Multipurpose maritime operations in Europe were discussed by three partner EU agencies at an event hosted by the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA) in Tenerife, Spain, last week.
The seventh annual European Coast Guard event was co-organised with the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) and the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex).
The event gathered around 100 representatives responsible for coast guard functions from 22 EU member states, along with representatives from the European Commission and the three EU agencies.
Frontex was the focus of an EU Ombudsman inquiry last year in relation to how it complies with its fundamental rights obligations on search and rescue in the context of its maritime surveillance activities - in particular the Adriana shipwreck in which over 600 migrants died off the Greek coast.
The inquiry found that Frontex had “followed the applicable rules and protocols but demonstrated shortcomings” in how it reacts in maritime emergency situations in which it becomes involved, either in the context of joint maritime operations or its separate multipurpose aerial surveillance activities.
The annual European Coast Guard event “serves as a forum for providing consultation and feedback on the agencies’ cross-sectoral and cross-border cooperation activities,” the EFCA said.
“EFCA, EMSA, and Frontex support member states in the implementation of different coast guard functions, such as fisheries control, maritime safety, border control and search and rescue, under the framework of the European Coast Guard co-operation,”it said.
The Tenerife event also provided the opportunity to present the results and prizes under the “Greening Award” initiative, which aims to celebrate the sustainability actions that are being carried out by coast guard authorities all over Europe.
Susan Steele, executive director of the EFCA, praised the achievements of the interagency cooperation:
“The three partner EU agencies in the maritime domain have established since 2017 a unique cooperation framework involving their respective member state competent authorities and the European Commission,”she said.
“After these seven years, we are now at full speed in terms of our cooperation with very concrete examples. It is clear that the European co-operation on Coast Guard functions is an added value for member states’ fisheries control authorities and for EFCA,”she said.
“This will also benefit the needed future developments under the revised EU fisheries control system,”she said.