The European
Commission said Monday that halfway through the implementation of the EU’s
action plan for a maritime strategy in the Atlantic, an independent study finds
it has spurred over 1,200 new maritime projects and nearly €6 billion of
investments.
According to
the Commission, most projects target environmental protection and innovation,
as well as improved connectivity and social inclusion. Examples include the
development of marine renewable energy in France or port facilities in Spain
and Ireland, improved tourism infrastructure in Wales, as well as setting up
broadband connectivity in remote areas of Scotland or remote health monitoring
in Ireland.
The
Commission also said a number of projects financed by the EU’s action plan help
facilitate the clean energy transition, as put forward by the Juncker
Commission’s ‘Clean Energy for all Europeans’ initiative and contributes to the
creation of the Energy Union.
“Identifying
investment priorities with the involvement of regions and business can help
generate sustainable growth in our coastal areas and drive forward the blue
economy,” Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Commissioner Karmenu
Vella said.
“With the
action plan, the community of stakeholders in the Atlantic Ocean area has grown
stronger and better at raising funds for marine and maritime projects,” he
added.
The
Atlantic maritime action plan was launched in 2013 to boost the maritime
economy of its five Atlantic States – Portugal, Spain, France, the United
Kingdom, and Ireland – and their outermost regions and funding comes from the
EU such as from the European Regional Development Fund, Horizon2020, the
European Investment Bank as well as national, regional, and private sources.
By
mid-2017, hundreds of initiatives had cropped up and started contributing to
the goals and funding.
The
European Commission said the EC will use the results of the independent study –
and of the public consultation that was held last year – to work with the
Member States to further improve the plan’s performance between now and 2020.
https://www.neweurope.eu/article/eu-atlantic-plan-spurs-e6-billion-invest-maritime-projects/