According to the president of the EU Commission, José Manuel Barroso, "the launch of a common maritime policy has been one of the first initiatives of the current Commission. Oceans and seas border Europe adds the Portuguese politician but they also unite it". According to the Commissioner for Fishing and Maritime Affairs, Joe Borg, "the Green Paper on the Maritime Policy has been acclaimed all over Europe. After ten months of intensive public consultations, we can say there is wide support to the main ideas of the Paper". So, the EU Commission will present "in October a set of proposals for a new integrated maritime policy" for the 27 member states, "which will touch on and connect all the areas of work". The two days’ debates of Bremen will be divided into four theme sessions: employment and competitiveness; research and innovation; common responsibility for the marine environment; coastal life. The text under discussion is actually an "integral part of the EU policy for promoting the sustainable development of the twenty-first-century Europe".
