By adopting the Pre-Accession Maritime Strategy on its path to European Union membership, Croatia has defined targets and measures to ensure the development of its maritime economy on the principles of excellence, paying full attention to the protection of the maritime environment, the Minister of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure, Božidar Kalmeta, said in a statement on Monday ahead of the European Maritime Day.
Kalmeta further stated that in that way Croatia ensured the implementation of the EU's integrated maritime policy, which promotes the protection of European seas and safe navigation.
In determining its priorities in the Pre-Accession Strategy, Croatia focused on the protection of the biodiversity of the Adriatic Sea by promoting an ecosystem-based approach in managing all sea-related activities. In the context of growing naval transport in the Adriatic, especially the transport of hazardous material, there is an increasing need for the continuous integrated supervision of maritime navigation, which is being conducted within an EU-funded PHARE project, Kalmeta concluded.
The European Union will mark the European Maritime Day for the first time on 20 May. (Hina)