DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR MARITIME AFFAIRS AND FISHERIES
Directorate E - Baltic Sea, North Sea and Landlocked Member States
MARE.E.1 - Maritime Policy Baltic and North Sea
12thmeeting of the Member States Expert Group on Maritime Spatial Planning
Thursday 15 June 2017
St Julian’s, Malta
Draft minutes (version of 26.09.2017)
1.Opening of MSP Expert Group Meeting
The meeting was opened by Felix Leinemann, Head of Unit, DG MARE.
2.Procedural Issues
The minutes from the last MSEG meeting (2-3 March 2017) are considered adopted pending the inclusion of comments from Sweden. An updated version of the minutes will be made available on the Maritime Forum.
After welcoming JPI Oceans as new observer, EC informed participants of one new application for the MSEG observer statusreceived from the European Environment Agency. In absence of a reaction from the MS, the European Environment Agency will be invited to attend future MSEG meetings.
EC presented the agenda items of the meeting, organised in different sessions and including discussions on the status of MSP implementation as well as a section dedicated to the ecosystem based approach. Additionally, and following the request formulated during the last MSEG, DG ENV has been invited to attend today's meeting.
EC provided the MSEG members with an overview of ongoing MSP-related projects and funding opportunities. Aiming to support cross-border projects and cooperation among MS, by the end of 2017 EC will launch new transboundary projects for the North Sea, the Baltic Sea and the Outermost Regions. In the meanwhile, 5 cross-border projects are currently ongoing: 1 in the Black Sea (MARSPLAN), 2 in the Mediterranean (SIMWESTMED and SUPREME) and 2 in the Atlantic (SIMNORAT and SIMCelt). In the Baltic Sea, the recently concluded project BalticScopefocused on what aspects MS have to take into account at cross-border level while developing their national maritime spatial plans. Before the summer, EC will submit a proposal to dedicate a share of the next EMFF financial envelope to support MSP cross-border projects across 2018.
UK: invited the EC to keep the MSEG group informed on the decision-making processes linked to the EMFF.
The MSP Assistance Mechanism is one of the tools made available to bring MSP forward. In March, the MSEG adopted the work programme for 2017: it includes a conference dedicated to land-sea interactions, a technical study on “MSP as a tool to support for sustainable Maritime Economic Development” and a wide conference on the same topic in October 2017. The conference agenda has been circulated to the MSEG members.
EC: informed participants of the launching of the 2017 EU-China Blue Year. The opening ceremony took place on 2nd June in Brussels and marked the beginning of a series of activities on ocean matters that aim at fostering closer ties and mutual understanding by bringing together experts from both sides in different locations in China and Europe.
NL: described the very intense discussion held with Chinese scientists and representatives of the Chinese government, which testify China’s interest to cooperate and learn from good practices in the EU and its MS. Exchanges were an opportunity to identify some similarities between Chinese seas and activities occurring in the Baltic sea as this sea basin reportedly faces similar challenges than Chinese waters. Also, specific interest was conveyedon the scientific work underpinning social, economic and environmental assessments for planning. Stakeholder management as well as the ecosystem-based approach were also brought up as issues of mutual interest.
3.International MSP
EC provided an update on the activities and initiatives concerning international MSP. Published by the European Commission, the “Study on international best practices for cross-border Maritime Spatial Planning” was recently concluded and presented at the IOC-UNESCO Paris conference organised on 15-17 March 2017 in collaboration with DG MARE.
The Final Report of the study is available on both the EC and the MSP Platform websites. In addition, a link will be shared to the MSEG members.
The collaboration with the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) led to the adoption of a joint roadmap which identifies common challenges and proposals for actions to be implemented in the coming years while reaching out for collaboration with other UN bodies and Member States. The roadmap was submitted to the UN Conference on SDG 14 (5-9 June 2017) by IOC-UNESCO and DG MARE as part of a joint voluntary commitment highlighting the contribution of MSP to the implementation of Agenda 2030. In this context, voluntary commitments were made by 4 EU MS (Sweden, France, Belgium, Greece) for the sustainable management of marine and coastal ecosystems through Maritime Spatial Planning. 5 priority areas and 10 concrete actions were identified to accelerate MSP processes worldwide. To kick-off MSP between non-EU MS and build capacity in the region, DG MARE will launch a pilot project in thePacific region. . Pilot projects are expected to steer guidance for the development of cross-border MSP. An international workshop on international MSP should take place in spring 2018. This year still, the European Commission will host the 2017 edition of "Our Ocean" – the yearly appointment for leaders, public administrators and businesspeople from all over the globe to interact and find workable solutions for the planet's seas and oceans. The conference will be the opportunity for the IOC-UNESCO and DG MARE to present the second part of their joint roadmap. It will take place in Malta on October 5th and 6th.
NL: suggested to circulate a document including all MSP-related commitments taken by MS.
An email will be circulated to the MSEG members containing all MSP-related commitments. The MSP Platform will also ensure appropriate links to the database.
SE:SE welcomes the active work of the Commission and UNESCO to strengthen the work of ecosystem-based MSP globally, and the roadmap for follow-up activities, as well as the planning of a new maritime spatial planning conference. It is important that this expert group continuously follows the work on the roadmap and that we are offered to participate and contribute with proposals for various activities.
Sweden was co-president of The Ocean Conference in NY and this conference was a major advance for a joint effort to reach SDG 14. It was a broad participation from member states, civil society and companies. More than 1,300 voluntary commitments were made at the conference and the adopted document Call for Action mentions MSP as an important tool for implementing SDG 14.
4.State of Play on the Implementation of the MSP Directive in Member States
EC recalled the timeline applicable to the implementation of the MSP Directive, specifying that default non-notification procedures have been launched for MS who did not notify the reception of the Directive by the September 2016 deadline. DG MARE will send emails to notify the dispatch of official letters to the pertinent MS. EC is currently performing an analysis of the notifications received from the competent national authorities. It will notify MS in case a discrepancy is identified between the represented authorities and those inserted in the notification database. Checks on transposition are being carried out by DG MARE, the General Secretariat and the Legal Service of the European Commission. After that, conformity checks will be performed. With a view to facilitate this phase, EC invites MS to send correlation tables. These will be used by the EC legal experts to examine the transposition of the different requirements of the MSP Directive.
NL: asked for clarifications regarding the procedure applicable to MS that only partially implemented the MSP Directive.
EC: explained that official letters have been dispatched to the MS Permanent Representations. EC will communicate to MS should a divergence be observed between information notified by MS and the information database of the European Commission.
EC to check which countries have been sent official letters and inform the MSEG.
UK: inquired about the expected timeframe for the analysis of the notifications by EC and the consequent communication to MS.
EC: clarified that those MS which have not or only partially notified the transposition of the MSP Directive have already been contacted. At present, EC is analysing the received transposition notices: on the basis of the better regulation rules, it has 18 months starting from the MS notification date to react.
SI: inquired on the possibility to identify one main contact point within the EC to facilitate follow-up.
EC: responded that, although some staff changes are occurring within DG MARE, transposition checks are nevertheless being carried out to ensure that MS are notified possibly within the next two weeks.
DE: the federal law transposing the MSP Directive has been adopted on 29thMay 2017 and provides a special focus on the ecosystem-based approach. At the same time, Germany is revising its sectoral planning, with 2 consultation being currently open: one is collecting feedback on the spatial offshore connection infrastructure, while the second one concerns the pre-investigation phase for assigning spatial locations to offshore farms. Germany invited MSEG members to disseminate information on the two public consultations.
FR: the transposition process of the MSP Directive was completed in May 2017 with the entry into force of the implementing decree that followed the approval of the “Law on the recovery of biodiversity” of August 2016. The decree stipulates that ICZM, MSP and MSFD shall be integrated in the 4 strategic documents dedicated to specific French coastal-sea areas. Each area will define the objectives of integrated management of the sea and coastline areas in accordance with the principles and guidelines set by the “National Strategy for the sea and the coastline”approved in February 2017. A Power Point presentation of the French MSP governance system was shared via email prior to the MSEG meeting. As far as the SIMWESTMED project is concerned, a presentation will be ensured by the Malta representative during the MSEG.
A Power Point presentation of the SIMWESTMED project will be shared with the group as Annex to the MSEG minutes.
BG: has finalised the elaboration of the transposition lawand will soon appoint the competent authorities in charge of MSP. MSP in the Black Sea was discussed during the conference in Constanta on 3rd and 4thMay 2017. Participants included regional experts and public authorities from both EU and non-EU countries who discussed numerous issues including EBA, governance systems and socio-economic analysis.
BE: is progressing on the review of its MSP plan. Recently, an informal consultation led to the collection of some 40 contributions from various stakeholders including NGOs and interested authorities. Formal consultations are expected to start in Autumn 2017 and will later on seek contributions from neighbouring countries. At the same time, Belgium is reaching out to other MS which might face similar demands or have comparable issues of common interest.
GR: the draft law transposing the framework MSP Directive has been drafted. It will receive parliamentary backing once protocols of the Barcelona Convention will have been ratified.
UK: currently, English marine plans are going through a first round of review to ensure they fit the current context and can address actual needs. The Welsh National Marine Plan is well advanced and will soon be put on consultation. As for Scotland, its strategic marine plan will undergo a review phase at the beginning of 2018. For two regions Scotland has developed additional two Scottish plans, the so-called ‘nested plans’, which have been recently established. On 8thNovember 2017, Glasgow will host the 4thAtlantic Stakeholder Platform Conference.
DK: provided a short update on the North Sea Energy Initiative agreed by Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. Work is progressing well, with the Working Group on MSP currently looking at plans for increased wind energy. In parallel, a review of cumulative impact assessments for future wind power development is being carried out.
5.Presentation of new observer
The Joint Programming Initiative Healthy and Productive Seas and Oceans (JPI Oceans) was established in 2011 as a coordinating and integrating strategic platform, open to all EU Member States and associated countries who invest in marine and maritime research. JPI Oceans covers all European sea basins with 21 participating countries and provides a long-term integrated approach to marine and maritime research and technology development in Europe.In its role as a coordination platform, JPI Oceans focuses on making better and more efficient use of national research budgets, which represent 88% of the research funding within Europe. One of JPI Oceans’ goals is to develop joint research programmes in which countries can be involved on a voluntary basis (variable geometry). Participating countries also decide what contribution to make: this may include institutional, project-related or new funding.The goals and objectives of JPI Oceans address the intersections between the marine environment, climate change and the maritime economy enabled by observations, infrastructure, technologies and human capacities.The strategy of JPI Oceans is defined by its Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) which was published in May 2015. The SRIA presents ten strategic areas, developed and agreed by JPI Oceans (with the support of CSA Oceans) as strategic priorities for marine and maritime research in Europe. These include the priority area of science support to coastal and maritime planning and management. To initiate an action, one member country must take the lead and be supported by at least three others. Countries may choose to fund new research or to participate through funding the coordination costs, use of infrastructure or creating open access to data or other forms of contributions considered useful in the joint action. The size and scope of each action will vary depending on the research needs and the method used will depend upon the objective. Among the identified methods which could be used in the actions of JPI Oceans, capacity buildinghas been identified as essential element notably to ensure that interdisciplinary work is carried out. Members of the MSEG are invited to get in touch with JPI Oceans and disseminate results achieved through projects and actions
A PPT presentation of this section is available as Annex to this report.
6.Presentation of SIMWESTMED
SIMWESTMED is an EMFF funded project that aims at supporting the implementation of MSP in the Western Mediterranean region. Started in January 2017, it will run for two years until end 2018. Co-funded by the European Commission, the project has 11 partners and is built upon a public bodies partnership involving Member States of the area, international organizations, research institutes and national operators for coastal and marine issues. The purpose of SIMWESTMED is to support Member States in the implementation of the MSP Directive and to foster concrete initiatives in cross-border cooperation on MSP in the Western Mediterranean sea basin. The project intends to address practical aspects of MSP implementation, identify and share best practices as well as develop tools to enhance understanding of concrete issues and challenges linked to MSP implementation. Specific objectives aim at promoting a broad understanding of MSP-related issues and spatial demands in the region, promoting cross-border MSP processes, encouraging the collection of data and ensuring the tackling of governance issues. Activities undertaken focus on the development of a methodology for a transboundary MSP as well as on the elaboration of tools and methods supporting stakeholderengagement. The first phase of the process was dedicated to the initial assessment of information and data available on the status of the environment deriving from socio-economic uses and pressures. The mapping also included regional processes supporting transboundary cooperation and should lead to the development of a platform for exchanging data among project partners. In parallel, work is progressing on the development of case studies to test the methodologies elaborated within the project.
A PPT presentation of this section is available as Annex to this report.
Seas at Risk: is pleased to see that data provided in the context of the MSFD implementation serves as a valuable basis for the stock-tacking exercise of the project. The strong link between the MSFD and the MSP directives was discussed during the NGO meeting held on 21stand 22ndFebruary 2017. Are NGOs been involved in the SIMWESTMED project?
SIMWESTMED: confirmed that NGOs are involved in different ways. The project is considering results and lessons learned from projects developed by NGOs or from experiences where NGOs were associated. In addition, NGOs will be closely involved and consulted in the future stakeholder engagement phase.
FR: fully supports the SIMWESTMED projectas an opportunity to address cross-border and data sharing issues in the region. French governmental agencies (SHOM – French hydrographic office and FBA – French Biodiversity Agency) are part of the project.