With a 2030 target, the EU Mission “Restore our Ocean and Waters” aims to protect and restore the health of our ocean and waters through research and innovation, citizen engagement and blue investments. The Mission’s new approach will address the ocean and waters as one and play a key role in achieving climate neutrality and restoring nature.

Cross-cutting enabling actions will support this objective, in particular broad public mobilisation and engagement and a digital ocean and water knowledge system, known as Digital Twin Ocean

The Mission supports regional engagement and cooperation through area-based “lighthouses” in major sea/river basins: Atlantic-Arctic, Mediterranean Sea, Baltic-North Sea, and Danube-Black Sea. Mission lighthouses are sites to pilot, demonstrate, develop  and deploy the Mission activities across EU seas and river basins.

Funding opportunities
On 17 April 2024, the Commission adopted an amendment to the 2023-24 Work Programme of Horizon Europe to mobilise previously unallocated Horizon Europe funding to increase the 2024 budget by nearly €1.4 billion to a total of €7.3 billion. This amendment includes an investment of nearly €650 million in the EU Missions to enable the implementation of the Communication “EU Missions two years on: assessment of progress and way forward”, adopted on 19 July 2023.

Under the Mission Restore our Ocean and waters, there are new 4 Mediterranean related opportunities to support your work and that are now published on the Funding and Tenders Portal, under the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2023-2024.

They all have a closing date date of 18 September 2024.

1. HORIZON-MISS-2024-OCEAN-01-01: European Blue Parks – Offshore marine protected areas
2. HORIZON-MISS-2024-OCEAN-02-01: Community-led actions to restore our ocean, seas and waters
3. HORIZON-MISS-2024-OCEAN-01-03​ Reducing the environmental impacts of fisheries on marine species and habitats Atlantic and Arctic, Mediterranean, Baltic and North Sea basin lighthouses
4. HORIZON-MISS-2024-OCEAN-01-04: Science for Community – Building the marine Citizen Science data network of the future to valorise data coming from the ocean and increase engagement

Deadline:  30 June 2024
Budget:  Max $ 55.000 per MPA, per year, over 5 years
Countries: Albania, Algeria, Lebanon, Montenegro, Morocco, and Tunisia
More information: MedFund website

In the framework of the joint project The MedFund / MedPAN, financed by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and entitled “Build back a blue and stronger Mediterranean”, the MedFund launches the call for interest addressed to the MPAs of the 6 eligible countries that have expressed their interest, namely : Lebanon, Montenegro, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco and Albania.

The Fund provides financial support by awarding grants to the management and co-management structures of Mediterranean MPAs in order to make a sustainable contribution to the recurrent management costs of these protected areas.

Visit the MedFund website for further details

Deadline: 11 June 2024
Budget: € 2.2 million
Countries: EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories (OCTs)
More information:   funding and tender opportunities portal by the European Commission 

A new EUR 2.2 million call for proposals has opened for a Pilot Project on a demonstrator fishing vessel to promote energy transition in the fisheries sector (PPPA-2024-FISHVESSELDEMO). The call seeks to finance a pilot project on a demonstrator fishing vessel that will be retrofitted with alternative propulsion technologies and other solutions to improve energy performance, cut emissions and reduce underwater noise.

This call for proposals contributes to the aims of the February 2023 European Commission Communication on the Energy Transition of the EU Fisheries and Aquaculture sector, setting a framework for diversification from fossil fuels and improving energy performance. The aims are to improve the environmental sustainability of fisheries and reduce the vulnerability of the sector to increases in energy prices, which have created uncertainty for the sector and affected its profitability.

A virtual Info Day took place on 18 March, You can watch the recording here.

The call is open for applications from 20 February 2024 to 11 June 2024.

For more information, please see the CINEA news and call page.