The European Maritime Day (EMD) is the annual two-day event during which Europe’s maritime community meet to network, discuss and forge joint action. It targets maritime professionals, entrepreneurs and ocean leaders. This year the event took place on 16-17 May 2019 in Lisbon.

The focus in 2019 was on blue entrepreneurship, research, innovation and investment to boost sustainable technologies and emerging value chains in the wider ocean economy.

One of the breakout sessions organised by DG MARE was themed “CISE: A new era for maritime surveillance”. The session announced the launch of the operational phase of CISE as an important building block of the overall EU maritime surveillance framework, with the involvement of EMSA.

This new phase will build upon the successful completion of the EU interoperability project EUCISE2020 as well as important national projects. Devised by the Commission together with Member States and several EU agencies, CISE will further facilitate quick and reliable exchange of information across borders and across different maritime authorities. It will contribute to ensure a safe and secure maritime environment, which is a key precondition to allow blue economy to grow and flourish. It will improve maritime surveillance and mitigate the diverse risks that might have a negative effect on our seas and shores, such as pollution, illegal and criminal activities, piracy, or terrorism.  

The session was moderated by DG MARE and involved representatives from EMSA, the Portuguese Ministry of the sea, the project EUCISE2020 and the Joint Research Centre at the European Commission.