17th Inter-Secretariat meeting between Regional Agreement Secretariats, the European Commission and EMSA
The 17th Inter-Secretariat meeting between Regional Agreement Secretariats, the European Commission and EMSA was held online on 24-25 February 2021 to exchange information and best practices in marine pollution prevention, preparedness and response across the European regional seas. Representatives from the Black Sea Commission, the Bonn Agreement, the Copenhagen Agreement, the European Commission, EMSA, HELCOM, the Lisbon Agreement and REMPEC / Barcelona Convention attended the meeting.
The Secretary of the Bonn Agreement, Dominic Pattinson, presented an update of the work of the Bonn Agreement including the ratification processes of the decision on the accession on Spain and the decision to include MARPOL Annex VI compliance monitoring activities.
The Chair of OTSOPA, Torben Iversen, referred to the aerial surveillance activities, the incidents and exercises reported in 2020 in the Bonn Agreement area, and the new challenges addressed under the Bonn Agreement Strategic Action Plan (BASAP 2019-2025).
The former Chair of OTSOPA, Ronny Schallier, presented the seven funding priorities identified by the Bonn Agreement in October 2020 for the preparation of European call for proposals. He also mentioned the outcome of the MARPOL Annex VI Experts Workshop held online on 2-5 February 2021 to develop a common strategy and operational procedures.
All Regional Agreements provided an overview of their ongoing and planned activities and priorities. A new format of the Inter Secretariat meeting was followed to cover emerging topics; to extend the invitation to DG MOVE and DG ENV from the EC along with DG ECHO; and to have a 2-day meeting
Fruitful discussions were held on the definition and assessment of significant acute pollution events under the MSFD, on a common reporting system for pollution detections under the Ship Source Pollution Directive and on compliance monitoring of MARPOL Annex VI.