Mr Vella stressed that sound environmental foundations were essential.  He told the Committee's Commission for Natural Resources that while there were increasing economic opportunists, the need for concerted international action to ensure environmental standards was clear. He mentioned that he has been undertaking a listening tour to hear practical suggestions how best to improve governance. The Commissioner has been in Alaska to discuss the Arctic, at the World Ocean Summit in Portugal, the Ocean Wealth conference in Ireland, and is due to attend the 'Our Oceans' summit in Santiago Chile, where he plans to meet US Secretary of State, John Kerry.

Mr Vella singled out the European Commission's Blue Growth initiative as a way of investing in the future of Europe's maritime regions. This aims to strengthen technology and innovation and give a boost to jobs in the maritime sector.

While acknowledging the regional and local dimension of the blue economy, Mr Vella also pointed to the international dimension. Europe and its maritime economy are not evolving in isolation, and many challenges are shared. He therefore invited the Committee of the Regions as well as the European maritime regions themselves to contribute to the Commission's public consultation on international ocean governance.

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