“Thank you Chair, honorable members, good afternoon. Our shared marine environment faces challenges including pollution from ships. The European Court of Auditors report on ship source pollution provides a useful assessment of how the Commission and the Member States tackle this challenge together. The report highlights both our progress and the areas where we must do better. I stand here today to thank the Court of Auditors for this report and to confirm the Commission's commitment to addressing its recommendations and in order to safeguard our seas for future generations. Our first priority is to strengthen enforcement of the rules we already have. We must ensure that Member States meet their waste inspection targets for ships under the Port Reception Facilities Directive. In twenty twenty three only six Member States achieved the required fifteen percent inspection rate for ships calling at their ports. This is a reminder that we need to do more to support national authorities. The Commission in collaboration with the European Maritime Safety Agency is developing a clearer risk based targeting mechanism for selecting ships for waste inspections and provided targeted training to inspectors. These measures will help bridge the gap between policy and practice. In twenty twenty six we will present an implementation report for the Port Reception Facilities Directive and report on the progress made. The EU has made progress in aligning its maritime legislation with international standards. Significant progress but enforcement remains uneven. For instance, while the CleanSeaNet satellite surveillance of pollution at sea has been instrumental in detecting oil spills, fewer than half of its alerts are verified on-site. We consider this is not just a missed opportunity, it is a gap that we must address and this is why we have introduced a twenty five percent verification rate under the revised Ship Source Pollution Directive in twenty twenty four. And we're enhancing CleanSeaNet to detect a broader range of pollutants including sewage and garbage. I realize that time is running so I will have time to come back. I would just like to conclude. I will come back with, I would still refer to the Marine Strategy Framework Directive which is currently under review and I would also like to conclude by referring to the European Ocean Pact which integrates all our effort into a coherent strategy. And under this umbrella to say that we are preparing a EU post strategy and an industrial maritime strategy that will also look particularly at cleaner and more sustainable maritime sector. Thank you.”
Environmental crimes and justice · Decarbonisation of maritime transport · EU ocean policy