Action Plan for a Maritime Strategy in the Atlantic Area On 13 May, the European Commission (EC) adopted anAction Plan to revitalise the marine and maritime economy in the Atlantic Ocean Area. The Plan intends to show how the EU's Atlantic Member States (Ireland, France, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom), their regions and the Commission can help delivering growth, reducing the Atlantic area's carbon footprint, ensuring sustainable use of the sea's natural resources, setting up effective responses to threats and emergencies and implementing an ecosystem based management approach in Atlantic waters.Based on the EC'sAtlantic Strategy, the Action Plan is the result of consultations conducted through theAtlantic Forum. The Forum has enabled Member States, the European Parliament, regional and local authorities, civil society and industry to contribute to the development of the Plan. Beside traditional activities like fisheries, aquaculture, tourism and shipping the Atlantic area is also home to emerging ones such as offshore renewables and marine biotechnology. While individual Atlantic Member States are already active in these sectors and some have adopted their own respective maritime strategies, the Action Plan now encourages them to work together: to share information, costs, results and best practices as well as generating ideas ...
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