Paper short abstract:

Through the analysis of EU maritime related strategies this communication aims at assessing their coherence, infer what they reveal about the EU global strategy towards the maritime domain, and assess how maritime related strategies contribute to the assertion of the EU as a relevant global actor.

Paper long abstract:

Over the last decade, the European Union (EU) has been prolific in developing and adopting strategies for the maritime domain. Passed the days of relative absence of maritime issues from the EU political agenda (notable exception to fisheries policies), the oceans, perceived as a complex domain, has ascended within the EU political debate. Progressively the EU has moved forwards strategies such as the Integrated Maritime Policy (IMP) in 2007, the Blue Growth Strategy in 2012, the EU Maritime Security Strategy (EUMSS) in 2014, or the Agenda for International Ocean Governance in 2016 that seek to offer guidance on how to protect and enhance EU maritime interests. In a time of global growing interest and use of the oceans a common position can be argued as the best strategy to assert the EU as a leading global maritime player, and to pursuit EU economic, commercial, economic, political, social, and cultural interests. Through the analysis of EU maritime related strategies (e.g., IMP, EUMSS) this communication aims at assessing the coherence of these maritime strategies, infer what they reveal about the EU global strategy towards the maritime domain, and assess how these strategies contribute to the assertion of the EU as a relevant global actor.