Cooperation across sea basins takes centre stage at the Atlantic–WestMED Stakeholder Conference in Las Palmas

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain – 16 September 2026

More than 150 participants from across Europe, Macaronesia and North Africa gathered at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria for the first joint Atlantic–WestMED Stakeholder Conference, hosted by the Spanish authorities who currently hold both the WestMED Initiative and Atlantic Strategy presidencies.

Advancing Cross-Basin Collaboration

The Canary Islands, as EU outermost regions, provided a strategic setting for strengthening cooperation between the Atlantic and Western Mediterranean and advancing shared priorities for a sustainable ocean. Held under the theme “Building synergies for a sustainable ocean,” the event brought together policymakers, researchers, regional authorities, businesses and project leaders to exchange knowledge, build partnerships and turn cooperation into action.

Key Priorities Driving the Blue Agenda

Discussions focused on blue skills and ocean literacy, biodiversity and healthy oceans, resilient coasts, maritime transport and green ports, renewable marine energy, decarbonisation and maritime spatial planning. The programme combined policy dialogue with project showcases, networking, investment sessions and an interactive Blue Economy Hackathon.

Hackathon: From dialogue to action

The Atlantic–WestMED Blue Economy Hackathon brought participants together around four themes: sustainable tourism, blue skills and careers, renewable marine energies, and the decarbonisation of maritime fleets and ports. Participants developed project ideas, identified possible partners and explored future funding opportunities.

Four projects recognised for their impact

A highlight of the conference was the Atlantic–WestMED Project Award. More than 70 projects applied, with four winners recognised across four categories:

• SEA‑EU (Blue Skills & Ocean Literacy) received the award for strengthening education, skills and ocean literacy  through a European University Alliance. Marmed and Flores received special mentions.
• NETTAG+  (Biodiversity, Healthy Oceans and Resilient Coasts) was recognised for addressing environmental impacts of fishing gear and marine litter. CHITELIX and AWARE received special mentions.
• HY2FISH (Maritime Transport, Green Ports and Energy Transition) received the award for demonstrating a zero‑emission fishing vessel powered by hydrogen fuel cells and batteries. MED‑Hubs, HY4RES and POSEIDON received special mentions.
• EM4SSF (Maritime Spatial Planning) took home the award for enhancing monitoring for Sustainable Small-scale Fisheries. MESPAC Demo and Sustainable Marine Aquaculture Planning in Morocco received special mentions.

Together, these winning projects highlight the diversity of innovation across the Atlantic and WestMED communities, while demonstrating how strengthened synergies and effective cross‑sea basin cooperation can accelerate practical solutions and deliver greater impact for Europe’s maritime regions.

Back‑to‑back events

The main conference was preceded on 15 September by several back‑to‑back events, including Building Synergies amongst Interreg Programmes; the WestMED Steering Committee Meeting and a technical visit to PLOCAN, the Spanish Bank of Algae and ULPGC showcasing blue economy research and innovation in the Canary Islands; and Blue Synergies 2026: Empowering Youth in Atlantic Cooperation, highlighting the contribution of young people to future maritime cooperation.

As part of these activities, the final session of the Interreg Blue Challenge training  brought together student teams for a full day of capacity‑building. Participants developed cooperation project concepts, received expert guidance and presented their proposals to a jury. The winning team was selected during the side event and formally recognised at the main conference on 16 September, showcasing youth engagement and strengthening skills for future European project development.

Strengthening Atlantic–WestMED collaboration

Together, the conference and accompanying events provided a platform for connecting people, sharing solutions and building partnerships across sea basins. They reinforced the role of cooperation in delivering a more sustainable, resilient and competitive European blue economy. These exchanges also fed into the wider EU policy context shaped by the European Ocean Pact, the newly adopted Coastal Communities and Islands Strategy and the rollout of OceanEye, helping align regional action with emerging EU priorities.

Check here for the photos of the conference (on Flickr)