11. Maintains that strategic planning should be laid down for blue economy activities, as should forms of direct financing and an action plan, in order to galvanise this sector into life by 2020; considers that each of the activities singled out should encompass specific ideas on subjects ranging from research cooperation through infrastructure investment and cooperation arrangements, which Member States should be called upon to implement by making use of EU funds, financing from the European Investment Bank (EIB), and private-sector involvement, following the practices appl ...[+++]ied under or using the European Fund for Strategic Investments, whose aim is to foster significant infrastructure investments and ensure the financing of innovative projects; thus asks the Commission to add the development of the blue economy as one of the requirements to be met for a project to be eligible for access to the European Strategic Investment Fund;

36. Considers that the implementation of strategies, plans and programmes, as well as specific national legislation, may provide a political and institutional framework which is more favourable to the development of the blue economy in the various Member States; stresses that these strategies, plans and programmes, together with specific national legislation, should contribute to harmonious and sustainable interaction between human activities and the marine and coastal environment; stresses the importance of maritime spatial plannin ...[+++]g for the sustainable and coordinated development of maritime activities, taking all concerned sectors’ interests into account in an equitable manner, as well as land-sea interactions and Integrated Coastal Zone Management; recalls the Maritime Spatial Planning Directive, the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and the Integrated Maritime Policy at EU and sea-basin levels;

36. Considers that the implementation of strategies, plans and programmes, as well as specific national legislation, may provide a political and institutional framework which is more favourable to the development of the blue economy in the various Member States; stresses that these strategies, plans and programmes, together with specific national legislation, should contribute to harmonious and sustainable interaction between human activities and the marine and coastal environment; stresses the importance of maritime spatial plannin ...[+++]g for the sustainable and coordinated development of maritime activities, taking all concerned sectors’ interests into account in an equitable manner, as well as land-sea interactions and Integrated Coastal Zone Management; recalls the Maritime Spatial Planning Directive, the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and the Integrated Maritime Policy at EU and sea-basin levels;

In its communication entitled ‘Blue Growth: opportunities for marine and maritime sustainable growth’, the Commission has identified a number of ongoing Union initiatives which are intended to implement the Europe 2020 Strategy, as well as a number of activities on which blue growth initiatives could focus in the future and which could be adequately supported by greater confidence and certainty for investors provided through maritime spatial planning.

27. Considers that the Commission should, together with the Member States, draw up an action plan to promote professions that are directly or indirectly linked to the blue economy, in order to attract people into them;

78. Calls on the Commission, in its forthcoming strategic guidelines for aquaculture in the EU, to promote offshore aquaculture, which can be combined with blue energy facilities so as to reduce pressure from over-intensive aquaculture on coastal ecosystems and on other activities; highlights the need for the Member States’ respective integrated management plans to simplify the administrative burden and ensure the allocation of suitable space for the development of these activities;