Europe: a little-known maritime territory?

Europe’s presence on the seas and oceans, thanks to France. Decryption with Cyrille Poirier-Coutansais, geopolitologist, research director of the Center for Strategic Studies of the Navy. France is at the head of the second largest maritime space in the world.

Focus today on the European maritime territory, often little known, with guest Cyrille Poirier-Coutansais, geopolitologist, director of the research department at the Center for Strategic Studies of the Navy, the CESM, who participated in the last issue of the Revue des deux Mondes with the file, “The sea, our future”.

franceinfo: This European maritime territory, it must still be said, is a beneficiary of the French maritime territory?

Cyrille Poirier-Coutansais: So, clearly, since France is at the head of the second largest maritime space in the world. But it is true that the European maritime territory, we forget a little too much, is absolutely gigantic, since the European continent is bordered by a coastline which is nevertheless considerable, and with maritime activities which are also very important, which whether in fishing or maritime transport. Also, in the ranking of container ship owners for example, we find the Swiss Italian MSC, the Danish Merckx, the French CMA-CGM.

So maritime activities are important. Activities of the future too, since it was in Denmark, we sometimes forget, that the first offshore wind farms were developed, these offshore wind farms which were deployed across the entire European coastline. A good part in any case in Germany, in France now and then throughout the world. So, it is both a coastline that is important, maritime activities that are important to both the maritime economy of today, and then the maritime economy of the future, with wind turbines for example.

France has 11 million km2 of maritime space, thanks to the overseas territories. Which also means that in these 11 million km2 across the world, it is also Europe?

It is also Europe, in fact, which is present. And moreover, we see that the European Union is also obliged to be present on the seas and oceans, since the European Union is obviously an entity which is open to international trade. We know that international trade mainly passes by sea. 90% of trade passes by sea, the European Union is dependent on maritime trade, and therefore the least impact on this maritime trade, as we see in the Red Sea , at the moment, impacts the European Union.

With the Red Sea and the Houthis question?

With the question of the Houthis, and therefore with trade, exchanges between Asia and Europe, since we have 30% of containers in the world which pass through this route. And it is a problem which is important for the European Union, important for China too, with for the moment a diversion of traffic which will pass through the Cape of Good Hope, but with an increase in prices, and therefore with an obvious impact on the economic situation of the European Union.

We can say that French institutions are jealous of this French maritime territory, but we still need to take care of the overseas territories. Are the European institutions, I am thinking of the European Commission, aware of the importance of the maritime territory of the European Union?

So yes, in the sense that we have a whole series of agencies, with already a DG (general directorate), DG Mare which takes care of all maritime activities within the Commission. And then we have a whole series of agencies which have competence in the maritime environment, whether it is the Frontex agency which will manage the external borders of the European Union. And there is obviously a maritime part. We also have EMSA, the agency which will manage maritime safety, all a series of entities that take these questions into account.

And I think that one of the emblematic policies of the European Union in the maritime domain is the fisheries policy, which in fact strives to manage stocks through quotas, coastal fish stocks, and waters of the European Union, in a slightly more sustainable way, and also to allocate quotas to different fishermen. But we have a common fisheries policy just as we have a common agricultural policy. These are the two pillars, the two ultimately original policies of the European Union.