Annual European Coast Guard Event takes place in Azores

On 9-10 June, representatives of coast guard authorities from around the EU and beyond gathered in Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal for the Annual European Coast Guard Event.

The event, organised by EMSA, took place in the framework of European Coastguard Cooperation, through which EMSA, Frontex, and the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA), support authorities performing coast guard functions throughout the EU.

The choice of the Azores, as an outermost region of the European Union, to host this year’s event reflected the strategic importance of the archipelago, which includes the largest search and rescue area in the EU.

The event was opened by EMSA’s Executive Director, Maja Markovčić Kostelac, and featured keynote speeches from Mario Pinho, the Regional Secretary for Fisheries and the Sea of the Azores, and Member of the European Parliament for the Azores, André Franqueira Rodrigues, as well as a video message from the European Commissioner for Fisheries and the Oceans, Costas Kadis.

During the event, delegates discussed key coastguard cooperation issues and held a structured workshop on Multipurpose Maritime Operations.

The event ended with the traditional handover of the captain’s bell, symbolising the transfer of the chairmanship of the inter-Agency Tripartite Working Arrangement from EMSA to EFCA for the next 12 months.