On 8 February 2017, Belgium’s Federal Secretary of State for the North Sea, Philippe De Backer, launched an initiative to review the marine spatial planning (MSP) for our part of the North Sea. The current marine spatial plan – a veritable trailblazer within Europe – was accepted in 2014 and is running for a period of 6 years. A new marine spatial plan must therefore be agreed by 2020, to plan for use of space in our part of the North Sea up to 2026.

Stakeholder participation

Given the scarcity of space in the Belgian part of the North Sea, it is crucial that as many stakeholders as possible be involved in reviewing the marine spatial plan. After all, the North Sea plays such a key role in tourism, recreation, the fishing industry, sustainable energy production, the shipping industry, environmental conservation and so much more.

You can read the Belgian Offshore Platform’s strategic position on the 2026 MSP in the following PDF documents:

• Marien Ruimtelijk Plan 2020-2026 (Dutch version)
• Plan d’Aménagement des Espaces Marins 2020-2026 (French version)