INFORMATION DAY (“INFODAY”), Brussels, Belgium, 4 June 2014 – Jun 04, 2014
The Information Day “INFODAY” was held in Brussels, Belgium on 4 June 2014 at the Conference Centre A. Borschette.
The Meeting was organised by the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea (REMPEC) and the European Commission Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Directorate-General (DG ECHO). The Meeting was co-financed by the European Commission and the EU-funded Mediterranean Decision Support System for Marine Safety (MEDESS-4MS) Project.
The “INFODAY” was convened pursuant to the recommendations issued from the discussion on “Sub-Regional, Regional, European, International, Industry Mechanisms and Databases” of the Workshop on the Regional Response Capacity and Coordination to Major Oil Spill in the Mediterranean Sea (MEDEXPOL 2013) held in Athens, Greece between 10 and 12 December 2013.
The principal objectives of the Meeting were:
- to introduce the European Union (EU) Civil Protection Mechanism as it results from Decision No 1313/2013/EU, to present its role in marine pollution and explain how non-EU Member States in the Mediterranean Sea may call on the activation of this mechanism, in particular through the Common Emergency Communication and Information System (CECIS). This part of the “INFODAY” was followed by a visit to the Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC);
- to present the three-year Mediterranean Decision Support System for Marine Safety (MEDESS-4MS) Project co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) in the framework of the Project Strategy of the European MED Programme and to make demonstrations on the services offered by the Project; and
- to hold preliminary discussions regarding the possible use of CECIS and MEDESS-4MS tool within the regional response mechanism.
The Meeting was attended by delegations from Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention (Algeria, Malta, Croatia, Montenegro, European Union, Slovenia, France, Spain, Greece, Tunisia, Israel, Turkey and Italy), the Regional Activity Centre for Specially Protected Areas (SPA/RAC), representatives of the following Mediterranean Decision Support System for Marine Safety (MEDESS-4MS) Project Partners and representatives of the oil industry.
The Meeting consisted of two (2) sessions - EU Services and Tools: Preparedness and Response to Marine Pollution and the MEDESS-4MS Project.
In general, all the Contracting Parties Representatives present at the Meeting recognised the usefulness of both CECIS and the MEDESS-4MS tools and the need to integrate these tools in their country, whilst highlighting the difficulties which could be encountered in this process. With regard to CECIS, the main challenge identified was related to the number of actors involved in decision making on emergency management and the need to find an agreement on who would be the national contact point in charge.