On 19 March SIPRI Senior Researcher Hugh Griffiths, Head of the Countering Illicit Trafficking-Mechanism Assessment Projects (CIT-MAP), spoke at a public hearing at the European Parliament organized by the Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Security and Defence (SEDE) in Brussels.
The hearing was dedicated to the maritime security dimension of the EU's Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). Griffiths presented SIPRI research on maritime security with a focus on illicit flows of goods transported by sea and the role that European Union institutions could play in monitoring and controlling ships involved in illicit trade as part of an EU maritime security strategy (MSS).
Griffiths shared the platform with Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Arnold Danjean, Chairman of the SEDE; Dr Tiago Pitta e Cunha, Counsellor to the Portugese President on Maritime Affairs; and Vice Admiral (retd) Lutz Feldt, former chief of staff of the German Navy.
The public hearing provided a forum for MEPs, members of the public and other interested parties to discuss the European Parliament's draft report on maritime security supporting the adoption of an EU MSS.
Related publication:
Maritime Transport and Destabilizing Commodity Flows
Hugh Griffiths and Michael Jenks
SIPRI Policy Paper no. 32