29 November – 01 December 2022, Floriana, Malta – The Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) participated in the First Coordination Meeting on the Mediterranean Strategy for the Prevention of, Preparedness, and Response to Marine Pollution from Ships (2022-2030), organized by the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea (REMPEC) of the United Nations, in Malta. The Assembly was represented by Hon. Graziella Galea (Malta), newly appointed PAM Rapporteur on Environment.
The meeting, which gathered representatives from the 23 Parties of the Barcelona Convention, alongside relevant regional and international organizations, was organized to report and assess the progress made in the implementation of the 2021 Mediterranean Strategy formulated by REMPEC, to define priority actions and propose activities for the following biennium, and to establish operation and strategic synergies through specific partnership agreements.
During her speech, Hon. Galea recognized REMPEC’s crucial role in assessing risks, contrasting marine pollution, and implementing the ratification of relevant international maritime conventions. In this regard, she recalled that PAM has always contributed to raising awareness within the Euro-Mediterranean and Gulf Parliaments on environmental issues by advocating, among other things, for the harmonization of national regulatory frameworks. Already in the past, PAM had taken key initiatives to protect the Mediterranean from industrial disasters, and based on the experience of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the Assembly had organized a high-level technical meeting on the possibility that such a disaster occurs in the deep waters of the East Mediterranean Sea.
In its conclusion, the First Coordination Meeting set a common reporting and monitoring procedure and encouraged regional and international institutions to formalise their cooperation, which was defined during the meeting through the establishment of “sustainable partnerships and agreements”.
The parties also agreed upon the outcome of the Working Group discussion in relation to preparedness and response, prevention of oil and chemical pollution, air emissions and climate change, non-indigenous species, marine litter from ships, and underwater noise from ships, while recalling the absolute urgency to decarbonise the shipping and port sectors
The current REMPEC action plan is aimed at translating the Strategy adopted in 2021 into 190 actions to be implemented over the next ten years. PAM will assist its member states in transposing the key elements of the strategy into national laws and regional and international legal instruments.
In conclusion, while reiterating PAM continuous support for the unique work of REMPEC in the area, Hon. Galea recalled the UNEP/MAP joint project to draft a set of guidelines for Parliamentarians aimed at protecting the Mediterranean Sea and preventing coastal erosion. //