"Maritime systems of the future" Task Force: Interim report

The European Commission''s "Maritime systems of the future" Task Force, established in early 1995 at the initiative of Commissioners Bangemann, Cresson, and Kinnock, has recently published an interim report describing the work of the Task Force to date and identifying priority areas for future action.

The Task Force, which commenced work in October 1995, has, on the basis of extensive consultation with industry and national governments, identified the following priority areas of RTD activity:

- MARIS: Maritime Information Society;
- Competitive engineering (concurrent engineering tools) and production in shipbuilding;
- Safe and environmentally friendly maritime transport system;
- Efficient marine transport;
- Responsible and optimal exploitation of marine resources.

These priority areas have been chosen because the task Force believes that their implementation at a European level will bring the greatest added value. They have also been selected because of their effect on competitiveness. Already, several projects, selected following early calls for tender in the Community''s specific RTD programmes are under way, and future projects will be clustered around these same priorities to maximize their effectiveness.