EU Ministers of Transport in charge of maritime affairs met in Opatija, Croatia

Transport, Adina Vălean, also took part in today’s informal meeting. An informal meeting of Transport Ministers was held on the topic of maritime affairs and was an opportunity to continue discussing policies aimed at achieving ambitious environmental goals while maintaining the competitiveness of European maritime affairs. At the end of the informal meeting, the so-called “The Declaration of Opatija”, which will provide Member States with guidelines for the development of maritime policy by 2030 in the context of the protection of the marine environment, with a focus on supporting the fight to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from ships and further digitization in maritime and inland navigation. The declaration adopted is based on five key points: environmental protection, digitization, human resources, security and competitiveness. Minister Butković noted that “these key chapters reflect the current situation with regard to the challenges for maritime and inland navigation, both within the European Union and globally”. EU Transport Commissioner, Adina Vălean, attended the press conference with Minister thanked her for a successfully organized event that focused on currently extremely important topics for the maritime sector. “The sustainability of the sector and its global nature, digitalisation and automation, as well as reducing emissions while maintaining competitiveness, the future of seafarers and the need to invest in their education so that they can meet the challenges of the future are topics of paramount importance.”, the commissioner noted. These are topics touched upon by the Declaration of Opatija, which opened the door for discussion on further initiatives that the EC will continue to work on throughout the year. An important topic that was also part of the discussion of the assembled ministers and heads of delegations was the situation regarding the Crown virus. Ministers agreed that the current situation has a significant impact on the pace of work and the sector as a whole. The Ministers concluded that it was necessary to stand in solidarity with the affected members and work together to find the best solution. Source: Government of Croatia