Brussels: Europe and the Arabs  
From 23 to 28 May, for the first time, navies and coast guards from 7 EU Member States participated, together with the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA), the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) and the European Border and Coast Guard Agency. (FRONTEX) will participate in a live maritime security exercise, called MARSEC 24, organized by Spain, off the Cartagena Naval Base located in Murcia, Spain.
The European External Action Directorate said in a statement in Brussels that the exercise will test the European Union's ability to respond to two major maritime threats: attacks on vital undersea infrastructure and illegal fishing in EU waters.
MARSEC 24 will allow EU actors to strengthen coordination, implement operational actions and identify lessons for future activities.
The exercise will include the detection and identification of a maritime security incident by Spanish naval assets, seeking EU cooperation in preparing and implementing a coordinated EU response aimed at restoring a safe and secure environment. It will also include testing of the Common Information Exchange Environment (CISE) for the maritime domain, which will be operational soon.
On 27 May, representatives of EU bodies and Member States will participate in a demonstration day included in the exercise.
Alison Weston, EU High Coordinator for Maritime Security, will represent the EU.
The European Union is moving forward with the implementation of the October 2023 EU Maritime Security Strategy and its Action Plan. This strategy, inter alia, calls on the EU to launch an annual maritime security exercise involving maritime assets to enhance preparedness, enhance interoperability and address evolving threats to maritime security.
The MARSEC exercise, organized by the Spanish Navy, was designed to enhance mutual knowledge and coordination between the various actors involved in action at sea by carrying out realistic simulations of incidents in different scenarios across the Spanish coast.
In addition, Exercise MARSEC responds to the EU's need for joint and inter-agency civil-military exercises to strengthen preparedness and response capabilities to address evolving and increasing maritime risks and threats as stated in the EU Maritime Security Strategy.
The Common Information Exchange Environment (CISE) is an EU initiative that aims to make European surveillance systems and EU/EEA Member States interoperable, thus facilitating the exchange of information between maritime authorities