The Bluemassmed project is a new initiative from the European Commission designed to increase cooperation for maritime surveillance in the Mediterranean Sea and its Atlantic approaches, including surveillance of illegal immigration. The inaugural meeting for the Project was held in Paris on 15 January 2010.
“France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain [will] cooperate on this specific project to strengthen their common actions against illicit trafficking, illegal immigration and environmental pollution. It will also permit [the reinforcement of] the Search and Rescue efforts in the area. This pilot project granted by the European Commission and co-funded by 6 Member States countries (France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain) is the first state-centred action to integrate such an important field between Member States countries.”
The project is a two year project “divided in two stages. The first one intends to define the requirements of the actors in terms of exchange of information and to submit a list of technical and legal proposals. The second stage will result in a demonstration, performed among partners and wider, with the help of a demonstrator prototype, connecting present information systems from partners, shaping a possible future network of State actors for maritime surveillance systems, in the framework of several realistic scenarios.”
“The [French] Secrétariat Général de la Mer is leader of the project. The Agenza Spaziale Italiana is Co-leader of the Steering group, composed by representatives from each Member States, which will define the strategic guidelines of the project.”
“BLUEMASSMED aims at being a catalyst for internal and external cooperation between Member States and maritime surveillance actors. The success of this project is directly linked to the involvement of the Partners, responsible to their governments. The prototype demonstrator will be carried out with the support of industry. Industrial involvement is considered as a key investment.”
Click here for Bluemassmed web site.
Click here for English Press Release or here for French Press Release from inaugural conference.
Click here for EC Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Non-Paper on Maritime Surveillance, 13 Oct. 2008.
MIGRANTS AT SEA 