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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BRUSSELS 001543 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
COAST GUARD PLEASE PASS TO LCDR NELL ERO 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EWWT MARR EUN PARM
SUBJECT: EU INTEGRATING MARITIME SURVEILLANCE ACROSS 
COUNTRIES AND SECTORS 
 
BRUSSELS 00001543  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  Summary:  The European Union, via separate 
initiatives in the European Commission and European Council, 
is working to integrate civilian and military maritime 
surveillance systems across its Member States in an effort to 
improve international coordination to secure European 
commerce, prevent drug trafficking, combat smuggling, improve 
arms control, reduce illegal immigration, reduce pollution, 
and take stronger military action when necessary.  The 
European Commission is particularly active in integrating 
Member States' civilian maritime surveillance systems. 
Beginning later this year, the Commission will oversee a 
pilot project on maritime surveillance integration with six 
Member States bordering the Mediterranean.  The results of 
this pilot project will allow the Commission to identify the 
technical and legal obstacles to truly integrated 
surveillance systems.  In the meantime, the Commission is 
identifying the legal and technical action it can take to 
move this process forward.  At the same time, EU Member 
States, through the European Defense Agency, are trying to 
integrate military maritime domain awareness systems, and 
expect to coordinate this work to the Commission's efforts on 
the civilian side.  While the full implications of the 
Commission and Council initiatives will not be clear for 
several years, the work in maritime surveillance demonstrates 
that Member States are increasingly looking to the EU to 
address international security challenges and to protect the 
European homeland.  As we consider how to work with Europe to 
secure international sea lanes, we should be aware of the 
increasing role Brussels will play in EU Member States' 
maritime security.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  On November 16, PolOff met with representatives 
from several European Commission directorates-general to 
discuss efforts to integrate maritime surveillance systems 
across EU Member States.  Led by Fabrizia Benini, Head of the 
Mediterranean and Black Sea Unit in the Directorate-General 
for Maritime Affairs, the group described the work as a 5-10 
year effort to render inter-operable the existing Member 
State maritime surveillance systems across governmental 
sectors -- police, border control, customs, fisheries, 
environment -- and among the EU Member States.  Removing the 
current stovepipes between sectors and nations will require 
not simply a technical review of information systems, but 
also a review of European Community legislation to address 
the legal barriers to information sharing.  Benini stressed 
that the Commission is not attempting to build a new 
information system from the ground up, but will help 
establish a new technical framework to integrate existing 
systems. 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  A two-year pilot project, focused on maritime 
surveillance in the Mediterranean Sea and its Atlantic 
approaches, is scheduled to begin at the end of the year. 
This initiative, which will involve six EU Member States, 
concerns information relating to border control, drug 
 
while noting the dQfference between the U.S. and EU systems. 
They also expressed strong interest in understandinghow our 
work on maritime surveillance suppQrts the broader U.S. 
maritime policy. 
 
¶5.  QSBU)  The EU Member States, particularly throug( the 
European Defense Agency, are working separately to integrate 
maritime surveillance systems, particularly military systems, 
with an eye towards taking stronger action against the full 
 
BRUSSELS 00001543  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
range of sea-based security challenges.  This has been a 
particular priority of the Swedish EU Presidency, although 
Member States are committed to continuing the work under the 
Spanish Presidency.  In official conclusions agreed during 
the EU Foreign and Defense Ministerial (GAERC) on November 
17, Ministers called for this work on military systems to be 
fully integrated with the Commission's efforts on the 
civilian side.  Ministers also called upon the Commission to 
present the Member States with a roadmap for its project by 
the end of 2010, and to identify the financial resources 
needed to implement its work by the end of 2013. 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  Comment:  The full implications of these efforts 
will not be clear for several years.  However, it is already 
clear that Brussels will play a larger role in maritime 
safety and security across the European Union in the coming 
years.  These projects also show the EU Member States looking 
increasingly to the EU to address international security 
challenges and to protect the European homeland.  As it 
implements these projects, the EU as a whole will play a 
growing role in international arms control, combating drug 
trafficking, border management, and military operations.  As 
we develop our security relationship with Europe, we should 
be mindful of the increasing importance of the EU in this 
domain.  End Comment. 
 
MURRAY 
.