Coastal zones: integrated management ICZM, implementation of a strategy

The Commission has reviewed Parliamentary amendments in relation to a European Parliament and Council Recommendation for the Implementation of an Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) in Europe. The Commission appears, by and large, satisfied with the amendments accepting most in total, rejecting a few and accepting the rest partially or in principle. The general leitmotiv throughout its assessment is that any wording which obliges Member States to enact specific actions is withdrawn. The Commission reminds Parliament that it is proposing a Recommendation and not a Directive. In line with this reasoning the Commission also rejects Parliamentary amendments obliging the Commission, after three years, to propose a Community legal framework for ICZM. Rather, as in the original text, the Commission will submit an evaluation report. For the rest the Commission accepts, inter alia, the following in full: - the amendment mentioning threats posed to the coastal zone as a result of global warming; - the amendment noting the significant decline of fishing activity and related employment in terms of increased vulnerability of fisheries dependant areas; - the amendment mentioning the threat to environmental equilibrium posed by population growth and development of certain economic activities; - the amendment stressing the link between climate change and problems in coastal zone; - the amendment mentioning the role of spatial planning policy as an aspect of ICZM. Amendment explaining the precautionary principle and the need to consider both present and future generations; - the amendment explaining the adaptive management principle and stressing the need to facilitate adjustment as problems and knowledge develop; - the amendment explaining the local specificity principle, stressing the need for specific solutions and flexible measures to respond to the diversity of coastal zones in Europe; - the amendment explaining the principle of support and involvement of all relevant administrative bodies, stressing the need for links between levels and sectors and the need for policy coronations; - the amendment inserting a new principle related to the need to ensure coherence between sectoral plans that are already in preparation; - the amendments on stocktaking, which will cover the role of elected local officials and interregional organisations. Commission also accepts that several additional sectors should be considered in stocktaking, such as aquaculture and maritime safety. Amendments which allows for public participation on the development of national strategies. Overall the Commission is satisfied that the European Parliament's amendments clarify and strengthen the text of the Recommendation and has changed the text accordingly.�