Madeira’s PSD party representative at the Assembly of the Republic recently stated that the new ‘Sea Law’ reinforces Madeira’s autonomy.
Party spokeswoman Sara Madruga da Costa stated that the new approval of the Law of the Sea, made in the national parliament, and which includes the President of the Republic’s suggestions covering the consolidation of autonomy with regards to open spaces, i.e. the sea, allows the region to have a more decisive say in the management of this important resource. She said “there is no going back, the law has been passed again and Madeira has more power in respect of the sea surrounding the island.”
“With this double approval by the parliament and the President of the Republic, we now have a new law that already corresponds better to the Regions responsibilities, reinforcing its powers over its territorial waters and thus imposing a new paradigm regarding shared management of this resource which is fundamental for our future.” She went on to stress that this new legislation assumes the greatest importance for the“ consolidation of autonomy” and for what she considers to be “the clear definition of competences, on this resource, by both the Regional and Central Government.”
She went on to explain that, “this law, establishes the foundations for the planning and management policy of the National Maritime Space and establishes the shared management of the sea between the central and regional administrations while clarifying the intervention capacity of both parties, thus identifying the respective responsibilities and competences that until now have not been properly formalised.”.
The diploma in question thus transfers to the Autonomous Regions of Madeira and the Azores the competences of the central administration regarding the maritime space under sovereignty or national jurisdiction adjacent to the respective archipelagos up to 200 nautical miles. The competency, exercised by regional legislative decree and the opinion of the central administration, is mandatory and binding in matters relating to the integrity and sovereignty of the State. In addition to the 200 miles, it is up to the Government of the Republic to approve the instruments for maritime spatial planning.
Sara Madruga da Costa concluded by saying “The PSD has long advocated a more relevant role for Madeira’s own governing bodies over her territorial waters and the need to clarify the management issues shared between those bodies and the central administration. In truth, the new approval of this Law, with the corrections introduced by the President of the Republic, already correspond better to what we consider essential regarding our claims.”
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
