screenshot of webinar

Webinar ‘Green ports, anchor points for the blue economy and regional maritime clusters’

On 10 June 2025, as part of the Blue Week organised annually in Morocco,   AESVT Maroc (Association des Enseignants des Sciences de la Vie et de la Terre) and AMCDD (Alliance Marocaine pour le Climat et le Développement Durable), organised a webinar titled ‘Green ports, anchor points for the blue economy and regional maritime clusters: Experiences from the Mediterranean basin and challenges for Morocco.’ This was done together with the WestMED initiative – National Hub Morocco.

Around thirty people attended, including more than 25 representatives from civil society, academia and local authorities.

In the opening remarks by the Moroccan Hub of the WestMED Initiative, Mr Hassan Agouzoul, Mr Abdelaziz Janati (National Coordinator of the AMCDD) and Mr Abderrahim Ksiri (President of the AESVT) the importance of the blue economy for the equitable economic and social development of people in Morocco and around the world was emphasised. Abderrahim Ksiri (President of the AESVT) emphasised the importance of the blue economy for the equitable economic and social development of people in Morocco and around the world, and recalled in particular that the third United Nations World Ocean Conference (UNOC 3) – is currently taking place in Nice, with the main theme of ‘Accelerating action and mobilising all stakeholders to conserve and sustainably use the ocean’. In this context, the 1st ‘Africa for the Ocean’ summit was co-chaired by Morocco and France, during which HM King Mohammed VI sent a clear message on the urgent need to speed up the implementation of a national blue economy strategy in Morocco, and on the importance of South-South cooperation and regional integration around ocean areas.

After an introductory presentation on the state of play of the blue economy in Morocco by Mr Hassan Agouzoul (National Hub Morocco of the WestMed Initiative), Mr Leonardo Manzari (National Hub Italy of the WestMED Initiative) and Mr Matteo Bocci (Deputy Head of the EU Assistance Mechanism for Sea Basin Strategies) gave their presentations. Matteo Bocci (Deputy Head of the EU Assistance Mechanism for Sea Basins) gave their presentation, followed by a very interesting discussion on the need to mobilise Moroccan civil society and give it the skills and methods it needs to make an effective and structured contribution to the development of the blue economy in Morocco at national and regional level.

Here are some takeaways from the debate:

  • It is important for Moroccan civil society, as well as the Association of Moroccan Regions, to join the alliance of maritime clusters or the relevant WestMED technical thematic groups (green shipping; aquaculture; sustainable tourism; blue skills; etc).
  • To make these partnerships effective between the Westmed initiative and national civil society, it is essential that AESVT Morocco and AMCDD officially designate their representatives within the various Thematic Groups of the Westmed initiative (2 or 3 people) and send their requests notified by email to the National Hub Morocco in order to set up an institutional process of collaboration.
  • The WestMED initiative’s thematic groups have been in existence since 2020, and their success and particular interest for their members stems mainly from the fact that the members of these groups highlight important issues that concern them and that are generally shared by the different countries represented. Morocco, for example, is very active in the sustainable transport group.
  • Civil society and the academic world should be actively involved in preparing the roadmaps for setting up the pilot clusters in the Tangier-Tétouan-El Hoceima and Souss-Massa regions, but it is also important to prepare for the creation of maritime clusters in the 7 other coastal regions of the Kingdom of Morocco, e.g. Marrakech-Safi..
  • Ports are currently being developed primarily as economic and technological hubs, but it is also vital to develop their cultural and social dimensions. The blue economy strategy currently being developed in Morocco will take this into account and, in particular, will give the necessary impetus to align the portfolio of necessary investments with that of educational programmes (e.g. creation of new skills in fishing, aquaculture, biotechnologies, desalination, eco-tourism, renewable energies).
  • Collaboration between civil society and the academic world must be put in place to prepare the human resources needed to develop the blue economy. To begin developing this collaboration, it would be useful to contact the blue economy unit of the ministry responsible for the budget to participate in the preparation of the national blue economy strategy, which will be launched in the coming months.
  • Technical resources exist at WestMED level: the Blue Skills & Ocean Literacy technical group, the blue skills development programme, the Mediterranean blue skills panorama, training on cluster management. The UNOC 3 recommendations on blue skills should also be taken into account..

Download the AgendaOriginal event announcement

You will find below the recording of the webinar (in French) as well as the presentations.

Next webinar
A forthcoming webinar on 20 June 2025 at 10am (Moroccan time) will go into more detail about innovative blue skills, and will also include a training course to build the capacity of civil society to set up bankable ‘Blue Economy’ projects. More information/ registration

meeting with people seated at table against a United Nations Ocean Conference backdrop

UNOC3 Summit ‘For a More Connected Mediterranean’

On 9 June 2025, the Heads of State and Government and high representatives of Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Libya, Malta, Morocco, Portugal, Tunisia and the EU on the invitation of the President of the French Republic, gathered at the summit “For a More Connected Mediterranean”, on the sidelines of the third United Nations Ocean Conference.

The meeting also brought together representatives of international organisations, development banks and large companies.

In view of common challenges in the Mediterranean, the Heads of State and Government decided to strengthen their cooperation and work towards shared and sustainable prosperity through a greater maritime, land and digital connectivity between Europe, the Mediterranean and the Gulf.

The Mediterranean Sea accounts for 25% of global maritime traffic and is at the heart of commercial, energy and digital exchanges. In this intense traffic area, States have raised the level of protection of the sea through regulation of transport in the Gulf of Lion a well as the creation of a low-sulphur emission zone, known as SECA zone, which encompasses the entire Mediterranean Sea. The latter was established on 1 May 2025 following the approval of the International Maritime Organisation.

The European Commission recalled that, as part of the Global Gateway strategy in the Middle East and North Africa, the European Union’s support reached €5.9 billion, which is expected to mobilise up to €27.2 billion in private and public investments. Commissioner Šuica also presented the objectives of the upcoming New Pact for the Mediterranean, which aims to strengthen partnerships between the European Union and the countries in the Mediterranean region, based on mutual interests.

Extensive bilateral and regional partnerships were announced for the development of new land and sea connections, the decarbonisation of ports and the deployment of new submarine cables. The participants discussed common objectives to ensure:

1) Decarbonisation of the maritime sector and major Mediterranean ports.

As part of a joint statement, the Mediterranean ports of Algesiras, Beirut and Marseille, announced the creation of a working group contributing to the reduction of shipping’s greenhouse gas emissions by providing ships with onshore power connections in ports while developing infrastructure for supply of alternative fuels and fostering rail or river onward transport towards the hinterland, as well as studying opportunities for new green corridors in the Mediterranean. All Mediterranean ports will be welcome to join the coalition before the COP24 of the Barcelona Convention (Cairo, December 2025). Croatia also announced the launch of its new Rijeka Gateway, green and fully automated, within the port of Rijeka, the most important Croatian port situated on three EU corridors.

2) Strengthening of maritime and land routes for transport of goods and green energy.

France and the European Commission, within the framework of the Global Gateway strategy and the New Pact for the Mediterranean, reiterated their support for the implementation of the India Middle East Europe Corridor (IMEC), including the mobilisation of Global Gateway funding to launch feasibilitystudies for this corridor. France reiterated its support for Egypt’s accession to IMEC, which aims to strengthen connectivity between East and West.

On 30 May 2025, France organised the first IMEC Sherpa meeting since the signature of the Memorandum of Understanding in September 2023. During this meeting, the participants reaffirmed their strong support for the project, as well as the need to consolidate IMEC’s governance while mobilising companies in the strategic sectors concerned. This same group has been invited by the European Commission to meet again, on the sidelines of the Global Gateway Forum to be held in Brussels on 9 and 10 October.

On energy connectivity between Europe and the Gulf, ACWA Power reaffirmed its commitment to convene a private-sector working group alongside leading European energy companies (including partners from France, Germany, Italy and Greece) to explore and develop joint projects in green hydrogen, renewable energy exports and related infrastructure, such as electrical interconnections. This collaborative framework will pave the way for clearer energy flows and the necessary investments under the IMEC corridor.

The Commission also stated the importance of advancing clean energy connectivity with North Africa, notably through the emerging T-MED Initiative, which supports renewable energy investment and infrastructure development across the Mediterranean.

In the Eastern Mediterranean, Greece and Cyprus recalled the implementation of large renewable energy interconnection projects, such as the “GREGY” project, a 950-kilometre submarine cable with a capacity of 3 GW which aims to interconnect Egypt and Greece, or the “Great Sea Interconnector” (GSI), bridging Europe and Middle East with clean energy.

3) Increased digital connections between the Mediterranean and the Gulf.

The participants presented EU’s flagship “Medusa/GEANT” Submarine Cable System initiative, which will not only link the two shores of the Mediterranean, but also Southern Mediterranean countries among themselves, by manufacturing and deploying a submarine cable system based on the most recent technological advancements in fibre optics communications, fully based on European leading-edge technology. It will also contribute addressing the digital divide with partner countries. The network is led by the company AFR-IX telecom, with the support of the Orange Group and the European Union, while Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN) and Elettra Tlc are responsible for its deployment.

Other major initiatives are already currently contributing to the digital influence of the region, such as the Aqaba Digital Hub, which was inaugurated in 2023 and is one of the largest technological centres in the Near East.

Source: https://www.elysee.fr/en/emmanuel-macron/2025/06/09/joint-press-release-summit-for-a-more-connected-mediterranean

Ocean Pact announcement poster with text on top of photo with two whales swimming in water

The European Commission adopts the Ocean Pact to strengthen the sustainable blue economy

The European Ocean Pact was adopted on 5 June 2025, by the European Commission, just ahead of World Oceans Day on June 8.

The European Ocean Pact is a comprehensive strategy adopted by the European Commission to protect marine life, strengthen the blue economy, and support coastal communities. It brings together various EU ocean policies under a single, coordinated framework, focusing on six priority areas:

  • Restoring Ocean Health: Strengthening efforts to restore marine and coastal ecosystems, expand marine protected areas, and improve ocean resilience.
  • Boosting the Blue Economy: Supporting sustainable fisheries, promoting innovation in maritime industries, and launching a Blue Generational Renewal Strategy to attract young professionals.
  • Supporting Coastal and Island Communities: Developing tailored strategies to enhance the resilience and economic sustainability of coastal regions.
  • Enhancing Maritime Security: Strengthening coast guard cooperation, improving maritime surveillance, and reinforcing border security.
  • Advancing Ocean Research and Innovation: Establishing an EU Ocean Observation Initiative to improve data collection and knowledge-sharing.
  • Strengthening Ocean Diplomacy:  Expanding EU efforts in international ocean governance and combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing.

Areas of action

To support Member States restore degraded coastal and marine habitats, the European Ocean Pact proposes to:

  • Evaluate and revise the Maritime Spatial Planning Directive
  • Encourage Member States to establish and manage marine protected areas
  • Create European blue carbon reserves

What’s next

This Ocean Pact will be complemented by an Ocean Act to be presented by 2027, ensuring the implementation of its priorities. The Commission will also set up a high-level Ocean Board, bringing together representatives from various ocean-related sectors, and launch an EU Ocean Pact dashboard, providing a public, transparent and centralised platform to track progress towards its objectives.

For more information visit the European Commission website:  Full press release | Ocean Pact webpage

3 people sitting at elevated desk chairing the conference presenting

Mediterranean MSP project MEDIGREEN, releases its opening conference report

On 28 January 2025, EC funded project MEDIGREEN, in collaboration with the Horizon MPA Europe project, held its opening conference in Madrid with more that 120 participans in attendance (both in person and online).

MEDIGREEN, is a Mediterranean initiative advancing the European Green Deal through Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP).

The objective of this conference was to present the project to the stakeholders from its 4 designated key sectors and taking a first step to engage them in discussions regarding two main project research questions:

  1. How can MSP help integrate the European Green Deal (EGD) objectives in these sectors? and
  2. What are the main challenges and limitations at a Mediterranean regional scale?

MEDIGREEN released its conference report providing an overview of the presentations and outcomes of the day.

Download the report
Download background and agenda

About MEDIGREEN
Medigreen is a MSP project that specifically focuses on 4 key sectors: offshore renewable energy, fisheries, aquaculture, and nature protection, aiming to promote a sustainable blue economy.

Through these four sectors (work packages), MEDIGREEN investigates the impact of MSP on the European Green Deal, develops national actions for sectoral responses, and explores a Mediterranean pathway toward sustainability.

By fostering transnational cooperation, the project helps EU (France, Greece, Italy, Spain, Malta) and non-EU countries (Algeria and Tunisia) align their MSP strategies with environmental goals, ensuring a balanced approach to marine resource management.

Medigreen is an EC funded (EMFAF) project that runs from November 2024 to April 2027.

WestMED connection
The project is a leading contributor to the Mediterranean MSP Community of Practice (MED-MSP-CoP), with a team that coordinates both projects.

MEDIGREEN also plans several thematic workshops aimed at stakeholders in all WestED countries in 2025 and 2026.  Because of its relevance for the WestMED Initiative, it receives active support from several WestMED team members who act in dual roles, such as Samir Bachouche (WestMED Algeria/ CNRDPA), Thanos Smanis (WestMED central team/ Climazul) and Marta Pascual (WestMED Spain/ EU MSP Platform), who all three attended this conference as well.

More information
Visit the Medigreen website

 

 

Photo copyright: MPA Europe

group of students showing their certificates

Major milestone for youth and the blue economy in Tunisia with a certified training program in naval welding – A Tunisian-Italian partnership

The Tunisian Maritime Cluster is proud to celebrate a major milestone for youth and the blue economy in Tunisia!

On May 19, 2025, an official ceremony was held to award certificates to 20 young “naval welders,” the first beneficiaries of the “Building the Future” project — a pioneering and innovative cooperation initiative between Tunisia and Italy.

For the first time in Tunisia, a certified training program in naval welding has been implemented, paving the way for new employment opportunities in a rapidly growing sector: shipbuilding.

This ambitious project is the result of a strategic partnership between Fincantieri, Elis, Orianta, and several public and private stakeholders from both Tunisia and Italy, such as Team Academy – a vocational training center specializing in maritime and environmental fields – and the Tunisian Confederation of Citizen Enterprises (CONECT).

This is a structuring initiative aimed at strengthening local skills, promoting youth employability, and contributing to the sustainable development of the blue economy in Tunisia.

A big congratulations to the 20 dedicated young welders for their determination and inspiring journey!

Colin Ruel and frederick Herpers moderating the workshop on EU funding in room filled with people

French stakeholder info session on the new Horizon Europe blue funding calls

On 23 May 2025, WestMED’s National Hub France, together with Pole Mer Mediterranée, organised a national stakeholder event in Mottpellier, to inform and discuss EC funding opportunities. Thirtyfive people joined in-person and online for this event that mirrored a previously organised similar national event for the Atlantic Strategy on May 13 in Brest.

This event in Montpellier was primarily dedicated to the funding call related to Horizon Europe cluster 6 on Fisheries, Aquaculture and Blue Biotechnologies. However, cluster 1: Health, was also briefly discussed.

On behalf of the the French ministry in charge of research with its national Horizon Europe focus (Ministere de l’enseignement supérieur et de la recherche), Fatiha Fort presented the open, ongoing Horizon Europe calls. She also pointed to the existence of specific hubs, serving as as accelerators, such as the EIC that supports start-ups and SMEs to develop and scale-up innovations. This was followed by a presentation by Salomé La Ragione, from Pôle Mer Méditerranée, who provided an overview of the countries eligible for the Horizon Europe calls.

Frédérick Herpers and Colin Ruel from WestMED’s French National Hub showcased the added value of the WestMED initiative with its Assistance Mechanism, offering different forms of support to national stakeholders; not only through WestMED’s French national hub but also through the Atlantic Strategy’s French National Hub, as France borders both sea basins.

The support offered by these hubs is twofold. On the one hand, it allows helping organisations with projects or project-ideas that strengthen the sustainable blue economy, find relevant project funding and/or suitable project-partners to form (often required) international consortia while also helping in the funding application process. On the other hand, the national hubs support the alignment of sustainable blue economy policy frameworks at local, national and regional (Western Mediterranean) level. This also includes exploring synergies with the other sea basins strategies such as the Atlantic, the Black Sea and the emerging North Sea (the Greater North Sea Basin Initiative) – thus allowing for an extensive network that can be tapped.

Clémence Le Corff, from Pôle Mer Méditerranée highlighted the strong link between the WestMED National Hub France and Pole Mer Mediterranée, showcasing the robustness and wide range of support available for project development, capitalizing on its strong experience in supporting organisations with EU funded projects.

Frédérick Herpers, French National Hub for the WestMED and the Atlantic and Philippe Dubois from Innofluence gave an example of how Expertise France also supports projects with capacity building on the Southern shore of the Western Mediterranean. The (EU supported) Blue Economy Program for Algeria allowed for the specific training of Algerian researchers related to EU project submission (for funding) and using the National Hub’s networks for helping to find project partners. It underscored the point that challenges are common for all countries bordering the Mediterranean sea basin and that cooperation and sharing practices across both shores are pivotal.

In this respect the event was also an opportunity to present the different WestMED National Hubs with networks that directly cover 10 countries in total. Some Tunisian, Morrocan and Algerian stakeholders attended online, underlining the importance and involvement of southern shore countries.

This event’s objectives to inform and discuss funding opportunities under Horizon 2025 were met thanks to the presentations and exchanges with the audience while demonstrating the existence and the readiness of the Assistance Mechanism (National Hub) to support.

Views and experiences were shared related to project submission, and participants were invited to consider project leadership and/ or partnership to apply for the new batch of funding opportunities under Horizon Europe.

The location of the event in Montpellier (Cité des métiers de demain) was strategic in order to engage stakeholder from Occitanie and regional authorities.

 

Visit the event announcement page (incl. agenda)

Conference room with people listening to presentation

Standing woman presenting in conference room in front of big monitor

Conference room with people listening to presentation

High level panel on Synergies between Sea Basins Strategies at EMD 2025 | Watch the recording

On 23 May 2025, during the European Maritime Day (EMD) in Cork, Ireland policy experts discussed the EU Sea Basins Strategies with a focus on synergies.

The panel includes:

  • Seamus Kearney Director of Seamus Kearny MEdia – moderator of this panel.

He is joined by:

  • Pedro Gonzalves Director for Strategy, Directorate General for Maritime Affairs – WestMED Co-Presidency

  • Hryhorii Mozolevych Director General of Science Development Directorate of Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine
  • Philip Nugent Director-General for Maritime Affairs, Department of the Environment Climate and Communications

  • Kestutis Sadauskas Deputy Director-General DG MARE, European Commission
  • Elsa Tudal Project Director for European and International affairs / FR Environment ministry. Ministry for the Ecological Transition, Biodiversity, Forestry, Fisheries and Sea – Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs, Fisheries and Aquaculture (DGAMPA)

For more information on this high level panel, visit the announcement page

Full recordings of the EMD 2025 (main stage):
23 May: • EMD 2025 – Live streaming, Plenary session
22 May: • EMD 2025 – Live streaming, Plenary session

event announcement poster with people collecting litter from the beach

Join the BlueSkills and Ocean Literacy workshop at EMD 2025 | Cork, Ireland

Join us on 23 May in Cork at the European Maritime Day (EMD) 2025, for the workshop ‘Maximising support for blue skills and ocean literacy.’

This event will explore how the EU Sea Basins Assistance Mechanism can play a stronger role in supporting blue skills development and ocean literacy across all three Sea Basins that have a Sea Basin Strategy in place: Western Mediterranean, Black Sea and Atlantic.

The workshop highlights the growing interest from various Sea Basin Strategy Presidencies and Coordinators to foster more cooperation on this topic; not only at the policy level but also through concrete, technical actions on the ground with support to projects.

The workshop will briefly presents the state of play in this area with practical examples and the ongoing study on blue skills by DG Mare and CINEA, while further exploring opportunities and untapped potentials.

The experts
This  workshop will feature several distinguished experts:

Matteo Bocci

Matteo Bocci: Central team Member of the EU Sea Basins Assistance Mechanism, who will moderate the workshop, contribute to discussions on enhancing cooperation and explore synergies between the strategic blue economy initiatives.

 

Olga Mashkina

Olga Mashkina: (ACTeon) coordinator of the EU4Ocean Coalition who will emphasise the role of ocean literacy by involving younger generations and training educators.

 

Alessandro Pititto

Alessandro Pititto: (Cogea) will present the recent study for a Framework on Blue Skills and Competencies across the EU | Preliminary results

 

paul Hegarthy

Paul Hegarthy: Head of the National Maritime College of Ireland who will focus on the importance of providing  agile education and training for skills development by collaborating through partnerships

 

 

An  interactive Q&A session will allow the audience to finetune the work of the EU Sea Basins Assitance Mechanism for the years to come, including shaping the agenda for the upcoming EU Macro-regions and Sea Basins Day which will take place in September 2025 in Brussels.

When: 23 May 2025 | 13:30-14:45
Where: European Maritime Day 2025 | Cork-Irelend | Cork City Council – Millenium Hal

More information: visit the EMD website

event announcement poster

High level panel on Synergies between Sea Basins Strategies at EMD 2025 | Cork, Ireland

The EU Sea Basins Strategies are focused on strengthening the sustainable blue economy towards resilient sea basins – whether it is the Western Mediterranean, the Atlantic , the Black Sea, or the emerging one for the North Sea.

But Sea Basin Strategies can also learn from each other and identify common areas for joint action, while reflecting on how they can best support new EU priorities and challenges ahead.

For this reason, the Sea Basins Assistance Mechanism supports the EU Commission to ensure a streamlined cross sea basin dialogue.

High level panel on Synergies between Sea Basins Strategies
After last year’s inspiring discussion on this topic, the main stage at EMD 2025 will again see a high level panel discussion focused on Synergies between Sea Basins Strategies. On 23 May, policy experts will dive deeper into the results, challenges and what is needed to further capitalise on this successful approach. The panel includes:

  • Seamus Kearney Director of Seamus Kearny MEdia – moderator of this panel.

He is joined by:

  • Pedro Gonzalves Director for Strategy, Directorate General for Maritime Affairs – WestMED Co-Presidency

  • Hryhorii Mozolevych Director General of Science Development Directorate of Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine
  • Philip Nugent Director-General for Maritime Affairs, Department of the Environment Climate and Communications

  • Kestutis Sadauskas Deputy Director-General DG MARE, European Commission
  • Elsa Tudal Project Director for European and International affairs / FR Environment ministry. Ministry for the Ecological Transition, Biodiversity, Forestry, Fisheries and Sea – Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs, Fisheries and Aquaculture (DGAMPA)

Be sure to attend and learn the latest developments!

 

When: 23 May 2025 | 11:15-12:15

Where: European Maritime Day 2025 | Cork-Irelend | in-person and online (live stream)

More information/ link to follow online: visit the EMD2025 website


Watch the 2024 high level panel on Sea Basin Strategies
Watch the EMD 2024 – high level panel discussion on the EU Sea Basin Strategies that was moderated Charlina Vladimirova Vitcheva. Director-General from the European Commissionc- DG MAR and learn some the main  outcomes here