MEP Miriam Dalli spoke of the attention that the maritime environment deserves ahead of the G7 summit that is due to be held in the coming days. Dr Dalli, speaking during the plenary session of the European Parliament, said that it is positive that the summit has placed the need of cleaning up the seas from plastic waste on its agenda.

Studies show that there are more than five trillion pieces of plastic or 269 tons of plastic matter in the sea. To make the picture clearer, if one had to place two-litre plastic bottles on top of each other, they would reach the moon and back twice.

"Plastic, and micro plastics in particular, are a direct threat to human health as they can become part of the food chain. We urgently need effective policies to reduce plastic waste in our seas. We need international guidelines to protect our seas which are also a source of sustainable development," said Dr Dalli, who is a full member of Environment Committee of the European Parliament. She is also currently representing the Socialist and Democrats in the field of maritime economy.

She reminded the House that the United Nations has appealed for a circular economy based on recycling as the most effective manner in which we can reduce the amount of plastic and microplastic in the sea.

"We need policies that truly protect the maritime environment. We need to strengthen our competiveness and raise our standard of living. We can reach these two objectives together because they do not contradict each other. We can grow our economy and invest in projects that benefit our environment’.

She insisted that it is our duty to preserve the quality of the waters that surround us for today’s generations as well as for future ones. We need strategies that find consensus on national levels, both European and international.

"For this reason, I am looking forward to the G7 Summit  and positive conclusions on such an important subject," Dr Dalli concluded.