A conference on European Maritime Policy will be hosted on Thursday and Friday by the French government. That conference taking place in Antibes, organized by the French Minister for European Affairs Catherine Colonna will also be attended by the European Commissioner for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs, Joe Borg.
The conference will pool the ministers of the EU Mediterranean countries – Spain, Italy, Greece, Slovenia, Cyprus, Malta and Portugal, including Finland the next country to preside the EU (1 June). This meeting was organized in a moment when the EC published the Green Paper on a Future European Maritime Policy. The Green Paper was published on 6 June in Brussels, inviting 25 member countries to adopt maritime policies which would reconcile economic development and the protection of the environment. They should also combine their maritime policies with their navel and fishery policies.
On Monday at the opening of the seminar, the President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, supported an integrated maritime policy within the EU instead of the currently 'fragmented' situation.