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The title of the Commissioner’s speech was quite an appropriate one for the issue: “The Future Economics of the Sea” (Speech//11/178, Brussels, 14 March 2011). She produced some concrete figures and examples showing the importance of the seas around: they are, at the same time, ways of transport, sources of raw material, energy and food, as well as water reservoirs, the world's climate engine, and a place for leisure. On top of it, about 70 per cent of the Earth’s surface is covered by water, hence the “Earth as a blue planet”.

Importance for Europe

Europe's coastal regions are home to about 40 per cent of the EU population, said the Commissioner, while the maritime economy accounts for a production value of some € 450 bln.

Maritime economic activities are of huge economic importance both to the EU as a whole and to individual countries.

For example, in France, over 540 000 people are directly employed in the maritime industry, generating roughly € 75 bln in 2009. Some countries like Island, Malta or Cyprus have more than 10 per cent of their total employment in maritime sectors. In Denmark, no part of the country is further away from the sea than 50 km, she added. However, she argued, “we are still underestimating the seas' importance to man's life”.

The EU leaders underlined the importance of the maritime sector as a prime source of new growth, employment and social cohesion. The EU-2020 strategy stressed that Europe had to rely in increasing economic growth on the maritime sector, in the particular in the context of resource efficiency, competitiveness and climate action.

"Blue Growth"

In underlining the role of maritime policy, the Commissioner proclaimed measures that will bring "blue growth" and "blue jobs" to the Union. This will require an approach in three directions:

- Firstly, an analysis of sustainable maritime growth scenarios, the policy measures required to make these scenarios a reality. This means identifying areas where more basic or applied research efforts are needed prior to commercialisation, and which generic innovation trends and technological developments should be supported – a striking example being the harvesting of wave energy in the United Kingdom, where innovators, investors and the government are now moving fast towards the marketing of this marine renewable energy, creating high-quality jobs and paving the way for a new green industry.

- Secondly, to make adequate marine and maritime knowledge and data. At the end of 2010, the Commission launched the "Marine Knowledge 2020" initiative to establish a network of accessible, compatible and timely data about the status of European seas and oceans, so that the EU maritime policy-making is based on the best science data. The Commission is also proposing a new "innovation partnership" that will improve the viability of deep-sea mining by developing Europe's marine knowledge base. “Europe remains a world leader in the enabling technologies for this new frontier. We need a sound understanding of deep-sea environment, which will also ensure that investments are shielded from disasters. Europe has promising sites for mining deep-sea minerals, for example in the Acores and in Italy, but more research is clearly needed for complete protection of the eco-systems that could be affected”, said the Commissioner.

- Thirdly, the EU-27 has to agree on the regulatory steps to set the appropriate framework conditions to foster growth, e.g. overcoming legal and regulatory obstacles, providing market incentives, optimising planning, licensing and certification processes, addressing training shortcomings and activating financing.

Commission’s activity

In late 2012, the Commission will bring this three-pronged approach into a Communication on a “blue growth strategy” and on the industrial and research policy push needed to make it real.

It is seen already now, for example, that bio-economy has a huge potential. The Commission is currently running a public consultation on this issue, pointing out the sustainable use of biological resources from both land and sea (in order to replace fossil-based resources while guaranteeing food security) which will add to the EU long-term economic strategy.

Another example is the infrastructure needed by 2020 and 2030 to bring offshore and marine renewable energy onshore to consumers. Here, huge investments will be needed, the Commissioner said, but they would be compensated by the savings on the fossil fuel bill, which is only bound to increase in the future; plus they will create high-quality jobs in the EU.

“But we must not neglect the sustainable development of well-established industries such as tourism, renewable marine energy, shipbuilding, short-sea shipping, fisheries and aquaculture, she said.

Sectoral examples: tourism, shipping and fisheries

The Lisbon Treaty endowed the EU with a new competence regarding tourism. To translate this into a vision, in 2010 the Commission set out a new political framework to promote Europe as the world's No 1 tourist destination.

The next step will be to develop a "strategy for sustainable coastal and marine tourism". The Commission’s challenge is to identify how to promote responsible, high-quality tourism that will deliver sustainable jobs, i.e. jobs that will stay in Europe and have a strong local impact.

It is of great economic significance for all people in the EU, she added, whether they live along the coasts of Europe or visit them as tourists.

Another traditional maritime sector with growth potential is shipping; the EU needs to secure a global level playing field for the sector and to enhance its environmental performance with regard to pollution, emissions, waste treatment and control and ship recycling. She added: “this will not only benefit the environment, it will also create jobs as we move to more sophisticated solutions. If we exploit the full potential of short-sea shipping through the trans-European networks and the motorways of the seas; if we have better port infrastructures and adopt e-maritime solutions; if we establish a truly internal market in shipping services, all this will open up new business opportunities and produce an overall benefit to society – especially coastal regions”.

Fisheries

The Commission suggested a new system in decision-making which focuses on sustainability in all aspects of fisheries: environmental, social and economic. By adopting an ecosystem-based approach, the EU will exploit resources sustainable and derive stable catches in the long term – which in turn means stability for the sector. The Commissioner added that by moving decision-making away from Brussels, the EU made sure that the needs of regional and local communities were accounted for. By financing only projects that contribute to the EU 2020 agenda for growth, the EU encourages fishermen and other operators to find innovative solutions with green credentials.

Blue growth

The Commissioner addressed representatives of the European employers in the belief to create a perfect interface between the EU and the European investors. She said: “You can help us enter into a dialogue with private industry and convince them that Blue Growth is the way to go; show them that maintaining both high environmental standards and high social standards is in fact a win-win choice; explain that investing in clean technologies and creating new, attractive jobs in Europe is a smart move right now. Help us explain that initial capital investment or daily operating costs should not be the main concern: long-term prosperity and a stable society are”. Through a EU pilot study recently launched, the EU will interview some 150 key people from private industry about the needs to trigger new investments.

The EU maritime policy is going to play an important role in pulling Europe out of the ongoing economic downturn, providing it with the economic and social backbone to help it stand strong in the face of future challenges. Sustainability not only enhances skills and promotes advanced technologies; it also implies long-term economic opportunities. It is also the only to protect Europe's maritime zones, biodiversity and the marine environment. “In my vision, she said, we together can change Europe for the better”, she concluded.