Seminar on maritime security © Belgian Defence
On April 16, a seminar on maritime security was organised in Brussels by the Taskforce of the Belgian Defence for the Presidency of the Council of the EU and the Centre for security and Defence Studies (CSDS).
In a fast-evolving world and amidst international tensions, security policies and naval presence within and beyond EU borders must be strengthened. Operational effectiveness is key to enhance their defence capabilities. During this seminar, the discussion concentrated on four maritime areas, namely the North Sea, the Mediterranean, the Gulf of Guinea, and the Black Sea.
Given the EU is the second largest coastal territory, naval trade and industries are crucial to its economic growth since 90% of EU exports navigate through international waters. Oceans have a central role to play in security given their pivotal position. Consequently, maritime security is essential to global trade. Global trade relies on maritime commercial routes, which makes economies interdependent.
On the verge of a new strategic culture
Maritime security is facing new challenges deriving from traditional to non-traditional threats. Whereas piracy, geopolitical rivalries and overfishing were common issues in the recent past, now organized crime and illicit activities (e.g., smuggling, dumping waste) are gaining ground. To overcome these challenges, Member States must cooperate to enhance surveillance, law enforcement, and intelligence sharing. During the seminar, the discussion concentrated on the four geographical areas from several perspectives, including geopolitics, diplomacy, economy, law, intelligence, military and human domain, vulnerabilities, hybrid threats, resilience and technology.
Beyond maritime domains
Maritime security is not restricted to maritime domains. Not solely is cooperation restricted to naval fields since maritime security expands beyond maritime vulnerabilities, but it is also multifaceted (e.g., energy, tourism, environment). In other words, the EU wants to maintain economic growth and foster diplomatic cooperation by making sure that international law is followed to settle disputes, and strengthen adherence to these agreements.
Seminar on maritime security © Belgian Defence
From interoperability to joint capabilities
Since maritime security is strategically significant for the EU’s global interests, it is also a matter of interoperability: besides training, exercising and building capacity, information exchange is key to cooperation. This is how the EU aims to improve maritime security awareness processes like the Common Information Sharing Environment (CISE) and Maritime Surveillance (MARSUR) by 2025 (Strategic Compass). Reinforcing regular interaction between Member States in maritime domains helps build joint operational capabilities.
Maximizing awareness
The seminar stressed the need for a comprehensive strategy where international cooperation between both civilian and military practitioners is required. Maximizing maritime domain awareness and monitoring critical vulnerabilities offshore is more important given the current context. The goal being to protect naval facilities in a unified and robust way, and to ease geopolitical tensions that jeopardize security in littoral areas. The discussions generated during the seminar were extended during the away days of the EU Military Committee in Antwerp between the 17th and the 19th April.
