include an evaluation of the Programme's impact on other Union policies. an ex-post evaluation report no later than 31 December 2014.

The Commission shall submit, if appropriate, a legislative proposal on the extension of the Programme beyond 2013 with an appropriate financial envelope.

Delegated acts : Members aim to see more involve of the Legislators in further decision-making through delegated acts and reporting. They introduce amendments laying down the conditions of the delegation of powers.

PURPOSE: to establish a programme to support the further development on an Integrated Maritime Policy (IMP).

PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council.

BACKGROUND:

On 10 October 2007, the Commission published the Communication on an Integrated Maritime Policy for the European Union (‘Blue Paper’), which was accompanied by an action plan which sets out a number of actions to be taken as a first step in implementing a newIMP. In October 2009, the Commission adopted a Progress Report on the EU’s which charted the course for its next implementation phase.

In its conclusions of 16 November 2009, the General Affairs Council highlighted the importance of funding for the further development and implementation of the IMP by inviting the Commission to present the necessary proposals for the financing of integrated maritime policy actions within the existing Financial Perspective, with a view to entry into force by 2011.

Further development and implementation of the Integrated Maritime Policy along the lines set out by the Commission and endorsed by the Council is at risk because there are insufficient means to fund the necessary actions over the remaining period (2011 – 2013) of the current Financial Perspective. Pilot schemes and preparatory actions relating to the Integrated Maritime Policy can be financed only until the end of 2010.

A continued modest financial underpinning is needed to enable the EU to implement and further develop the Integrated Maritime Policy in line with Parliament’s resolution of 20 May 2008 and to pursue the overarching objectives as set out in the Commission's Blue Paper, confirmed in the Progress Report and endorsed by the General Affairs Council conclusions of November 2009.

This financing will enable the continuation of the exploratory work that has already been initiated through preparatory actions and pilot projects, and to further develop and concretise options for implementation of the IMP.

IMPACT ASSESSMENT: the proposal is not accompanied by an impact assessment. Nevertheless, the Commission conducted an ex-ante evaluation of the most detailed aspects of the proposed financing programme.

The three policy alternatives identified in the ex-ante evaluation are the following:

Option 1: no further action; Option 2: a modest EU financial contribution, at a reasonably increased level compared to the preparatory and pilot projects so far, for further exploring options and steadily implementing the IMP as it develops; Option 3: fully fledged financing.

Taking into account the limitations of options 1 and 3 and the strong Community interest in achieving the IMP's objectives in the short to medium term, the appropriate solution would seem to be Option 2 , i.e. a modest EU financial contribution to fund IMP activities for the period 2011-2013.

LEGAL BASE: the EU’s Integrated Maritime Policy has no explicit legal basis in the Treaty. However, it covers many EU sectoral policies with a bearing on the seas and coasts such as fisheries, freedom, security and justice, transport, industry, territorial cohesion, research, environment, energy, and tourism. That is why the proposed legislative act is based on Article 43(2), Article 74 and 77(2), Article 91(1) and 100(2), Article 173(3), Article 175, Article 188, Article 192(1), Article 194(2) and Article 195(2).

CONTENT: the proposed Regulation seeks to establish a programme to support the further development of an Integrated Maritime Policy. The general objective of the proposed Programme is to provide adequate finances for further developing and implementing the Integrated Maritime Policy. This action follows on from preparatory actions and pilot projects to be launched from January 2011 till December 2013.

The actions and activities financed by the proposed Programme will aim to help achieve the following objectives:

further development and implementation of integrated maritime governance and integrated approaches within Member States and coastal regions; speedy and sound implementation of integrated sea basin strategies around Europe tailored to the needs of each maritime region; further development and implementation of cross-cutting tools for integrated policymaking including a European Marine Observation and Data Network, integrating maritime surveillance namely through the establishment of a Common Information Sharing Environment, Maritime Spatial Planning and Integrated Coastal Zone Management; further defining in the years the boundaries of sustainability of human activities that have an impact on the marine environment, in the framework of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive , paying due attention to their cumulative impacts on the basis of the ecosystem approach; promotion of the international dimension of the Integrated Maritime Policy by improving and fostering dialogue, cooperation and coordination with third countries, including those bordering a European sea basin, or actors in third countries, as well as with international partners and organisations on the Integrated Maritime Policy, ensuring coherence with the actions developed in the sectoral policies; putting renewed focus on sustainable economic growth, employment and innovation; raising the visibility of Maritime Europe, and promoting and facilitating the sharing of information, the exchange of best practices, the exploitation and reinforcement of synergies and dialogue with and among stakeholders on maritime governance and sectoral policies that have an impact on the oceans, seas and coasts, or the establishment of cross-sectoral cooperation platforms and networks at a horizontal and at sea-basin level.

BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS: the financial envelope for implementing the Programme to support the further development of the Integrated Maritime Policy is set at EUR 50 000 000 and it will apply from 1 January 2011 until 31 December 2013.

The Commission presents a Staff working document conducting an ex-ante evaluation for establishing a Programme to support further development towards an Integrated Maritime Policy. This document accompanies the proposal concerning the establishment of a Programme to support the Integrated Maritime Policy (please refer to the summary of the initial COM(2010)0494.) This ex-ante evaluation gives, among other things, an overview of the proposed financing Programme. It pays particular attention to the political context, the problem definition, the Programme's core objectives, the added value of Community financial involvement and the main policy options/alternatives to be assessed. The three policy alternatives identified in the ex-ante evaluation are the following:

no further action; a modest EU financial contribution, at a reasonably increased level compared to the preparatory and pilot projects so far, for further exploring options and steadily implementing the IMP as it develops; fully fledged financing.

These three key policy options were considered for the following IMP strategic directions:

integrated maritime governance on all levels; activities in relation to the sea basins; cross-cutting tools for Integrated Policy-Making; the definition of the boundaries of sustainability of human activities in the framework of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive; promotion of the international dimension of the IMP and Europe's leadership in this field; sustainable economic growth, employment and innovation; raising the visibility of maritime Europe;

Each available policy option was assessed against the following criteria: (i) the effectiveness of the option in achieving given objectives and the corresponding benefits; (ii) the feasibility of the selected options; (iii) the cost implication for the EU budget.

No further action (Option 1): Option 1 is clearly feasible and there would be no cost implication for the EU budget. On the other hand, taking no further action, in terms of not financing actions and activities on the Integrated Maritime Policy for the period 2011-2013, would mean failing to achieve the given general and specific objectives of the Programme. This, in turn, would imply that the Commission would not deliver on the policy objectives set out in its Blue Paper of October 2007, as confirmed in the Progress report of October 2009 and endorsed by the General Affairs Council conclusions of 16 November 2009. This failure is sufficient to rule out Option 1.

Modest EU financial contribution (Option 2): this does have an impact on the EU budget. On the other hand, Option 2 presents several advantages. It is a feasible and cost-effective option, which would contribute significantly to the achievement of the stated objectives. It would allow the EU to continue exploring options for the further development of the IMP and to begin implementing through concrete action in certain areas. It would thus ensure the sound and speedy implementation of the IMP in the short to long term.

Fully fledged financing (Option 3): this option would do a lot to help considerably the Commission achieve the given objectives and priorities for the IMP. On the other hand, Option 3 is not possible at this stage. It is not politically feasible because, at this stage of IMP development, it would not be possible to disburse substantially higher amounts than those already envisaged. This is because neither the Member States nor the Commission already have concrete policy options on which the extra money could be spent. Nor does the Commission have the human resources to manage this fully-fledged financing. Furthermore, it would be unwise to embark on a fully-fledged implementation without first testing the concepts on a more limited scale.

Consequently, taking into account the limitations of options 1 and 3 and the strong Community interest in achieving the IMP's objectives in the short to medium term, the appropriate solution would seem to be a modest EU financial contribution to fund IMP activities on the Integrated Maritime Policy for the period 2011-2013.