Christian Bueger

Tag Archives: EU


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Legal expert meeting in Brussels

The number of maritime accidents and dangerous situations in European seas continues to rise dramatically. Damage to underwater infrastructure, substandard vessels in distress, and unusual ship accidents indicate growing instability in the European maritime space.

It remains uncertain which of these incidents can be linked to deliberate acts, or whether some are state-sponsored. Regardless of whether regional seas such as the Baltic are now in the ‘grey zone’ between war and peace, Europe needs to better protect its maritime activities, installations, and the environment.

On Friday, 21.3., I had the pleasure to speak at a workshop in Brussels organized by the European External Action Service – the EU’s diplomatic service. The workshop convened Law of the Sea and maritime security experts from member states and the Commission, with the key objective of identifying legal options and new actions to make the EU’s waters safer.

What are the legal foundations to improve law enforcement to prevent accidents, conduct thorough investigations, and prosecute perpetrators? The EU does not have a unified voice when it comes to how the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and other conventions should be interpreted.

For instance, when and where can a ship be stopped and boarded without waiting for flag state permission? What are the limits of ‘innocent passage’ – the key concept to ensure freedom of navigation in the Law of the Sea?

The EU will continue to grapple with these questions, but it is important that an organized discourse is now underway. Having the right laws in place is equally important as developing the right technology or strengthening operational coordination.


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Talk at University of Bologna

On May 4th I am giving a guest lecture at the Department of Political Science at the University of Bologna. In the lecture I will review the European Union’s approach to maritime security based on a forthcoming paper co-authored with Tim Edmunds. The paper draws on our research on maritime security strategy as well as a talk on the EU’s maritime security strategy I gave last year at the EU Military Committee. Further information and location here.


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What is the state of the EU’s maritime security strategy?

The Portuguese presidency of the Council of the EU has made quite some efforts to lift maritime security higher on the agenda of the EU. To reflect on the state of EU maritime security provision, Portugal organized a mini away day of the EU Military Committee on 2 June 2021.

I had the pleasure to speak at the event alongside the keynote speaker Mr Kitack Lim, Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization, and the Portuguese Special Representative for Maritime Security in the Gulf of Guinea.

In my talk I reviewed the current strategy choices of the EU. I highlighted a number of current challenges, which includes in what kind of command structures the EU operates abroad to address piracy and other blue crimes, the relationship to NATO’s work on maritime security, and the issues linked to the Brexit process.

I also argued for the need to pay more attention to arising matters, including the environmental security agenda at sea, the consequences of climate change, and the importance of subsea data cables.

I concluded in suggesting to revisit the EU Maritime Security Strategy and calling for an open dialogue with NATO on the matter.