IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez has set out key issues on the IMO agenda in a series of meetings in Brussels, Belgium (13 February), including the presidency of the EU Council, with Members of the European Parliament and the European Commission.
The meeting with Belgium's Director General for Shipping, Mr Peter Claeyssens, in charge of the EU Council Presidency, provided an opportunity to raise the situation in the Red Sea, and the Secretary-General reiterated his priorities with regard to the protection of seafarers, freedom of navigation and de-escalation in the region.
Topics including the implementation of the 2023 IMO Strategy to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Shipping and safety and security issues were discussed with Ms. Magda Kopczynska, Director General of the Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE) at the European Commission. The delegations discussed the forthcoming entry into force in June 2025 of the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships.
Mr. Dominguez thanked the European Commission and European Union for their ongoing financial support to IMO-executed projects, including the Global Maritime Technology Cooperation Centres Network (GMN) project and the EU-funded "Regional Programme for Maritime Security in the Red Sea Region".
Earlier, Secretary-General Dominguez addressed Members of the European Parliament (MEPS), including participants from the Committee on Transport and Tourism and the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety. The meeting in the presence of Mrs Karima Delli and Mr Bas Eickhout provided an opportunity for an exchange of views on matters on the EU and IMO agenda in maritime, and in particular the importance of aligning European GHG reduction measures with IMO instruments following the adoption of mid-term measures by the Organization. The members of parliament welcomed the adoption of the revised strategy, which is now a reference in the transport sector.
The Secretary General thanked the Chair of the Transport Committee for her invitation to attend a formal session of the Committee in the autumn.