UK Event to Address North Sea Energy and Maritime Spatial Planning

The North Sea Region has the potential to act as an engine for growth in Europe, add value to the European Union and contribute to the objectives of the EU2020 strategy.

Whereas the EU has developed regional strategies for the Baltic and Adriatic Sea areas and has begun developing strategies for the Atlantic and Arctic regions, such a process has not yet started for the North Sea Region.

In this context and following the adoption by the European Parliament of the First Commission interim report on the implementation of Pilot Projects and Preparatory Actions for 2014, stakeholders from the energy, fisheries, transport, shipping and environmental fields, as well as national authorities and representatives of existing cooperation bodies in the North Sea will meet in Edinburgh (UK) on 29 January 2015.

The event, organised by DG Mare, in cooperation with the CPMR North Sea Commission, will be an opportunity to examine the strategic approaches needed to address the energy challenges at sea-basin level in this area.

An economic heavyweight and the most densely used maritime and coastal space in Europe, the North Sea holds the highest potential in Europe for the development of offshore wind energy.

Cooperation at sea-basin level has an essential role to play in reaching this potential by reducing regulatory uncertainty, addressing increasing risks of conflicts over space between sectors, such as fisheries or transport, and by creating the necessary strategic vision for the development of energy interconnections.

Press release; Image: Gemini offshore wind farm (Illustration)