Moving fisheries and maritime policy forward: Commissioner Damanaki visits Germany

European Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki arrived in Germany for a series of engagements in Berlin and Hamburg. The Commissioner will be meeting ministers, parliamentarians and stakeholders to discuss a range of issues, including the present and future shape of fisheries and maritime policy in Europe, reports www.megafishnet.com with reference to EC.

Commissioner Damanaki's will begin her visit to Germany with meetings in Berlin. She will first be holding talks on fisheries issues with Federal Minister for Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection Ilse Aigner, before she goes on to meet Federal Minister of Transport, Building and Urban Development Peter Ramsauer to discuss maritime policy. Maritime issues will also be at the forefront of the Commissioner's other meeting on Friday with a group of NGOs.

On Monday Commissioner Damanaki will be in Hamburg. She will first attend a joint meeting with members of the Hamburg Senate and maritime stakeholders. This meeting will chiefly be an opportunity for an exchange of views on progress in integrated maritime policy-making, best practice and success stories in the maritime community. Commissioner Damanaki will then move on for talks with Hamburg Senator for Economics and Labour Affairs at the town hall. This will be followed by a working lunch at the invitation of the Hamburg Senate. Commissioner Damanaki will round off her visit to Germany with an address at the opening ceremony of the Global Maritime Environmental Congress. In her speech the Commissioner will focus on the ways in which the European Union's Integrated Maritime Policy can act as a catalyst for sustainable economic development in the EU maritime industry.