Member States has given green light to the regulation establishing an EU programme to further promote the development and the implementation of the EU's integrated maritime policy. The programme will support the sustainable use of the seas and oceans, and the expansion of scientific knowledge.

The Council has adopted a regulation establishing an EU programme to further promote the development and the implementation of the EU's integrated maritime policy. According to the Member States, the Union's integrated maritime policy will foster coordinated decision making related to coastal, insular and outermost regions and maritime sectors in the EU. The budget for the implementation of the programme in accordance with the relevant European objectives is €40 million for the period 2011 to 2013. The Council welcomed the measures proposed to develop this strategy in 2009.

The programme, which will support the sustainable use of the seas and oceans, and the expansion of scientific knowledge, has as general objectives to foster the development and implementation of integrated governance of maritime and coastal affairs; to contribute to develop synergies and to support sea or coast-related policies, particularly in the fields of economic development, employment, environmental protection, research, maritime safety, energy and the development of green maritime technologies; and to promote the protection of the marine environment, in particular its biodiversity, and the sustainable use of marine and coastal resources, in line with the marine strategy framework directive.

This new regulation comes at the same time that the new proposal presented by Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Maria Damanaki, which consists in a new maritime strategy for growth and jobs in the Atlantic Ocean area. The strategy identifies challenges and opportunities in the region and takes stock of existing initiatives that can support growth and job creation. The strategy will be implemented through an Action Plan in 2013. In order to develop such objectives, the budget for the implementation of the programme in accordance with the relevant European objectives is €40 million for the period 2011 to 2013.