The Government of the Azores defended the need to respect local idiosyncrasies and the work developed by European Outermost Regions during the first of several workshops organised by the European Commission to assess the benefits and challenges of Maritime Spatial Planning.

During the meeting held in Ireland on Friday, the Regional Director for Sea Affairs, Frederico Cardigos, stated that in the case of the Azores, coastal management plans for the archipelago have already been prepared, "which means that much of the work under this Directive is concluded."

The Government of the Azores took part in this event on behalf of the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions of Europe (CPMR), an organisation that includes the working group on "Maritime Spatial Planning and Integrated Coastal Management." During the meeting, the Regional Government presented the common position taken by the CPMR.

This position of CPMR was discussed and approved at the recent meeting of the Political Bureau held in Malmö, Sweden.

The 85 participants from 12 countries represented at the workshop held in Ireland have called for a coordinated effort in the simplification of procedures so that sea-related activities may be developed in parallel with the national and regional management of maritime spatial plans.

All participants have agreed on the development of maritime spatial plans and the coordination efforts undertaken by the European Commission in this context.

The legal requirement for the development of these plans, including a publication of a Community Directive on this matter, the stipulation of common goals, the need to promote the participation of the public concerned, the creation of tools for cooperation between countries and the establishment of databases on maritime domain were important steps taken at a European level.

This was the first of three workshops in which the European Commission intends to hear the sectors concerned on the matters considered fundamental to the development of the so-called "Blue Growth."

After this meeting on offshore energy, held in Dublin, the following workshops will focus on maritime transport and fisheries, respectively.

These meetings bring together experts, several sectors and non-governmental organisations to discuss the interaction and synergies between economic activities in the sea, given the growing use of the sea.

The findings will contribute to the work developed by the European Commission in order to support the implementation of the MSP - Maritime Spatial Planning.