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EU 'building navy by stealth'
The European Commission has drawn up plans to set up a European coastguard, which critics fear is a back-door attempt by Brussels to create an EU navy with its own powers to stop and search shipping.
- By Justin Stares, The Telegraph
- Published: 00:00 May 22, 2006
Brussels: The European Commission has drawn up plans to set up a European coastguard, which critics fear is a back-door attempt by Brussels to create an EU navy with its own powers to stop and search shipping.
Plans to upgrade the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) into a fully-fledged coastguard are buried in a policy document on EU transport policy that is due to be published next month.
They come on the back of other "empire building" moves by Brussels, including a planned EU army, a common foreign policy and diplomatic service, and a European-wide policy on energy.
The Commission says a European coastguard would help enforce maritime legislation. It would have the authority to intercept shipping across all of Europe's traditional maritime borders, which could require that ships' crews be armed and raises questions of national sovereignty over coastal waters.
Lloyd's List, the respected daily newspaper which covers the maritime industry, accused the Commission of attempting to build up a navy by stealth in a leading article last week.
"The concept of a European coastguard has a federalist charm about it that causes eyes to brighten instantly among gatherings of Europhiles, tired of endless discussions about fish or agriculture," the newspaper said. "In a way, it is a European navy, by the back door."
The Commission document is written in French and entitled Preparer la Mobilite de Demain (Preparing Tomorrow's Mobility).
In it, the Commission says it believes the time has come to consider the "concept of a European coastguard".
Such a body would improve "coherence of forms of control and enforcement" of passenger safety at sea and environmental protection legislation.
Disaster management
Its main role initially would be to avert maritime pollution disasters, such as the oil slick that devastated French and Spanish Atlantic coasts in 2002, when the aged Prestige tanker snapped in half, spilling 5,000 tonnes of fuel into the sea.
The coastguard would be easy to implement, the Commission notes, because the EU can "from today call on the support of the safety agencies", including the EMSA.
The Lisbon-based agency came to life two years ago as a technical body to help the commission draw up maritime legislation. But its remit and staffing levels have increased rapidly since then, in part as a response to perceived new security threats.
It already controls a small fleet of ships and a staff of around 120 more than twice the number originally envisaged.
The European parliament has long supported forming an EU coastguard, claiming that the principle is already accepted by all member governments.
Julian Brazier, the British Conservatives' shadow shipping minister, said: "This is very worrying news. It seems the empire building ambitions of Brussels know no bounds. The drift towards an EU navy must be stopped."
Brazier has tabled a parliamentary question demanding to know the government's position on the EU coastguard plans. "The plan would be a betrayal of the maritime history of our country and the thousands of men and women currently involved in our maritime sector," he said.
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