Greenpeace's Submission to the Consultation on the Commission's Maritime Green Paper

Greenpeace appreciates the opportunity to comment on a possible future maritime policy but disagrees with the notion that Europe ought to be promoting an expansion of economic activity in the maritime sector when existing activity levels are already placing an excessive burden on the marine environment. It is our impression that, as so often, the concept of economic competitiveness is being used to disguise a push towards further unsustainable growth and resource exploitation. This is apparent in the Commission’s Green Paper itself, but perhaps more so in the resulting debate of the past 12 months.