Kurt Bodewig Bundesminister a.D.

Maritime Ambassador of the European Union

In September 2007 Joe Borg, the European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, appointed two Maritime Ambassadors for each member of the European Union. Their mission is the development and representation of the Commission's concept of an integrated EU maritime policy. Up to now, the various policy issues, activities and schemes tangent to martime policy were administered independently of each other in their respective departments of governance. This new approach of a one-stop policy process aims to enhance the mode of policymaking in the maritime sector and to better incorporate the interdependencies of concerned policy areas.

By way of this integrated maritime policy, the European Union will be able to face the challenges of globalisation, climate change and pollution of the oceans. However, this endeavour can only be successful if all actors and stakeholders concerned are continuously engaged and integrated in the process.

Kurt Bodewig and Prof. Dr. Peter Herzig are the European Commissioner's appointees in this field for Germany. Kurt Bodewig was called upon in his capacities as Chairman of the Baltic Sea Forum and Deputy Chairman of the Committee on European Affiars of the German Bundestag to strengthen ties between the political sphere and the maritime economy. Prof. Dr. Peter Herzig as Director of the Leibniz-Instituts for Maritime Sciences ensures close cooperation with the scientific stakeholders in this sector.