After Brussels 2008, Rome 2009, Gijon 2010, Gdansk 2011, and Gothenburg 2012, the 2013 European Maritime Day will be held in Malta in just a few weeks time.  The spotlight of the Maritime Day will be in the International Conference held on Tuesday 21 and Wednesday 22 May 2013 at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta.  The main theme of the European Maritime Day 2013 Conference will focus on coastal development and sustainable maritime tourism in the wider context of Blue Growth.

It will be an occasion for European government representatives, decision makers and field experts to reflect, at high level, on how to make Blue Growth happen through sustainable tourism, connectivity and coastal management. A special focus will be made on the Mediterranean Region.  For this conference it is expected that high delegation from various EU Member States and EU officials including the European Commissioner responsible from Maritime and Fisheries Maria Damanaki.

Why celebrate the European Maritime Day?

Nowadays, the marine and maritime economic sectors forming the EU's 'blue economy' represent roughly 5.6 million jobs and account for a Gross Value Added (GVA) of €495 billion. Even if I had to present this fact on it‘s own one would agree that organising this huge events is a very important from a European Union perspective. Other valid reasons for celebrating Maritime Day in Europe are; that it provides a showcase and platform for the important contributions which the maritime regions and sectors make to Europe's economic, social and cultural well-being.  Maritime issues touch the lives of all EU citizens, whether or not they work with or live by the sea, and yet many citizens remain unaware of its importance.  Furthermore, celebrating Maritime Day helps to raise an awareness of the opportunities and challenges facing the maritime sector and encourages networking among its different players.  The broad spectrum of topics with a maritime dimension is ample proof that maritime policy is relevant to our lives in many ways which may not immediately seem apparent.

Furthermore, during a conference which I have attended last week, namely the 12th FEMIP Conference: Mediterranean Blue Economy: Enhancing Marine and Maritime Cooperation in Athens-Greece, it was enhanced about the importance to discuss marine and maritime matters from the perspective of the Blue Growth project -“Scenarios and Drivers for Sustainable Growth form the Oceans, Seas   Coasts”- that builds on earlier policy initiatives to recognize the potential of these marine resources and thus aids in realising the Europe 2020 strategy towards smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. In fact, the main aim of the Blue Growth project is to provide policy-makers at EU and sea-basin level with a comprehensive, robust and consistent analysis of possible future policy options to support the maritime sectors in the EU. For this purpose the project will; provide insight into the state of the art within maritime sectors; present knowledge of innovation and technological developments that influence these sectors; create an understanding of key external drivers that influence their potential; identify key economic areas for the future sustainable growth of oceans, seas and coasts; and assess the impacts of policy interventions that may contribute to reaping the existing potential.

If the European Union is to maintain delivering employment and prosperity to its citizens, it needs to remain competitive in a globalised world.   40% of the EU's gross domestic product is generated in maritime regions, and maritime sectors create some 5 million jobs across the EU. It is clear that enabling European maritime sectors to retain their competitive edge is crucial.  In fact, since the presentation of a proposal for an Integrated Maritime Policy by the European Commission and its subsequent endorsement by Heads of State and Government at the European Council on the 14 December 2007, real progress has been made towards building a coherent framework to promote synergies and resolving potential conflicts between different sea-related policy areas.

The European Maritime Day has been celebrated each year on the 20th of May since 2008. This annual event was established jointly by the European Council, the European Parliament and European Commission as part of the EU’s Integrated Maritime Policy launched in 2007. Its aim is to provide an occasion to highlight the crucial role that oceans and seas play in the everyday life not only of coastal communities, but of all EU citizens, and for Europe’s sustainable growth and jobs at large, and to encourage better stewardship of coastal zones, seas and oceans by all citizens and actors concerned.  This event is being hosted by the Ministry for the Economy, Investment and Small Business and the Ministry of Tourism.  

However the Maritime Day (spread over a number of days) is not just the conference, a multitude of public events for the Maltese public and tourists will be taking place all over Malta. These events will be organised by various Government entities, corporations, cooperatives, voluntary organisations, local councils and even private companies will be held on Sunday 19 and Monday 20 May. 

Public events will be organised on whereby the general public can participate in celebrating European Maritime Day. It is planned to organise a broad range of activities to show, promote, discuss and celebrate the value of long standing maritime tradition in our islands as well as various policies related to the seas and coasts.

The Maritime Day was also promoted during the 12th FEMIP Conference, where together with my Ministerial counterparts we have supported this European Conference which supported various facets of maritime cooperation namely laying down the right conditions for marine and maritime policy development; consolidating the existing cooperation on maritime safety and surveillance; the involvement of partner countries in defining national and regional priorities; starting-up maritime clusters and networking across training institutes and maximising funding opportunities for marine and maritime investments.

Throughout the conference we hope to develop debates and initiate focus on competitiveness and employment of the European coastal and maritime tourism, overcoming problems resulting from seasonality. We will focus on new opportunities for maritime and coastal tourism in Europe while keeping sustainability in mind and rather than dealing with sustainability as a constraint we shall explore together the challenges that it presents. Plenary Sessions will also focus on the challenges of improving the fluidity of goods and information flows and increasing transport capacity while also exploring the potential of emerging sectors such as marine energy and its delivery to the mainland as well as developing specialised clusters of maritime services and developing technology to share information. The contributions of the cruise sector and ensuring its safety and sustainability will also be discussed

I invite you to visit the website of the European Maritime Day - www.emd2013.gov.mt    You can also follow the European Maritime Day on Facebook   www.facebook.com/EuropeanMaritimeDay2013

Dr Edward Zammit Lewis is Parliamentary Secretary for Competitiveness and Economic Growth