The official inauguration of the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) headquarters was held on 14th September in Lisbon in the presence of José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, Portuguese Prime Minister José Socrates Carvalho Pinto de Sousa, Secretary General of the IMO Efthimios Mitropoulos, Jacques Barrot, Commission Vice-President and Commissioner for Transport and high level representatives from the host country Portugal, EU and EFTA Member States, candidate countries, the maritime industry and international and European organizations.
The main areas in which the Agency works, includes supporting the European Commission with the monitoring of the implementation of EU maritime safety legislation and providing technical assistance to new legislative initiatives, facilitating technical co-operation between Member States and between Member States and the European Commission, and providing Member States and the European Commission with technical and scientific assistance in the field of accidental or deliberate marine pollution by ships and supporting, on request, the pollution response mechanisms of Member States.
Besides its technical role and tasks the EMSA will proof to European citizens the EU shows special concern for maritime safety and the preservation of maritime surrounding, Barroso stated.
The EMSA was founded in 2002 after the catastrophe of the ship ‘Erika’, and for some time the EMSA was situated on a temporary location in Brussels. The transfer to Lisbon was based on a decision made by the EC in 2003.