EU mulls over supportive measures on fisheries sector to combat Russian trade ban

The European Union (EU) has planned to provide financial support to fisheries sector, together with a proposal of shifting unused fishing quotas to 2015 to counter Russian trade ban, an EU official said on Monday.

According to a letter, European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Maria Damanaki reassured the Council and the European Parliament that the European Commission stands ready to support the European fisheries sector.

Damanaki called upon the EU governments concerned by the ban to make use "as quickly as possible" of the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF), which can provide financial help to producer organisations who are unable to sell their products to Russia.

This aid enables them to store the unsold products until new markets have been found. She underlined that no approval by the European Commission is necessary to unlock these storage funds.

Damanaki also pointed to flexibility rules which allow Member States to carry over up to 10 percent of their fishing quotas to the following year. According to the letter, she has instructed her services to examine the possibility of going beyond the 10 percent quota flexibility.

Russia imposed imports ban of certain fisheries products from the EU on August 7, composing one part of the EU and Ukraine trade war due to Ukraine crisis.

Russia is the EU's 6th export market for fisheries products. In 2013, EU exports of fisheries products to Russia represented 5 percent, or 199 million euros, of total EU fisheries exports. In 2013, fisheries products represented 0.2 percent of the EU's overall exports to Russia.

The EU is due to announce its new sanctions on Russia later Monday, the European Commission said on Monday, although a ceasefire is generally taking hold in eastern Ukraine.

Responding to EU's upcoming tighter sanctions, Russian Foreign Ministry said last week that reactions will certainly be made by Russia if they are implemented.
Sources: Xinhua - globaltimes.cn
8/9/14
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***Russian trade ban: Commissioner Damanaki ready to support EU fisheries sector with financial help, quota flexibility

European Commission

Press release

Brussels, 8 September 2014

In the light of Russia’s trade ban on certain fisheries products which hit the European fisheries sector this summer, European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Maria Damanaki, has today reassured the Council and the European Parliament that the European Commission stands ready to support the European fisheries sector. In a letter addressed to Italian Minister Maurizio Martina and the Chair of the European Parliament’s Fisheries Committee, Alain Cadec, Commissioner Damanaki outlined that the EU can provide financial support to the sector as well as the possibility of shifting unused fishing quotas to 2015.

In her letter, Commissioner Damanaki called upon the EU governments concerned by the ban to make use “as quickly as possible” of the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF), which can provide financial help to producer organisations who are unable to sell their products to Russia. This aid enables them to store the unsold products until new markets have been found. She underlined that no approval by the European Commission is necessary to unlock these storage funds.

Commissioner Damanaki also pointed to flexibility rules which allow Member States to carry over up to 10% of their fishing quotas to the following year. She underlined that, given the current circumstances, she has instructed her services to examine the possibility go beyond the 10% quota flexibility. The Commissioner said that she could take a positive stance on this option, under the condition that scientific examination confirms that such a proposal would not undermine long term sustainability.

Background

Following Russia’s announcement on 7 August to ban imports of certain fisheries products from the European Union, the European Commission is working closely with Member States authorities to gather evidence on the impact of the Russian trade measures in the fisheries sector and to outline the available support to the sectors affected by the ban. The fisheries products affected by the ban are live, fresh, chilled, frozen, salted, in brine and smoked fish, molluscs and crustaceans. The main Member States exporting these products to Russia in 2013 were Denmark, Latvia, UK, Ireland, Estonia, Spain and France.

In 2013, the total export value of the banned EU fisheries products was close to EUR 144 million, which represents 2% of total value of the EU's fish and aquaculture annual product.

Russia is the EU's 6th export market for fisheries products. In 2013, EU exports of fisheries products to Russia represented 5%, or EUR 199 million, of total EU fisheries exports. In 2013, fisheries products represented 0.2% of the EU’s overall exports to Russia.....................http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-14-980_en.htm?locale=en

8/9/14

UN officials spotlight vital role of seafarers in global trade, transport

UN, 25 June 2014 – Seaborne trade is the engine room of the global economy, senior United Nations officials declared today, marking the Day of the Seafarer by calling on people everywhere to recognize the seafarers who, with quiet dedication, keep the wheels of the world in motion.

Today marks the fourth Seafarer’s Day, which aims to promote full appreciation for the work of seafarers and their role in modern societies. The event underlines the importance of this type of job and stresses the challenges that seafarers face on a daily basis.

Ports all around the world are busy, never-sleeping hubs where ships are ready to sail towards new destinations, with cargos containing a great amount of people’s daily goods.

• Since the epoch of ancient Greeks and Romans, traditional commerce has taken place via the sea. 

• The ships of those Empires transported goods simply from one city to another. Later in history, commerce spread around the entire world as ships began to sail from one continent to the other.

Today, the practice of maritime commerce is still a major force for transporting goods throughout the world. Indeed, day in and day out, year in and year out, all manner of resources such as iron, minerals, and coal, as well as food, clothes, furniture, vehicles reach their destinations via trips on the world’s waterways.

“Without shipping, the bulk transport of vital raw materials, affordable food and manufactured goods would simply not be possible” said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in his message on the Day, stressing the role of seafarers in ensuring that the benefits of globalization can be more evenly distributed. 

Working on ships transporting cargo is often hard and challenging. Seafarers are likely to spend many hours with tough living conditions and with limited opportunities for social interaction or relaxation, said Mr. Ban. They often have to deal with difficult weather conditions and with the constant threat of piracy and shipwrecking.
Moreover, those who spend most of their time working on boats are also likely to experience constant separation from the loved ones for months.

“Over many years, the United Nations, through the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and other agencies, has strived to make seafaring a safer occupation and shipping a greener and cleaner industry. Seafarers themselves seek to implement and maintain the highest possible safety and environmental standards,” stressed the UN chief.
The maritime transport industry is central to the livelihoods of billions of people; and the industry, in turn, relies on seafarers. “Without them, international trade would grind to a halt. On the Day of the Seafarer, I ask people everywhere to recognize the seafarers who, with quiet dedication, keep the wheels of the world in motion,” said the Secretary-General.
On the 2013 Day, the annual campaign, led by the IMO was particularly successful, urging people to express appreciation for seafarers and their essential contributions to all, reaching some 300,000 Facebook users and more than 10 million people on Twitter.

For this year’s campaign the hashtag is #thankyouseafarer and the IMO is urging everyone to complete the sentence "Seafarers brought me...." and post it on social media.
“We are once again asking people everywhere to show their appreciation for the seafarers that quietly, mostly unnoticed, keep the wheels of the world in motion” expressed IMO Secretary-General Koji Sekimizu in his message on the Day.

Online platforms could be successful paths to raise awareness about the lives of seafarers and the issues affecting their jobs. They could also spotlight the huge amounts of goods that have been delivered worldwide thanks to their hard work. 

“By doing so, you will be adding your voice to the millions of others who, on this one day, take the time to stop and thank those who work so hard, in the face of great hardship, to make our lives better,” concluded Mr. Sekimizu.
 [un.org]
25/6/14

UNESCO adds Grand Canal, Silk Road route to World Heritage List

China gained two more UNESCO World Heritage sites Sunday, bringing the nation's total to 47.

The decision was announced by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in Qatar.

The Silk Road, which served as a corridor for trade and cultural exchanges between Asia and Europe dating back 2,000 years ago, was inscribed on the World Heritage List along with the Grand Canal, which runs 1,794 kilometers from Beijing to Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province.

China's application for the Silk Road was jointly submitted with Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, the first transnational application for China.

"We hope the experience gained in the application process will lay the foundation for future transnational projects," said Tong Mingkang, deputy director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage.

Du Yue, secretary general of the Chinese delegation at the 38th session of the World Heritage Committee, said the approval of the application would strengthen cultural exchanges between the three countries.

A total of 33 heritage sites are included along the historic trade route, 22 of which are located in the provinces of Henan, Shaanxi, Gansu and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan have eight and three sites respectively. 

Chinese President Xi Jinping mooted the idea of a Silk Road Economic Belt during his visit to Central Asia in 2013, which was then supported by many neighboring countries.

"Different from the Silk Road, China's Grand Canal is a living heritage, which makes its preservation more challenging. Many projects have increased awareness of preservation and improved protective measures during the application process. They should be further enhanced with more investments and higher standards," Chen Tongbin, director of China Architecture Design and Research Group, was quoted by the Xinhua News Agency as saying.

• The Grand Canal, the longest artificial waterway in the world, dates back more than 2,400 years, still plays a dynamic role in transportation, irrigation and flood control.

• Other canal systems are listed as World Heritage sites, including the Canal du Midi in France and the Amsterdam Canal District of the Netherlands.

"Those canals, built after the industrial revolution, date back some 300 years. The Grand Canal has significant historical and technological value," said An Jiayao, a research fellow with the Institute of Archaeology at Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. 
Source: Global Times
22- 23/6/14
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Related:

• Silk Road inscription into World Heritage list "hopeful" 

  

  Maritime Silk Road

   

Silk Road inscription into World Heritage list "hopeful"

The multinational campaign to include the Silk Road into the World Heritage list has entered the final countdown, with officials and experts sanguine about its success.

Jointly submitted by China, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, the application for adding part of the millennium-old trade route into the UNESCO list is expected to be finalized by a vote in June, when the World Heritage Committee convenes its 38th session in Doha.

Tong Mingkang, deputy director of China's State Administration of Cultural Heritage, was optimistic about the result as the route had won recommendation from the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), which serves as an important reference during the vote.

"We're now emphasizing conservation and management of the relics, and solving some technical problems," Tong told Xinhua on Friday during a seminar on the protection of Silk Road cultural heritages held in Xi'an City in northwest China.

As it is the first time China has cooperated with foreign countries for a World Heritage nomination (also the case for Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan), Tong described the Silk Road project as "very difficult", as the nominated heritages are often in different protection states, face different threats and are of different natures.

The application consists of 33 historical sites along the route, including 22 in China, eight in Kazakhstan and three in Kyrgyzstan. They range from palaces and pagoda sites in cities to ruins in remote, inaccessible deserts.

"It required large amounts of collaborative efforts to make the world recognize their values and significance," he said. SEEING THE DAWN

Once treaded by camel-driving merchants carrying silk, porcelain and spice, the about 2,000-year-old Silk Road was an important corridor for trade and cultural exchanges between Asia and Europe. It fell into disuse in the age of sailing in the 16th century.

The route once again came into the global spotlight after China, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan in 2011 formally launched the project to apply for adding "Silk Roads: Initial Section of the Silk Roads, the Routes Network of Tian-shan Corridor" into the World Heritage list.

An Jiayao, archaeologist with the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said success of the Silk Road campaign would be like "seeing the dawn" for researchers who have worked years, and even decades, on excavation and conservation of the relics.

Many Chinese archaeologists, including An, have taken part in UNESCO-initiated research on the Silk Road relics since 1990, but many of her colleagues have not lived to see the success which is almost on the horizon.

"They would be very glad if they knew that the Silk Road application for World Heritage eventually sees the dawn," An said at the seminar.

She said the nomination process has ushered in better protection for the relics, some of which had remained in oblivion or in a poor state of repair in the past.

Taking the Daming Palace as an example, the 67-year-old recalled when she joined its excavation in the 1990s, relics of this Tang Dynasty imperial palace in Xi'an, a starting point of the Silk Road, was encroached by graves and shantytowns.

Its fate was changed in 2007, when the Xi'an city government, in an effort to prepare the site for World Heritage status, began relocating locals to make way for a park, which opened in 2010 to better conserve and display the relics. STARTING POINT

In an evaluation report filed to the World Heritage Committee, the ICOMOS recognized the outstanding values of the Silk Road, saying they "contributed to the development of many of the world's great civilizations" and "represent one of the world's preeminent long-distance communication networks".

Still, experts with the ICOMOS expressed concerns about the threats facing properties, including urbanization, expanding roads and railways, and surging tourist numbers.

"In some places, there should be limits on the number of tourists to prevent damage to the ruins, while some others lack roads, facilities and management to receive visitors," said Rii Hae-un, executive committee member of the ICOMOS.

If the Silk Road gets enlisted, it will only be "a starting point", Rii said, urging the three countries to continue to work closely and address the insufficient protection at some nominated sites.

"From the beginning, the World Heritage List was created for the protection and conservation of heritages," Rii said, warning against neglecting conservation and management after inscription. Reports of such cases had prompted the committee to attach more weight to this regard during nomination and keep a close watch after inscription, Rii said.

Archaeologists also hope the expected inscription can inspire the protection of other sites along the Silk Road, many of which failed to enter this year's nomination list but carry no less historic value.

Tong said the Chinese government has put in force management plans for all the 22 nominated sites, while provincial and city governments administering them have signed agreements to better cooperate in protection.

Preparation for the inscription has also accrued experience for cross-boundary application for World Heritage status. The Maritime Silk Road, which also involves many countries, will surely benefit from the nomination of its overland peers, Tong said. 
[globaltimes.cn]
25/5/14
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Maritime Silk Road