Joint communication on the update of the EU Maritime Security Strategy and its Action Plan: An enhanced EU Maritime Security Strategy for evolving maritime threats

Background

On 10 March 2023 the European Commission has published the Joint communication on the update of the EU Maritime Security Strategy and its Action Plan: An enhanced EU Maritime Security Strategy for evolving maritime threats. Our opinion will analyze the Commission's proposal from the perspective of the European civil society, building on previous work done in the most recent EESC own-initiative opinion on the EU Strategic Compass, as well as on other documents on the matter.

The main objective of the opinion is to deliver suggestions on how to enhance the EU Maritime Security Strategy along all its axes, including stepping up activities at sea, cooperation with partners, leadership in maritime domain awareness, risks and threats managements, capabilities enhancement, education and training. During our works we will be gathering insights into the current challenges for maritime security agenda and discuss how civil society can best contribute to the implementation of the proposed Action Plan.

Key points

• Acknowledges the alignment of the updated EU Maritime Security Strategy (MSS) with the Strategic Compass and considers that the MSS has to preserve EU sovereignty, security and competitiveness. By prioritising the maritime domain, the EU can advance its key policy principle of multilateralism in its external actions.
• Affirms that, in terms of funding, EU maritime security needs entail increased investment by the EU Member States (MS). Therefore, to ensure synergies between fragmented EU military capabilities, the MS need to pool and share more extensively, and should identify priority areas for operational and joint procurement endeavours.
• Recognises that Russia's military aggression, its unpredictable behaviour, and its use of hybrid strategies are a substantial threat to international maritime security.
• Considers EU-NATO cooperation as essential and stresses the need to enhance it through better sharing of maritime situational awareness and more effective coordination in different areas of common interest, including protection of critical infrastructure.
• Calls on the EU to intensify engagement with international partners to collectively tackle shared concerns, including people smuggling and human trafficking.
• Supports efforts to include maritime security cooperation in future EU trade agreements.
• Is concerned with the EU's existing strategic reliance on China, and particularly with the growing presence of Chinese operations in ports across various MS.
• Underlines the importance of seafarers' safety and security, and points to the need for professional training programmes building the crews' capacity to combat cyber threats and address security incidents.
• Calls for the immediate development of a centralised surveillance hub at EU level, meeting the needs of both civil and military actors. Integration and better coordination of the existing platforms should improve the EU-wide information sharing in the maritime sector.
• Considers that continuous collaboration and constructive discussions on maritime security development must actively involve the EU organised civil society.