IMO seeks better cooperation with European Commission

IMO seeks better cooperation with European Commission    Efthimios E. Mitropoulos, the new secretary-general of the International Maritime Organization, will meet European commissioner for transport and energy Loyola de Palacio in Brussels Jan. 21 in an attempt described by the United Nations agency as “an opportunity to lay the foundations for further improvements in the working relationship between the European Commission and IMO.”
   The IMO said that it and the EC share the objectives of “a safer, more secure and more environmentally friendly international maritime transport industry.”
   The planned meeting will follow tensions between the two bodies related to the formulation of regional tanker shipping safety measures by the EC that challenged the authority of the IMO to define global safety policies.
   Mitropoulos will visit Brussels later this month to assist in the work of the temporary committee for improving safety at sea of the European Parliament, known as the MARE committee.
   The International Maritime Organization is the United Nations agency with responsibility for the safety and security of shipping and the prevention of marine pollution by ships.