strongly calls for a swift agreement on the revision of the MFF 2021-2027, with a focus on ongoing support for Ukraine and ensuring the EU has the necessary financial resources to address its political priorities. The EESC emphasizes the significance of implementing effective monitoring mechanisms by actively involving civil society in the planning and execution of MFF programs;
finds that the changes proposed in the revision are limited, showing a lack of ambition and amounting to merely patching up the framework;
recognises the urgent need for global action to address communicable and non-communicable diseases, improving disease surillance systems, vaccination programmes, etc;
recommends enhancing investment in health to strengthen the EU's global leadership role and underlines that health considerations, including mental health, should be integrated into all areas of EU external engagement;
expresses concern about the shortage of healthcare workers and supports seeking formal EU observer status in the World Health Organization and developing robust health diplomacy;
Affirms that, in terms of funding, EU maritime security needs entail increased investment by the EU Member States;
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;
Calls on the EU to intensify engagement with international partners to collectively tackle shared concerns, including people smuggling and human trafficking, and the use of hybrid strategies;
The ARCTIC information report - how to ensure a peaceful, sustainable and prosperous future for a geostrategic region;
Believes it is in the EU's interest to ensure that the Arctic, as an important geostrategic region, does not change permanently from a low- to a high-tension area with all the inherent risks of unintentional clashes and escalation;
Believes it is in the EU's interest to ensure that the Arctic, as an important geostrategic region, does not change permanently from a low- to a high-tension area with all the inherent risks of unintentional clashes and escalation;
calls the EU to step up its efforts on blue diplomacy and streamline it in its foreign policy and external relations, trade and development policies. In this context, the Committee proposes to pay special attention to blue diplomacy in sub-Saharan Africa;
asks for the protection of wetlands and biodiversity as an essential part of blue diplomacy and encourages the establishment of a macro-regional strategy for the Mediterranean region;
calls for the right funding to improve the existing facilities and infrastructure to ensure fair access to clean water and sanitation for the entire global population.
believes that the revision of the flag State requirements Directive must ensure that flag States fully implement seafarers' rights onboard their ships. The real challenges are strong flag State control, as well as strong port State control in relation to the requirements of the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) 2006 which goes hand in hand with technical assistance and training provided by the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA), International Labour Organization (ILO), World Maritime University (WMU), International Training Centre of the ILO, International Maritime Law Institute etc.
advocates that the amendments of the Directive must take into account core EU policy priorities related to the Green Deal, the EU and UN Sustainable Development Goals agenda, human and workers' rights and social cohesion. Thus, the revised parts of the Directive must provide clarity on minimum working conditions for seafarers, the conservation of waters and fish, and environmental protection as a whole.
supports the objectives of providing Member States' accident investigation bodies with further legal clarity and capacity to improve their operations and timely reporting. In particular, cooperation and mutual assistance of EU Member States in safety investigations should be stepped up in light of new maritime security challenges.
The Committee welcomes the proposal to expand the activities of EMSA; however, it has serious doubts as to whether EMSA has the human and financial resources to perform these additional activities properly. The proposed increase in EMSA's resources is insufficient given the extent of the proposed increase in the Agency's tasks and the scale of the EU's ambitions for maritime policy.
The EESC welcomes the proposal and recognises the European Commission's efforts to strengthen environmental protection, in particular by making the preservation of the seas a high priority and by introducing penalties for pollution offences in European seas.
The EESC acknowledges that it is important to have dissuasive and proportionate penalties across the EU for ship-source pollution offences. Establishing such minimum requirements as a reference point and holding the polluter accountable by applying the "polluter pays" principle could be beneficial and have a strong deterrent effect in the EU.
