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June 2012 - InsuleurVoice n°14
	Content News - Insuleur General Assembly - Insuleur / AIC forum agreement - Cyprus Presidency - Maritime transport: libre concurrence ( cf consultation), Siim Kallas (Sopot discours / 11th May/ conference on maritime ports planning) Position papers - European CCIs position on cohesion policy Consultations - Anti-trust measures for maritime transport - EU Tourism label - Costal tourism - Passenger ships security Save the date - 27/6/2012 : seminar : "Is the integrated maritime policy on a good track ?" - 28/6/2012 : public hearing : "Island Transport Connectivity and the Green Transformation of the Shipbuilding Industry" - 2&3/7/2012 : 2d forum of ultra-peripheral regions of the EU - 8/7/2012 : Insuleur General Assembly in Lesbos - 13/7/2012: Innonautics international forum Other activities - Reminder Insuleur questionnaire [+] Insuleur General Assembly Insuleur organises its 12th general assembly on the 8th of July at Mytilene, on Lesbos island, Greece. This year means the end of the current mandate which started in 2009 and the renewal of Insuleur’s board of directors and presidency. This meeting will also give us the opportunity to organize a workshop on maritime cabotage which will allow us to examine the recent developments of the EU legislation and policy and to have an exchange of views from the perspective of the different insular experiences. All the related documents (programmes, registration forms etc.) are available on the Insuleur website (www.insuleur.com) We look forward to seeing you in Mytilene. [+] Insuleur / AIC Forum cooperation agreement Following invitation by President of AIC Forum Ms. Jadranka Radovanić, President Mr. Juan Gual de Torrella visited Brindisi on 6th to 8th June 2012 to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with AIC Forum (Adriatic and Ionian Chambers of Commerce) during the 12th Forum in order to develop strategies and programs of common benefit towards the European institutions. Furthermore Mr. Antonio Cañellas, member of the Technical Committee representing Spanish Chambers participated in the Workshop on Tourism presenting Insuleur tourism actions. The 12th Edition of the Forum of the Adriatic and Ionian Chambers of Commerce, organised in collaboration with the Brindisi Chamber of Commerce, took place from 6th to 8th June 2012 in Brindisi Based the agenda, the opening day of the forum was devoted to the meeting of the AIC Forum organs, the meeting of the workgroup on EU project management and the welcoming of guests. The second day of the Forum saw the meetings of the AIC Forum thematic workgroups (environment, agriculture, women’s entrepreneurship, fisheries and aquaculture, transport and tourism), while the third day was devoted to the main topic of the event, i.e. the role played by the AIC Forum in the establishment of the Adriatic-Ionian Macroregion. The event saw the participation of representatives from European institutions, the Permanent Secretariat for the Adriatic Ionian Initiative, local institutions in addition to representatives from bodies, associations and expert consultants on the matters of the AIC Forum workgroups and foreign partnership networks such as INSULEUR. [+] Cyrpus presidency On the 1st of July Cyprus will hold the presidency of the Council of the European Union for 6 months. The island will have to tackle global issues and especially to enhance EU economic governance to address the crisis. But this rotated presidency will also give it the opportunity to set insular concerns on the top on the EU agenda. As an instance, Cyprus plans to re-launch the Integrated Maritime Policy (IMP) of 2007 and to increase Europe’s role in the Mediterranean. An event, with European Commission President José Manuel Barroso – who supports actively the IMP – is yet organized. This 6 months mandate is a great occasion for Insuleur to make its voice heard and to find support in the defense of insular enterprises. [+] « Steering a course for the future : Europe’s ports in the 21st century » Siim Kallas, Commissioner for transport, delivered an interesting discourse during the European Sea Ports conference which took place on the 11h of May 2012 at Sopot, Poland. He assumes that specific orientations need to be taken to set a more coherent EU ports policy, especially with regards to state aids, port charges and concessions to provide services. “The sector needs pro-business reforms. And also more transparency”, he said. More specifically, the commissioner targeted the relationship between port authorities and providers which is not always very clear. A public consultation process (see bellow)has been launched to hear stakeholders’ views and inputs. Then all possible options will be analyzed through an impact assessment. [+] EU CCIs' position on the future cohesion policy Common draft regulations pertaining to the cohesion policy 2014-2020 have been signed by the French, Italian, Greek, German, Austrian and Belgian CCIs, with the support of Insuleur. Nine main issues are tackled among which the partnerships between local and regional authorities and socio-economic key players such as the CCIs; the creation of an intermediate regions status and the territories with specific challenges. - With regards to the partnerships between local and regional authorities. The document states that the CCIs would have to be identified as “special partners” - With regards to the creation of an intermediate region status. The common position supports the creation of a new category of economically fragile regions which GDP is yet higher than 75% of the EU GDP but that still remains under the EU average. - With regards to territories with specific challenges such as islands, the position recommends that a greater consideration should be given to territorial disparities. Click here to read the full position. [+] Consultation on the future of the Maritime Antitrust Guidelines A public consultation with stakeholders was launched by the European commission in order to prepare the revision of the current guidelines on maritime transport services. The current guidelines for operators active in liner shipping and tramp vessel services states how to assess compliance of their business practices with EU competition rules. These temporary guidelines will come to an end on September 2013 and the future orientations are supposed to suppress progressively all sectorial exemptions. As a result, the public consultation focuses on whether there is still a need for sector specific guidelines in the maritime transport sector. To take part in the consultation, please follow this link. [+] European Tourism Label for Quality Systems To increase the competitiveness of the European tourism sector and to achieving a EU level playing field for providing high-quality tourism service throughout Europe, the European commission is planning to create a "European Tourism Label for Quality Systems" that would unify the wide range of initiative that currently exist. The objective of this public consultation is to define the principles and criteria to be used by European tourism stakeholders for ensuring the development and provision of quality tourism within the EU. The consultation deals with the definition of such a system, its possible implementation, the criteria to be selected and its impact. It is a great opportunity to defend European island tourism and to make your voice heard ! [+] Challenges and Opportunities for Maritime and Coastal Tourism in the EU A public consultation on maritime and coastal tourism has been launched last week at the joint initiative of Vice-president Antonio Tajani, Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship, and Maria Damanaki, Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries. Indeed, in the context of the Europe 2020 Strategy, and in particular the Blue Growth concept (sustainable growth from oceans, seas and coasts), coastal and maritime tourism will have an important role to play, requiring a thorough analysis and involvement of all interested parties. Therefore, the consultation aims at defining what actions can be envisaged to reap the full potential of a sustainable and smart coastal and maritime tourism. More specifically, the three main axes of the questionnaire are: I - How to render maritime and coastal tourism more competitive? II - How to address environmental implications of tourism and its socio-cultural aspects? III- How to stimulate tourists from third countries to visit Europe and encouraging EU nationals to discover coastal regions? All stakeholders are invited to submit their comments and suggestionsby 9 July 2012. [+] Review of EU passenger ship safety legislation By the end of the year, the European Commission is going to propose news legislative measures to reinforce EU passenger ship safety. This revision of the current legislation is a reply to the recent Costa Concordia accident. According to Siim Kallas, commissioner for transports, this revision is going to promote the adoption of voluntary measures, to reinforce implementation and control of the rules as well as to adopt additional measures. The main issue remains the size of the ships and the number of passengers. In order to associate all stakeholders to this legislative revision preparation, a public consultation had been opened. To take part in it: click here. [+] Save the date 27 June 2012 – Brussels - seminar “Is the integrated maritime policy on a good track?” More information 28 June 2012 – Brussels - public hearing at the European Parliament on "Island Transport Connectivity and the Green Transformation of the Shipbuilding Industry 2-3 - July 2012 - Brussels –2d forum of ultra-peripheral regions of the EU More information 8 July 2012 – Mytilene – Insuleur General Assembly More information 13 July 2012 – Meeting InnoNauTics-Eurochambers More information [+] Insuleur questionnaire Insuleur is updating its data on its members and more generally on the state of European islands. A broad survey is currently conducted on the networks’s chambers. The replies we already received are very interesting and will certainly shape Insuleur’s work. If you have not send us back the filled questionaire yet, it is important for you and for us to do it as soon as possible. For any questions, please contact Anna Corlay (a.corlay_ext@acfci.cci.fr) from the Insuleur representation in Brussels. [+] For more information: InsulerVoice Coordinator: Silvia Delgado |´ innovacionmallorca@camaras.org | Tel: +34 971 71 01 88 Antonio Cañellas | crmallorca@camaras.org | Tel: +34 971 710188 INSULEUR representative to the EU in Brussels: Carine Piaguet | c.piaguet@acfci.cci.fr | Tel: +32 2 2210434 INSULEURVOICE is powered by: INSULEUR & Mallorca Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Navigation