MEETING | 15th Meeting of the Focal Points of REMPEC – Jun 16, 2023

    MEETING | 15th Meeting of the Focal Points of REMPEC

    Fifteenth Meeting of the Focal Points of the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea (REMPEC) (13-15 June 2023)

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    The Fifteenth Meeting of the Focal Points of the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea (REMPEC) was held in Kappara, Malta, from Tuesday 13th to Thursday 15th June 2023.

    Organised on a biennial basis, in accordance with Article 18 of the 2002 Prevention and Emergency Protocol, the Meeting was an opportunity for representatives of the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention (jointly nominated by the REMPEC Governmental Focal Points, in consultation with the REMPEC Prevention Focal Points and the REMPEC OPRC Focal Points), representatives of governmental and non-governmental organisations and industry partners, the activities of which are relevant to the work of the Centre, to meet and examine the implementation of REMPEC's activities and deliverables since the last Meeting of the Focal Points of REMPEC, as well as to discuss and agree upon the activities and deliverables of the draft Programme of Work for the biennium 2024-2025 of the Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP) of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), prior to their submission, for approval by the next Meeting of the MAP Focal Points (Istanbul, Türkiye, 12-15 September 2023), and for adoption by the Twenty-third Ordinary Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of the Mediterranean (Barcelona Convention) and its Protocols (COP 23) (Izola, Slovenia, 4-8 December 2023).

    This Meeting was the first time the Focal Points of REMPEC could meet in person since the COVID-19 period, as the Fourteenth Meeting of the Focal Points of REMPEC was held online, from 31 May to 2 June 2021).

    Who are the National Focal Points of REMPEC ?  

    Designated by the relevant Ministries or bodies of the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention, in consultation with the UNEP/MAP Focal Points, the National Focal Points of REMPEC whose responsibilities are defined by Decision IG 17/5 of the said Contracting Parties, are to be the main points of contact between REMPEC and the organisations or governments they belong to.

    They are nominated by each Contracting Party to the Barcelona Convention to coordinate the activities mandated to the Centre and are represented as follows:

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    Some of the issues covered during this Meeting included, but were not limited to:

    • the adoption of the amendments to Annex VI to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) concerning the Mediterranean Sea Emission Control Area for Sulphur Oxides and Particulate Matter (Med SOx ECA) by the 79th Session of the International Maritime Organization (IMO)’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 79) (London, United Kingdom, 12-16 December 2022), which are expected to enter into effective application on 1 May 2025;
    •  the adoption of the Mediterranean Strategy for the Prevention of Preparedness and Response to Marine Pollution from Ships (2022-2031) (the “Mediterranean Strategy (2022-2031)”) by the Twenty-second Ordinary Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention and its Protocols (COP 22) (Antalya, Türkiye, 7-10 December 2021), and the subsequent successful organisation of the First Coordination Meeting on the Mediterranean Strategy (2022-2031) held in Malta in November 2022;
    •  the final draft regional harmonised procedures for the uniform implementation of the Ballast Water Management Convention in the Mediterranean Sea, which were endorsed by this Meeting prior to their submission to the next Meeting of the MAP Focal Points;
    • the final draft common marine oil pollution detection/investigation report, which was endorsed by this Meeting and will be used during coordinated aerial surveillance operation for illicit ship pollution discharges in the Mediterranean;
    • the progress made by the Mediterranean Technical Working Group (MTWG) on various topics, including the “Condensates – Chemical Intervention Guide for the Mediterranean”, which was endorsed by this Meeting; and
    • the Mediterranean Assistance Unit (MAU), its achievements during the last three decades, and the need to raise the funding of the MAU Revolving Fund to cover an additional month with a view that the Revolving Fund will be able to fund a two-months’ expert mission.

    Relevant outcomes of this Meeting will be submitted to the next Meeting of the MAP Focal Points for consideration and approval, as appropriate, prior to their submission to COP 23 for adoption. The Sixteenth Meeting of the Focal Points of REMPEC will be tentatively held in 2025.

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    More information about the Focal Point Meetings of REMPEC: