Commissioner Maria Damanaki delivered a keynote speech at the event organised by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) for the presentation of its opinion “Maritime piracy: strengthening the EU response”.
Piracy is a complex and quickly evolving problem affecting European Union consumers, businessmen, seafarers, ship-owners and taxpayers
In 2012, six seamen were murdered and 448 were held hostage
Moreover, estimated costs amount to EUR 5.5-9.5 billion per annum.
”It is true that, looking back at 2008, when piracy reared its ugly head off the coast of Somalia, we have taken big strides to combat this scourge: The EU Naval Force Somalia, also known as Operation ATALANTA, has caught over a hundred 117 suspected pirates. And 21 states are now holding over a thousand pirates or piracy suspects. ….For starters, we must keep working on the root causes. We must keep working towards political stability and prosecution capacity, as these are a prerequisite for further progress… we must deter and dismantle the financial networks that make it possible to launder the money stemming from pirate activities. We must break down the business model of piracy. The European Commission funds activities and works with international partners such as Interpol, the World Bank and the UN to track and disrupt those financial flows.”
“The EU is striving to promote economic growth in the maritime world through integrated approaches. One of these approaches is what we call “Blue Growth’. Our “Blue Growth” initiative, launched last September, received unanimous support from the Member States, the European Parliament and the whole European maritime community. This initiative shows the weight and value of the maritime economy for growth, jobs and economic recovery in the EU; it identifies several promising maritime sectors, such as maritime coastal and cruise tourism, ocean energy and sea-bed mining; and it seeks to remove barriers for business and promote skills and attractive jobs.”, Mrs Maria Damanaki stated.
Click here to view Maria’s Damanaki speech on maritime piracy
Source: EUROPA
