Europe's oceans and seas should be the cleanest in the world, with the most stable biodiversity, the most profitable economy, the best research and technology, the most modern shipping, the best education and training and the most innovative ideas. But daily experience suggests that the Commission's Action Plan for an Integrated Maritime Policy needs to be much more ambitious to achieve these goals, says the Transport Committee.

The committee feels that the Action Plan includes too few practical measures and urges the Commission to use the instruments at its disposal under the EU Treaty. Members say that climate change challenges are addressed in a non-binding way, and that it should be the task of European Maritime Policy to prepare in particular for rising sea levels, with the increased risk of flooding of ports and coastal regions.

Reducing emissions

MEPs call for maritime policy to make a substantial contribution to reducing greenhouse emissions, including incorporating shipping in emissions trading and stepping up research efforts with a view to exploiting the seas as a source of renewable energy. They also urge the Commission to be more ambitious in combating sulphur and NOx emissions as well as emissions of solids from ships.

Land-based pollution

The committee points out that land-based pollution of the seas constitutes a significant proportion of overall maritime pollution and that the Commission has yet to get to grips with this issue. The Commission should put forward an action plan to reduce such pollution and the Member States should act promptly to transpose the legislation in this field into their national laws, it says, adding that an action plan is also needed to identify and remove old munitions from past wars dumped in the North Sea and the Baltic.

Social and labour protection for seafarers

Seafarers should no longer be excluded from certain areas of European social and labour protection, such as safeguards for employees' rights in the event of transfers of undertakings, rules on collective redundancies and on the posting of workers to provide services. The directives concerned should be revised in close co-operation with the social partners, says the report.

Establish a European Maritime Day

Finally, the committee backs a proposal to establish an annual Maritime Day. Such an action day should be used to establish the significance of maritime policy outside maritime circles, with the participation of ordinary citizens, school, universities and non-governmental organisations.