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Articles

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

UNOC3 Summit ‘For a More Connected Mediterranean’

9 juin 2025/dans Actualités /par Communication team

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

https://westmed-initiative.ec.europa.eu/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/summit-for-a-connected-mediterranean.jpg 1067 1600 Communication team https://westmed-initiative.ec.europa.eu/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/new-westmed-ec-enfold-logo-website-def2.png Communication team2025-06-09 08:07:052025-06-10 15:57:37UNOC3 Summit ‘For a More Connected Mediterranean’
4 panellists in frnt of screen

EU Sea Basin Strategies at the 2025 European Maritime Day (EMD) in Cork, Ireland

5 juin 2025/dans Actualités /par Communication team

EU Sea Basin Strategies at the 2025 European Maritime Day (EMD) in Cork, Ireland

The 2025 edition of European Maritime Day (EMD) — the flagship annual gathering for blue economy stakeholders across Europe — took place this year in Cork, Ireland.

The event brought together about 1.200 participants, including policymakers, experts, and practitioners from key maritime sectors, to strengthen collaboration and advance the EU’s blue economy agenda.

For the third year in a row, the EU Sea Basin Strategies was featured prominently at EMD and showcased essential frameworks for fostering regional cooperation and supporting the implementation of EU blue economy policy goals. As on previous occasions this was done with a high level panel and a technical workshop.

High level panel on Synergies between Sea Basin Strategies

Workshop Maximising Support to Blue Skills and Ocean Literacy

High level panel on Synergies between Sea Basin Strategies


The 2025 EMD in Cork hosted the second edition of the High-Level Panel on Synergies between Sea Basin Strategies, bringing together representatives from four sea basin strategies:

  • Philip Nugent, Director-General for Maritime Affairs at Department of the Environment Climate and Communications in Ireland, representing the Atlantic Strategy (and EMD co-host);
  • Pedro Gonçalves, Director for Strategy at the Directorate General for Maritime Affairs in Portugal, representing the WestMed Initiative;
  • Hryhorii Mozolevych, Director General at the Science Development Directorate of Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, representing the Black Sea Common Maritime Agenda;
  • Elsa Tudal, Project Director for European and International affairs at the Ministry for the Ecological Transition, Biodiversity, Forestry and Fisheries in France, representing the Greater North Sea Basin Initiative.

The panel was moderated by Seamus Kearney, director of Seamus Kearny Media

Kestutis Sadauskas, Deputy Director-General at DG MARE, opened the panel by stating that “cooperation and coordination lie at the heart of sea basin strategies” and considered them central in tackling the very diverse maritime challenges Europe faces today, while extending the approach to EU neighbouring countries. He also stressed how EU Sea Basin Strategies can act as essential place-based initiatives to further implement the European Ocean Pact across the EU.

Tackling shared challenges through successful cooperation across sea basins

Building on the discussions from the first edition of the High-Level Panel at EMD 2024 in Svendborg, Denmark, this year’s panel reviewed progress made in implementing the sea basin strategies’ political priorities and showcased success stories of mutual cooperation, both at the political and technical levels.

Phillip Nugent highlighted how Ireland’s involvement in the Atlantic and GNSBI strategies has been “hugely beneficial to give us a sense of how other Member States are tackling challenges that we have faced ourselves”. Successful technical cooperation examples, such as dedicated expert groups across key maritime sectors, and the articulation and cross-fertilisation across sea basins were highlighted both by the Portuguese Co-Presidency of the WestMED Initiative (Pedro Gonçalves) and Hryhorii Mozolevych (Ukraine) representing the Common Maritime Agenda for the Black Sea. In particular, Mozolevych emphasized that cross-sea basin cooperation in the context of sea basin strategies “is not just symbolic, but has real operational value”. As a relatively new established initiative, the French Co-presidency of the GNSBI (represented by Elsa Tudal) described the initiative as a “test lab” for transfer of knowledge and experience from existing initiatives, building a more integrated and holistic approach for the blue economy in the region.

Driving innovation, connectivity and sustainable energy

Panellists also underlined the importance of maritime regional cooperation in driving innovation, connectivity, and sustainable energy across Europe and beyond.

Portugal highlighted how the WestMED initiative is acting as a “platform for innovation” and delivering on the EU Green Deal objectives, particularly on decarbonisation, green ports and blue energy. Hackathons were exemplified as drivers for new blue innovations and competitiveness, bringing together young researchers and entrepreneurs in the region.

Ukraine focused on how the CMA is contributing towards a circular economy, digital transformation and ecosystem restoration in the Black Sea. As an example, the CMA is promoting low impact aquaculture farming techniques. The Ukrainian coordination announced that strategies to tackle war-related environmental damage will constitute a major priority during their term.

Ireland described sea basins as examples of the -currently threatened- multilateralist cooperation approach, and as constituting “sandboxes of implementation (in a shared basis) of EU policy”. In fact, great potential for increased cross-sea basin synergies exists when it comes to the expansion of marine renewable energies, taking into account regional specificities and needs.

France reaffirmed that a viable blue economy today or in the future “cannot exist without regional cooperation”. It is therefore the vision of the GNSBI to ensure coordination across traditional and emerging sectors. The importance of maritime spatial planning was stressed for this purpose.

Moreover, the discussion provided insights on the role of the four Sea Basin Strategies in delivering on the objectives of future EU initiatives, such as the European Ocean Pact. And the common commitment for promoting greater synergies across EU Sea Basins in relevant economic sector and policy activities.

Ireland underlined how SBS can deepen cooperation to achieve greater integrated approaches to maritime governance guided by science. Similarly, Portugal sees the SBS as well positioned to become an “operational arm of the new Ocean Pact”, as natural platforms to translate the Pact’s ambitions into action. France pointed out the need for greater cooperation and integration of maritime policies, and called for greater investment support. Finally, Ukraine stressed the particularly important role of regional cooperation driven by SBS in a politically sensitive region such as the Black sea, contributing to increased maritime safety and security.

Moreover, all panellists agreed on the critical role of sea basin level cooperation in addressing climate change challenges whereby coastal communities are at the forefront.

“The Ocean Pact is a place-based policy making approach that needs to be brought to real life – our sea basin strategies are the perfect vehicle for testing these ideas »

Kestutis Sadauskas


Drawing summarising outcomes

Workshop Maximising Support to Blue Skills and Ocean Literacy


As a follow-up to the High Level Panel, an operational workshop was held to examine how the EU Sea Basins Assistance Mechanism can strengthen blue skills development in pivotal innovation areas while promoting greater ocean literacy across coastal communities engaged in the blue economy across the EU and its neighbouring countries. These are in fact two essential areas where sea basin presidencies and coordinators have expressed growing interest, towards a deeper policy and technical collaboration within and across each sea basin.

The workshop brought together the following speakers:

  • Matteo Bocci, EU Sea Basins AM, providing some policy feedback as emerging from the experience of EU Sea Basins and acting as moderator;
  • Alessandro Pititto, COGEA, presenting the recent study by CINEA;
  • Olga Mashkina, EU4Ocean, illustrating lessons learned from the actions promoted particularly in the area of ocean literacy;
  • Paul Hegarty, Marine Ireland Industry Network, offering some reflections from the grassroots level in relation to key innovation skill-sets

The session highlighted the current state of initiatives within the sea basin regions and identified further opportunities to leverage existing efforts.

The ‘EU Sea Basin Policy Feedback’ presented some patterns in promotion of projects related to blue skills and ocean literacy, with greater focus on innovative sectors (e.g. biotechnologies and renewable energy) emerging in the Atlantic region, a more transversal approach addressing ecosystem challenges adopted in the Black Sea and an in-between positioning of the western Mediterranean.

COGEA presented the main results of the study on Blue Skills and its proposed Competence Framework to be soon launched as a result of the study commissioned by DG MARE and CINEA.

EU4Ocean’s contributions stressed the relevance of ocean education and literacy, including towards young professionals, as well as private sectors and blue economy businesses, with a dedicated new group to be launched in this area as well as a dedicated campaign and a blue cities network acting in this area.

Finally, an overview of innovation and related skill-sets required by local practices was offered by the Marine Ireland Industry Network, with an interesting balance between transversal technical skills and the need for place and sector-based competences to adapt emerging innovations (digital, greening, etc.).  

The workshop marked a step forward in aligning regional strategies with broader EU goals for sustainable ocean use and economic growth in maritime sectors. It also pointed out the relevance of sea basin specific data analysis to be collected and offered across the EU, as to compare trends, challenges and opportunities that characterise each EU region and foster greater cross sea basin cooperation and exchange of lessons learned as well as success stories.

Follow up
The EU Sea Basin Assistance Mechanism will build upon the outcomes of the session, as a way to further follow-up on the outcomes of the AMD High Level Panel and to foster greater cooperation and exchanges amongst the EU sea basins as well as EU macro regions – including as part of the upcoming EU Macro Regions and Sea Basins Days (planned for September 2025).

More information:  EMD 2025 news article on the website of CINEA

https://westmed-initiative.ec.europa.eu/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/EMD2025.synergies.jpg 1200 1599 Communication team https://westmed-initiative.ec.europa.eu/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/new-westmed-ec-enfold-logo-website-def2.png Communication team2025-06-05 12:16:192025-06-07 06:45:22EU Sea Basin Strategies at the 2025 European Maritime Day (EMD) in Cork, Ireland
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

29 mai 2025/dans Actualités /par Egbert Hoogstad

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!

https://westmed-initiative.ec.europa.eu/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/2025.certificates.naval_.welders.tunisia-e1748533264381.jpg 800 800 Egbert Hoogstad https://westmed-initiative.ec.europa.eu/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/new-westmed-ec-enfold-logo-website-def2.png Egbert Hoogstad2025-05-29 15:39:472025-05-29 16:24:38Major milestone for youth and the blue economy in Tunisia with a certified training program in naval welding – A Tunisian-Italian partnership
event announcement poster

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

5 mai 2025/dans Actualités /par Communication team

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)

Register here for in-person attendance – May 10 deadline (=closed!)

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

https://westmed-initiative.ec.europa.eu/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/2025.emd_.synergies.poster1.jpg 480 1920 Communication team https://westmed-initiative.ec.europa.eu/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/new-westmed-ec-enfold-logo-website-def2.png Communication team2025-05-05 12:49:342025-05-30 09:52:46High level panel on Synergies between Sea Basins Strategies at EMD 2025 | Cork, Ireland
event announcement poster MedBan

WestMED Success Story. Maritime Clusters – meet MedBAN, the Mediterranean Blue Acceleration Network

14 avril 2025/dans Actualités /par Communication team

A sustainable Blue Economy requires support to promote and uptake innovation, knowledge, skills as well as access to finance, which is effective and locally-grounded. This is possible through joint actions promoted by socio-economic and institutional actors at local, national and subregional level.

In this respect, maritime clusters (a network of companies, organizations, and institutions involved in the maritime industry) play a crucial role to support local stakeholders active in the Blue Economy.

They do so by supporting innovative products and services, internationalisation of micro, small and medium enterprises, dissemination of new knowledge and skills and ultimately integration of sectoral policies at local and national levels. Maritime Clusters have therefore been growingly acknowledged as essential booster for innovation and diversification of the Blue Economy.

According to a study of the Union for the Mediterranean in 2019, the large majority of Maritime Clusters across the Mediterranean is based in EU countries: Italy, Spain, France. The western Mediterranean seems to be more prone to the promotion of innovation in the Blue Economy through the set-up of clusters: in the EU (mostly regional-level clusters) but also in African countries (mostly national-level clusters).

On a European level, the European Nework of Maritime Clusters (ENMC), has been established in 2023 as a platform for exchanging information and networking between the maritime Cluster organizations of European member states.

piechart with maritime cluster distribution acroiss the MediterraneanSource: UfM Secretariat – Maritime Clusters in the Mediterranean Region (pdf)

WestMED Maritime Cluster alliance
Since its inception in 2021, the WestMED Initiative, through the WestMED Maritime Cluster Alliance, supports strong alliances between the most active Maritime Clusters in the Western Mediterranean and beyond . This has included the launch of a new Maritime Cluster in Mauritania and the recently launched Libyan Maritime Cluster.

The key objectives of the Alliance are:

  • Cluster dialogue: Support exchange of knowledge and practices across maritime and non-maritime clusters
  • South-South cooperation: Boost the development of southern maritime clusters
  • North-South capacity building: Upgrade cluster management skills
  • Provide a platform for private investments in innovative SMEs

The Maritime Cluster Alliance has succesfully supported several project proposals that strengthen maritime clusters in order to secure funding. Next to MedBAN (COSME Euroclusters), these include for example:  MARMED and MAQUAM (funded through ERASMUS+), ELBE Alliance (funded through IKAT), and  Women in Blue Economy – WINBIG, Maritime Clusters CALLMEBLUE, Green Marine MED, and POWER4MED (funded through EMFAF).


MedBAN
The European MedBAN project, short for Mediterranean Blue Acceleration Network, is an initiative to empower small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the blue economy.

It was co-funded by the European Union (Grant Agreement nº 101074763) through the Joint Cluster Initiatives (EUROCLUSTERS) for Europe’s recovery (SMP-COSME-2021-CLUSTER) under the Single Market Programme with a total budget of 1.4 Million euro.  The MedBAN project is therefore closely aligned with the Euroclusters’ specific objectives regarding networks, innovation, adoption of processes and technologies for the twin (digital & sustainable) transition, training for the up and re-skilling of the workforce and  internationalisation of European SMEs.

MedBAN was managed by a consortium of six maritime cluster organizations from five different Mediterranean countries: Portugal, Italy, France, Greece and Spain. Its common mission: to drive innovation, accelerate sustainability and internationalise blue SMEs, to support the transition towards a thriving, resilient and sustainable blue economy.

Stage 1: laying the foundation
The initiative consisted of two stages. First, the Mediterranean blue economy ecosystem was mapped to identify key players, challenges, and opportunities. This ensured that the actions by MedBAN would generate maximum impact on sustainable blue economy growth in the region. It resulted in identifying the five most critical sectors that MedBAN would focus on: aquaculture, fisheries, tourism, ports and renewable energies. SMEs in these sectors were specifically targeted in the 2nd phase of the project.

Next to this,the coherence between the challenges found in each of the  the abovementioned sectors and the national and regional policies of each partner country of the consortium (national Resilience Plans) was analysed to ensure alignment from that perspective as well.

This first stage also consisted of 2 short online training sessions  for the cluster staff members of the participating cluster organisations, with an emphasis on challenges and needs for succesful projects and sharing best practices – which proved not only useful in the context of this project but also for dealing with members of each individual cluster organisation beyond the scope of this project.

Stage 2:  support SMEs with technical assistance/ services
The second stage consisted of offering selected SMEs and startups a large set of services to boost their business, ranging from market research to international matchmaking.  These services were offered by a pool of (mostly)pre-selected third parties that were funded by MedBAN in line with the awarded budget.

SMEs could apply for these services by submitting a specific project proposal via  ‘cascade funding’ calls in two categories: 1) Innovation, training and twin transformation to allow for modernisation of the business processes and 2) ‘internationalisation’ to allow for growing their business across borders. Both the call texts and the subsequent selection of proposals was based on the findings generated during the first phase.

Results
57 proposals from 49 SMEs were awarded support, with eight SMEs being awarded support for 2 proposals (one in each category). This support totalled  little over 1 Million Euro and consisted of organisations from 8 countries – mainly situated around the Mediterranean.

Project leaders on stage to discuss results of the MedBAN support at the final MedBAN conference in 2025

During MedBAN’s final conference in March 2025, some of these selected SMEs shared the impact of this project on their respective businesses:

Hydrotwin : a start-up specialised in underwater noise monitoring received MedBAN support regarding market and market penetration analysis to better explain its potential to investors and decision makers. It led a.o. to the identification of marine offshore renewables as a priority market.

Seaentia : a sustainable aquaculture startup. MedBAN allowed them to develop their export strategy to export their fish to other EU countries, keeping in mind that the long term strategy is to produce locally. One of the elements they focused on was EU regulatory compliance regarding hygiene and food safety in the transport of  fresh fish

Cyclefi : an SME that develops software and hardware solutions to tackle, waste, energy and water challenges. MedBAN allowed them to expand the market from focusing primarly on municipalities to ports .  This involved a.o. a comprehensive mapping of waste management within EU ports and Greece in specific, including the definition of an international matchmaking plan.  They have now been able to start with Piraeus port, to tackle waste generated by its millions of (tourist) visitors.

Maritime world : a startup specialised in short conferences, workshops, B2B meetings and technical tours across Europe, dedicated to the maritime industry. MedBAN support allowed for significant (international) growth, especially by getting better connected to high quality organisations across the Mediterranean, including the North African countries. One of the actions was a thorough Market Analysis that provided a database with contacts of more than 130 organisations. Maritime World is now on the way to create one of the biggest maritime conferences in Malta by the end of the year.

PesCo : a start-up with an online platform focused on sustainable fishing tourism, matching local fishermen with tourists. Through the MedBAN support they managed boost their network with hotels, tour- and travel agencies. They also received support to develop toolkits for two key target groups: guides (captains) to help improve the sustainability viewpoint and clients (exploreres) to help prepare for the fishing experience.

The common denominator was that MedBAN allowed them to take steps that would’ve otherwise taken much longer to develop.

Watch the full panel discussion

representatives from the MedBan partners holding and rasing hands to celebrate their commitment to the MedBAN mission

Moving forward
The consortium partners committed themselves to further build on MedBAN’s success. This was underlined  by signing the MedBAN Statutes (charter of principles); in which partners pledge to explore new opportunities of collaboration, foster stronger collaboration among clusters, commit to ongoing exploration of funding opportunities, and ensure long-term sustainability.

It was also underlined by signing a Memorandum Of Understanding for with CALLMEBLUE (Cluster Alliance Med Blue) to strengthen strategic collaboration.

Memorandum of Understanding between MedBAN and CallmeBlue signed at the MedBAN final Conference in 2025 with representivaes showing the signed document

 

WestMED connection
The initial idea for MedBAN was born in September 2021 at Seafuture in La Spezia and evolved through WestMED’s Maritime Clusters Alliance Technical Group into a successful submission for COSME funding. Next to this, Stephanie Vella (WestMED National Hub Malta) was an official ‘MedBAN ambassador’ and Lorella Ciutti (WestMED National Hub Portugal), MedBAN’s project coordinator. MedBAN has, in this respect, been supported  by the WestMED Assistance Mechanism from start to finish.

At the end of the MedBAN conference, project leader Ruben Eiras summed it all up: « Here we are, celebrating Europe. When we look at the numbers, of course, [the project] is just a drop in the ocean—but it is an important drop. Today, the Blue Economy represents innovation, defence, and sustainability—connecting, aggregating, and linking. What we aim for in a few year’s time, when we have MedBAN 2.0, is that we have investment funds and private actors with more capital to invest in these SMEs to make them grow. Let’s triple these numbers and make the Blue Economy happen! »

 

More info about MedBAN
Budget Total:  € 1.399.384,00

EU Contribution: €1.364.446,00

Partners/ Countries Coordinator/ lead:  Forum Oceano (Portugal)

Federazione del Mare (Italy)

Cluster BIG – Blue Italian Growth (Italy)

CMIB Cluster Marítimo Illes Balears (Spain)

Strategis – Maritime ICT Cluster (Greece)

Pôle Mer Méditerranée (France)

Affiliated: Magellan (Portugal)

Follow Website
Duration 1 September 2022 – 31 March 2025

 

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https://westmed-initiative.ec.europa.eu/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/2story.clusters.MedBAN.slider.poster20252.compr_.jpg 630 1500 Communication team https://westmed-initiative.ec.europa.eu/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/new-westmed-ec-enfold-logo-website-def2.png Communication team2025-04-14 09:57:302025-05-12 13:23:09WestMED Success Story. Maritime Clusters – meet MedBAN, the Mediterranean Blue Acceleration Network
Ufm Mediterranean pavillion stand with people passing by at an exhibition

UfM and Interreg NEXT MED renew commitment to tackle regional challenges together

13 mars 2025/dans Actualités /par Communication team

12 March 2025, Barcelona – The Union for the Mediterranean and Interreg NEXT MED, the largest EU-funded transnational cooperation programme promoting socioeconomic development and environmental initiatives in the Mediterranean Basin, have reached an agreement formally extending collaboration between both parties for at least another three years.

The Memorandum of Understanding, which highlights how both Euro-Mediterranean institutions strive to reinforce political, socioeconomic, and cultural ties in the region, was signed by UfM Secretary General Nasser Kamel and Director General of the Interreg NEXT MED Programme Giovanna Medde. The agreement, significantly, foresees mutual participation in events and conferences and, when relevant, extends invitations to participate in internal meetings as observers. It will also see the organisations continue to exchange information on projects of common interest, identify joint coordination actions and raise awareness of regional challenges together.

“The UfM and Interreg NEXT MED are united by the common goal of enhanced dialogue and cooperation between Mediterranean countries. The indisputable success of our partnership over the years is a positive sign for the future,” said UfM Secretary General Nasser Kamel. “The UfM remains convinced of the long-term constructive influence of this alliance and looks forward to three more years of shared accomplishments.”

The long-standing partnership between these Euro-Mediterranean institutions has resulted in a multitude of impactful actions including Interreg NEXT MED’s participation in the UfM-sponsored Mediterranean Pavilion at the latest three United Nations Climate Change Conferences, its commemoration of the anniversary of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, and involvement in thematic UfM forums on youth empowerment or the blue economy, among others.

“The UfM-Interreg NEXT MED agreement has been instrumental in enhancing coordination between both institutions,” said Giovanna Medde, Director General of the Interreg NEXT MED Programme. “It is essential for developing and implementing jointly-owned solutions to the complex challenges our region faces. I am confident that renewing it will help us move closer to achieving our common goal of a more integrated, peaceful and prosperous Mediterranean.”

Source UfM website

https://westmed-initiative.ec.europa.eu/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/UfM-medpavilion.jpg 530 1400 Communication team https://westmed-initiative.ec.europa.eu/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/new-westmed-ec-enfold-logo-website-def2.png Communication team2025-03-13 10:06:402025-04-07 13:06:39UfM and Interreg NEXT MED renew commitment to tackle regional challenges together
group pucture decarbonisation conference  Valencia port February 2025

WestMED participates in the Fundación Valenciaport conference « Innovation initiatives for decarbonising the Mediterranean”

15 février 2025/dans Actualités /par National Hub Spain

On 11 February 2025, Fundación Valenciaport organised the conference “Innovation initiatives for decarbonising the Mediterranean” in Valencia. The main objective was to present the many initiatives in which it participates, related to energy transition and decarbonization.

The event brought together more than fifty representatives of the port community with national and international speakers specialised in port sustainability.

During the opening, Antonio Torregrosa, general director of Fundación Valenciaport, welcomed the attendees and Leonardo Manzari, representative of the WestMED Initiative in Italy. Mr Manzari presented the main challenges of decarbonization in the Mediterranean port logistics sector.

Alternative fuel for maritime transport
The first block of the day was focused on alternative fuels for maritime transport.

Manolis Annetis, research engineer at the Maritime Risk Group of the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), presented the objectives and progress of the GREENMED project; an initiative that aims to promote green shipping in the Mediterranean basin by analyzing the energy demand of the currently operating fleet and evaluating transition scenarios towards a sustainable future. He also presented a techno-economic analysis of the current bunkering system in the region and the actions needed to promote decarbonization in port logistics.

Next, Aurelio Lázaro, Senior Project Manager of Fundación Valenciaport, presented the progress and first results of the POWER4MED project. This project aims to develop tools to facilitate the path towards carbon neutrality of three sectors; fishing vessels, commercial vessels and marinas.

This session was concluded with a roundtable discussion focused on new fuels in the maritime industry. This roundtable was moderated by Francisco Tinaut, Professor of the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) in the CMT- Clean Mobility&Thermofluids. Daniel García (POSEIDON), Jan Octavio Wilske (SEAFAIRER), Marta Pascual (WestMED), Manolis Annetis (GREENMED) and Aurelio Lázaro (POWER4MED) participated in this roundtable.

Decarbonising Ports
Marina Arroyo, Project Manager of Fundación Valenciaport, began the second block of the day with the presentation of the SEANERGY project. SEANERGY seeks to move towards “Zero Emissions” ports. During his speech, he highlighted the Catalogue of Technologies for Port Decarbonization, one of the main tools of the project to facilitate the energy transition.

Next, Ignacio Benítez, Senior Project Manager of Fundación Valenciaport, presented the BLUEBARGE project, whose main objective is to develop a barge designed to supply electric power to docked and anchored ships, through the use of batteries of different technologies, contributing to the reduction of emissions and the promotion of more sustainable infrastructures in the port logistics sector.

Subsequently, the SEANERGY workshop was held by Marina Arroyo and Sandra Roselló, deputy director of Fundación Valenciaport, where they explained the main resources developed by the project to help port organizations to develop their energy transition strategies.

Adaptation to Climate Change in Spanish Ports
The last block of the day focused on the adaptation of ports to climate change, which began with the intervention of Begoña Pérez, from the Department of Climate Change and Prediction of Puertos del Estado, who presented the strategies to improve the resilience of Spanish ports against the environmental impacts of climate change.

The conference concluded in the afternoon with the presentation of the ARSINOE project, an initiative that studies the impact of climate change on ports with the aim of developing strategies to mitigate its effects.

Noemí Monterde, Senior Project Manager of Fundación Valenciaport, shared the functioning of the Climate Change Observatory of the Port Authority of Valencia, created within the framework of this initiative, with the aim of analyzing the effect of climate phenomena on port infrastructures and operations.

For his part, José María García-Valdecasas, head of Coastal Services at NOW Systems, presented Clevertool, a tool designed to evaluate these impacts and support the definition of adaptation measures.

 

For more information about this event, contact Marta Pascual (National Hub Spain)

Leonardo Manzari presenting the WestMED project during decarbonisation workshop in a conference room (Feb 2025)

 

https://westmed-initiative.ec.europa.eu/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Asistentes.jpeg 467 994 National Hub Spain https://westmed-initiative.ec.europa.eu/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/new-westmed-ec-enfold-logo-website-def2.png National Hub Spain2025-02-15 15:12:342025-03-05 11:33:09WestMED participates in the Fundación Valenciaport conference « Innovation initiatives for decarbonising the Mediterranean”
aerial from container ship at sea with TG Green shipping logo

Launch of S3 Thematic partnership “Shipbuilding Propulsion Systems Alliance” with 26 partners from 3 EU sea basins

30 novembre 2024/dans Actualités /par Communication team

Maritime transport and Ports probably represent the core sector, to win the challenge of sustainability of the Blue Economy, considering its impact in terms of Gross Value Added (GVA) and jobs creation across the EU and its neighbouriung regions.

Greening the EU maritime transport is therefore pivotal to ‘green’ the EU blue economy at large (including tourism, aquaculture, biotechs, marine renewable energy).

But a green transition for the EU maritime transport sectors requires a common vision to equip ports and fleets in a coherent way, within a network capable to ensure their operativity.

Therefore, within the work of the WestMED Technical Group on Green Shipping,the strong need emerged to re-configurate the shipbuilding supply chain and create the production capacity to equip the fleets with propulsion systems, using alternative fuels.

Shipbuilding Propulsion Systems Alliance
For this reason the WestMED Technical Group on Green Shipping, the EU Seabasin Assistance Mechanism, promoted by CINEA and DG Mare, have supported a dedicated Smart Specialisation (S3) Thematic Partnership in this area, encountering the interest of the impacted territories where shipbuilding operations are mostly located, and involving different stakeholders – authorities, research and innovation centres, businesses and investors.

 The newly launched S3 Thematic partnership “Shipbuilding Propulsion Systems Alliance”, led by Region Liguria, Região capital de Portugal, Region Attica, brings together 26 partners – including Regional Bodies, Businesses, Cluster Organisations, Research & Innovation Centres and Civil Society Organisations – from 5 EU Member states  and 4 non EU partner countries spread across 3 EU Sea basins (Mediterranean Atlantic, Black Sea).

 The initiative, more specifically, aims at:

  • Speeding  up the modernisation and renewal of the supply chains related to the production/refitting of propulsion systems, as well as to the delivery of the fuel, for each type of alternative fuel.
  • Accelerating the replacement/refitting of traditionally propelled fleets to diversify, renew, revitalise the sector across Europe and its neighbourhoods;
  • Fostering the adoption of innovative fiscal and financial schemes, to allow shipowners, shipbuilders and related stakeholders to achieve greater impact and sustainability for their investments.

 

For more information on this Partnership, visit the  S3 Community of Practice page of the European Commission

https://westmed-initiative.ec.europa.eu/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/aerial-view-container-cargo-ship-seacompr2.jpg 630 1500 Communication team https://westmed-initiative.ec.europa.eu/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/new-westmed-ec-enfold-logo-website-def2.png Communication team2024-11-30 09:13:452025-02-13 07:56:23Launch of S3 Thematic partnership “Shipbuilding Propulsion Systems Alliance” with 26 partners from 3 EU sea basins
WestMED Steering Committee members sitting around a larfge conference table in Portugal, October 1, 2024

WestMED Stakeholders gather in Portugal for a 3-day agenda on the Blue Economy

6 octobre 2024/dans Actualités /par Communication team

Three full days have been dedicated to enhancing synergies among key actors in the Mediterranean basin: The WestMED Steering Comittee (SC) on October 1, The UfM Regional Platform on the Blue Economy on October 2, and the WestMED Hackathon on October 3, 2024.

WestMED Steering Committee
The WestMED Steering Committee (SC) was hosted by the Region of Algarve and the Portuguese Co-Presidency.

The meeting gathered representatives from the WestMED countries, as well as the Observers, DG MARE, CINEA, UfM and the team of the Assistance Mechanism.

A key milestone was presented at the SC meeting in terms of cooperation and clustering within the Mediterranean region. On 29 September 2024, the first maritime cluster has been officially established in Libya with the support of the WestMED Initiative. This maritime cluster will be rolled out in the coming months. (see article on this announcement).

Updates on the WestMED Technical Groups (TGs) were presented by the Assistance Mechanism, in particular to the recently approved TG on Sustainable Tourism. There has been a call for Tourism experts to join, and there has already been a stakeholder group meeting on September 6 and an advisory group meeting on September 18 to prepare for the official launch at the Sun&Blue Conference on November 21.

The WestMED countries are fully committed  towards a more sustainable and resilience tourism section in the Mediterranean. Some countries are working to promote more environmental-friendly tourism alternatives such as pesca-tourism and sustainable scuba diving at artificial reefs.

In view of the willingness of the WestMED Initiative towards enhancing more synergies and cooperative dialogue with the African countries, DG MARE presented the Strategic Dialogue on the Africa-Europe Ocean Economy. A scoping report has been produced outlining way to strengthen cooperation between Africa and Europe on ocean governance and blue economy, from which to forge a mutually beneficial roadmap for the two continents in line with the 2030 UN Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals and the African Union’s Agenda 2063.

UfM Regional Platform on Sustainable Blue Economy

Back-to-back to the WestMED Steering Committee, the UfM Regional Platform took place on 2 October 2024

The UfM Secretariat introduced the most recent advancements on the update of the Roadmap for the implementation of the 2021 UfM Ministerial Declaration on Sustainable Blue Economy. On the monitoring, reporting and evaluation mechanism, an exhaustive exercise is being done based on 657 actions, activities and projects of regional cooperation in the Mediterranean.

The UfM is going to shortly launch the new edition of the UfM Sustainable Blue Economy Publication, which provides an update on the status of the key blue economy sectors in the Mediterranean, including transversal aspects such as blue skills, marine research and funding frameworks. The previous edition of this 2021 publication can be found here.

On this occasion, the UfM Regional Plan for Transport was presented by Francesc Carbonell. Further synergies are being sought between the WestMED Technical Group on Green Shipping and Ports and the UfM Regional Plan for Transport, to address the common challenges of the sector in the Mediterranean.

Further updates were presented in terms of the Community of Practice on MSP (Smart Specialization Strategies – S3, Mission Restore Our Oceans by 2030 and BlueMissionMed, Interreg Euro-Med and strategy dialogue on the Africa-Europe Ocean Economy.

On the funding opportunities, updates were presented in the Blue Mediterranean Partnership, Interreg Next-MED and the Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership.

WestMED Hackaton 2024

On 3 October 2024, 85 stakeholders from more than 20 countries met in Vilamoura, Portugal to discuss project ideas and possible funding sources. This was already the 3rd hackathon after previous sessions in Palermo (2019) and Malta (2022).

Read the full article

Download the agenda

Watch all WestMED Hackathon ’24 presentations: dedicated playlist on WestMED’s YouTube channel

 

Marisa Lameiras da Silva (Portugal) and Demba Diawara (Mauritania) co-chairing the WestMED Steering Committee | Copyright photos: DGPM

https://westmed-initiative.ec.europa.eu/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1727813981610.jpg 1536 2046 Communication team https://westmed-initiative.ec.europa.eu/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/new-westmed-ec-enfold-logo-website-def2.png Communication team2024-10-06 09:50:552024-10-09 16:02:09WestMED Stakeholders gather in Portugal for a 3-day agenda on the Blue Economy
WestMED Libya Blue economy event at Al-Mukhtar University - 29 sept 2024

WestMED Libya announces the country’s first Maritime Cluster at the Omar Al-Mukhtar University, during ‘Blue Economy Research & Innovation’ workshop

29 septembre 2024/dans Actualités /par Communication team

Today on September 29 2024, at the Faculty of Agriculture Hall, the Omar Al-Mukhtar University hosted a workshop titled “advancing  the Blue Economy in Libya through Research and innovation” with the support of the Al-Mukhtar Center for Research, Consulting, Educational Services, and Training.

This workshop was organized in collaboration with the WestMED Initiative for the Development of the Blue Economy and the Marine Biology Organization.

The workshop was led by Dr. Masauda Abouarousha, the Libyan National Coordinator for the initiative, and was attended by prominent figures, including the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, the Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, and a number of faculty members from the Faculties of Science, Agriculture, and Natural Resources. Additionally, the event saw the presence of the Director of the International Cooperation Department at the University and the Director of the Environmental Sanitation Department at the Ministry of Environment.

The event also included notable participation via online platforms from:

  • Eng. Ali Al-Shaqrouni, Head of the Libyan Maritime Cluster
  • Captain Ezzedine Kacem, Head of the Tunisian Maritime Cluster
  • Mr. Leonardo Manzari, Italian WestMED National Hub

During the workshop, the formation of the Libyan Maritime Cluster was officially announced. This entity will serve as an umbrella organization uniting all stakeholders engaged in various maritime activities related to the blue economy, with a particular focus on research and innovation (see presentation)

The workshop played a pivotal role in engaging researchers at Omar Al-Mukhtar University with international research platforms specializing in the blue economy, enhancing Libya’s participation in regional and global initiatives.

There will be a series of seminars, workshops and focus groups emanating from this workshop.

At the conclusion, several recommendations were made:

1- Urging Omar Al-Mukhtar University to partner with the steering committee initiative represented by the Al-Mukhtar Centre for Research, Consultancy, Scientific Services and Training, as Libya is a member of this initiative.
2- Establishing a unit within the Mukhtar Centre for Blue Economy, which is concerned with spreading awareness of the importance of the blue economy through seminars, workshops and meetings as an alternative economy.
3- Holding qualification courses for interested parties and stakeholders and preparing human cadres capable of engaging in this field.
4- The Mukhtar Centre adopts the idea of establishing a special board for research in the various fields of the blue economy and distributing it to colleges as houses of expertise containing academics, researchers and interested parties, and then selecting distinguished research proposals and through the Centre and its agreements, financial support is provided for these researches through donor agencies and organisations for funding.

 

With this workshop, the path is paved for more strategic partnerships and capacity-building initiatives, ensuring that Libya contributes actively to the regional blue economy agenda.

Download the analysis framework paper detailing the Libyan Maritime Cluster

For more information contact Masauda Abuarosha: libya@westmed-initiative.ec.europa.eu

WestMED Libya Blue economy event at Al-Mukhtar University - 29 sept 2024

 

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