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WestMED Steering Committee meeting in Brussels with representatives sitting at a round table on June 26 2024

Members and observers of the WestMED Steering Committee gather in Brussels to discuss latest developments

12 juillet 2024/dans Actualités, Non classifié(e) /par Communication team

The primary objective of this WestMED Steering Committee meeting that took place on June 26 in Brussels, was to assemble the representatives of the 10 WestMED countries and observers in-person to provide them with an overview of the latest advancements on the implementation of the WestMED Initiative, the latest funding opportunities, and to approve the establishment of the new Technical Group on Sustainable Tourism.

The meeting was co-chaired by the Portuguese and Mauritanian Co-Presidencies, with the support from DG MARE and the UfM (Union for the Mediterranean).

Significant visibility of the Initiative
In recent months, the WestMED Initiative has achieved significant visibility and dissemination, as highlighted by Iglika Yakova (DG MARE). The WestMED Initiative has actively participated in various events, including the UfM Stakeholders Conference (19-20 February), the WestMED side event at the Our Ocean Conference (15-17 April), Deportibus (11 May) the European Maritime Day (30-31 May), Posidonia (7 June), the Macro-Region and Sea Basins Strategies Days (12-13 June).

National events, such as the national Dialogue in Morocco, the involvement of Libyan representatives in various Technical Groups (TGs), and the consolidation of the Mauritanian maritime cluster, further underscore the Initiative’s visiblity and success.

Another significant step to establish synergies was the participation of WestMED as Observers in the MedLab Annual event organized by Interact, held back-to-back with the WestMED Steering Committee meeting. The MedLab Annual event focused on the Post-2027 debate and regional cooperation.

Establishment of a new WestMED Technical Group on Tourism
Tourism in the Mediterranean region is expanding, making the industry a crucial employment sector. The WestMED Initiative aims to enhance the coastal tourism sector’s competitiveness and sustainability while protecting the environment through eco-tourism, digitalization, and cross-border cooperation.

The establishment of a new Technical Group (TG) by the WestMED Assistance Mechanism addresses a priority identified by the WestMED Initiative and will serve as an informal forum for discussing sustainable tourism needs, focusing on green transition, digitalization, governance, and skills. The TG will comprise a core group, an advisory body, and a technical group. The Steering Committee is currently in the process of approving the Terms of Reference for this new Technical Group

Overview of Funding opportunities
Several funding opportunities were highlighted:

EU Mission Ocean, Seas, and Waters: The Work Programme 2024 includes two call topics. Call 1 covers thematic topics aligned with Mission objectives such as restoration and a sustainable blue economy, while Call 2 targets support for actor communities like waterfront cities and islands. The overview also includes several Horizon calls within these Mission calls, focusing on topics like Blue Parks and MPAs, reducing fisheries’ impact in EU sea basins, and community-led ocean and water restoration. Additionally, it highlights opportunities for third parties to join ongoing projects, particularly Calls for Associated Regions, aiming to enhance capacity for implementing innovative solutions in neighboring regions.
Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership: Four priority areas have been identified for the transnational call launched in February 2024: regional sea-use management, multi-use marine infrastructures, blue bioresources, and regional-scale Digital Twins of the Ocean (DTOs). To enhance global visibility and foster new collaborations, the call is co-branded by the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, coordinated by UNESCO. All Mediterranean countries are eligible for EU contributions, whether they are EU Member States, Associated countries, or low-to-medium-income countries.
Interreg NEXTMED: The first call for proposals, closed in May 2024, was divided into nine Specific Objectives. Among 631 proposals, most projects targeted « Growth and competitiveness of SMEs, » « Education and training, » and « Climate Change adaptation. » Projects were categorized into three clusters: Thematic, Youth-oriented, and Governance, with 90% falling under the Thematic cluster. Most participating organizations were from Italy, Greece, and Spain within the EU, and from Turkey and Tunisia outside the EU. Participants included public legal bodies (30%), NGOs (27%), private companies (13%), and regional/local public administrations (10%). A second call for proposals, focusing on Green Transition, is set to launch in November 2024.
Interreg EURO-MED: The 1st and 3rd calls focused on Governance projects, selecting 8 projects that began in January 2023. The 2nd call targeted Thematic projects, resulting in 56 projects that started in January 2024. The 4th call, which closed in June 2024, will see 20 Thematic projects begin in spring 2025, addressing the four main thematic areas: sustainable economy, environmental protection, green living, and sustainable tourism. The upcoming 5th call will focus on Thematic Strategic Territorial projects for rural, mountain areas, and islands, emphasizing innovative solutions for waste reduction and water scarcity. The presentation concludes with an overview of the 1st call’s Governance projects in the field of the Sustainable Blue Economy.

Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) Regional Platform meeting on Blue Economy
Back-to-back to the WestMED Steering committee this UfM Regional Platform Meeting on Blue Economy took place on June 27, with many of the key players from the day before.

The UfM Secretariat introduced the most recent advancements on the update of the Blue Economy Roadmap and the activation of the SBE (Sustainable Blue Economy) Monitoring, Reporting, and Evaluation Mechanism; highlighted progress on the multi-partner and multi-donor investment fund ‘Blue Mediterranean Partnership’; and recalled the series of two webinars held during the first semester of 2024 on blue food and sustainable tourism, as well as the third webinar (July 1 2024) on MRE (Marine Renewable Energy)/licensing/MSP (Maritime Spatial Planning).

The UfM shared an update on the harmonization exercise of UfM Regional Platforms. The UfM operates under a consolidated action-driven methodology creating links between political mandate, multi-stakeholder dialogue, and tangible projects and initiatives. This methodology comprises three pillars: Policies, Platforms, and Projects – the so-called ‘3 Ps’. As part of the ongoing UfM reform efforts to enhance efficiency and in an effort to harmonize the relevant terminology, the ‘UfM Working Group on Blue Economy’ is henceforth renamed as the ‘UfM Regional Platform on Sustainable Blue Economy’.

Visit the UfM website for more information on the UfM Regional Platform on Blue Economy

Next meeting
The 16th meeting of the UfM Regional Platform on Sustainable Blue Economy will take place in Algarve, Portugal, in October 2024, back-to-back with the next WestMED Steering Committee and the 3rd WestMED Hackathon.

Matteo Bocci moderating discussion panel on synergies at macro-regional and sea basin strategies days 2024

Synergies between the 7 EU regional cooperation strategies highlighted during joint DG Regio and DG Mare event

2 juillet 2024/dans Actualités /par Communication team

There are four macro-regional strategies in the EU, fostering cooperation in approx 75% of all EU member states. In addition, there are three EU sea basin strategies, which are cooperation structures for protecting the sea basins. These strategies come from different origins but share similar goals and the view that some challenges cannot be solved on the national level alone.

From 12-14 June 2024, all seven EU territorial strategies came together for the first time, to exchange information, thoughts and ideas on regional cooperation in Europe under the slogan ‘Strategies4Cooperation.’

Five parallel interactive workshops were organised to discuss the following themes: Enlargement, Climate Change, Clusters and Innovation, Embedding and Civil Societies engagement.

Amongst the many events, a panel discussion was organised by the EU Sea Basin Assistance Mechanism titled ‘Synergies amongst the strategies; taking stock and looking ahead’ .

This panel was moderated by Matteo Bocci (EU Assistance Mechanism) and consisted of Ms Andra Kuzmina (Latvian Presidency for the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region), Ms Mathilde Konstantopoulou (Greek Presidency for the EU Strategy for the Adriatic-Ionian Region), Mr Markku Markkula (Vice Presidente of the Committee of the Regions) and Ms Isabelle Perret (French Presidency of the EU Sea Basin Strategy for the Atlantic)

Some key conclusions from this sessions:

There are many shared commonalities and specificities amongst the strategies as relevant enablers of cooperation (e.g. same targeted stakeholders, different governance models and levels)
There are clear ways to foster more synergies between the strategies (e.g. observer roles in each other’s governance structures)
Shared actions should be explored across key topics/sectors (e.g. skills, pollution, decarbonisation & Marine Renewable Energies, smaller islands)
Stakeholder cooperation could be promoted more across mutual events
Information could be shared and duplication avoided through a better exchange beween the strategies (e.g. build on best practices and good examples)
Good to maximise use of (limited) financial resources – e.g. by making them more impact-oriented

You can find a complete summary of all 29 conclusions in this pdf

The 5th Macro-Regional and Sea Basin Strategies Days 2024, was co-organised by DG REGIO and DG MARE.

For more information on the Macro-regional & Sea Basin Strategies Days 2024 including speeches and outcomes, visit the the event page.

Photo-exhibition
During this event, a photo-exhibition was organised showcasing the two most relevant projects per strategy.

For the WestMED Initiative, photos were displayed from award winners Starfish 4.0/ NEMO (winner 2021) and ‘We are Blue Schools‘ (winner 2023)

We Are Blue Schools | Ocean literacy | Group of children displaying their ocean related artwork on the Balearic Islands | Photo (c) We are blue schools

StarFish 2.0 | Small Scale Fisheries | The Nemo tracking and monitoring device by CLS being tested by local fishermen | Photo (c) George Galanos

Overview of the photo-exhibition with examples of projects from the seven EU cooperation strategies

screenshot from the explainer video on EU sea basin strategies with a geograhical map showing the logos of all three initiatives

Explainer video Sea Basins Strategies and the Assistance Mechanism

15 juin 2024/dans Actualités /par Communication team

This video showcases how the European Commission is propelling the blue economy forward through targeted Sea Basin Strategies in the Atlantic, Black Sea, and Western Mediterranean.

Witness how these strategies foster innovation, competitiveness, and inclusivity within the sector, supported by essential enablers like blue skills and sustainable investments.

EMD 2024 workshop maximising synergies with moderator Matteo Bocci and panellists posing

EU Sea Basin Asistance Mechanism explores synergies between cross-cutting EU Blue Initiatives at EMD 2024

13 juin 2024/dans Actualités /par Communication team

This workshop that took place on May 30, 2024 during the European Maritime Day in Svendborg Denmark, was aimed at exploring how the EU Sea Basins Assistance Mechanism can further enhance effective cooperation with strategic blue economy initiatives promoted by the EU in the ‘cross-cutting’ areas of research and innovation, ocean literacy and green energy transition.

Moderation was done by Matteo Bocci, from the Sea Basins Assistance Mechanism and contributions were made by:

Margherita Zorgno, Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership
Olga Mashkina, EU4Ocean Coalition
Ana Peralta, EU Energy Transition Partnership
Gaetan Coatanroch, Mission Oceans and Waters Implementation Platform

The workshop allowed the different initiatives to share the main activities and results achieved so far in their areas of intervention, and then look ahead to identify concrete actions for further cooperation– also by building upon the results of the High-Level Panel 1 held on the same day.

Key Highlights and Outcomes of the workshop:

As concrete outcomes of this workshop, the different initiatives involved agreed to establish concrete roadmaps for cooperation in the year ahead, particularly in the area of Ocean literacy and blue skills, which emerged as a cross-cutting topic of interest to all the initiatives involved.

The Sea Basins Assistance Mechanism (with a concrete Pillar on the Atlantic sea basin focused on this topic) is exploring the possibility of creating a cross-sea basin working group on blue skills and ocean literacy. In this sense, it is encouraging other “blue” initiatives to feed it with practices and relevant experiences.
From the R&I point of view, SBEP incorporates blue skills as a cross-cutting theme within its scope of work, and has supported projects focused on, e.g., “upskilling” in the tourism sector. Moreover, the foreseen Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC) on marine/water is expected to have a focus on education and skills.
From the angle of energy transition and decarbonisation in different maritime sectors, as highlighted by the Energy Transition Partnership, the development of a new set of “blue skills” is crucial. The blue economy is challenged by an ageing workforce (this is particularly true for the fisheries sector), and a lack of workers for many related economic activities, including in more “emerging” sectors (i.e. blue biotechnologies, marine renewable energies, etc.) In this sense, the initiative ‘Fishers of the Future’ was launched as a EU-wide participatory project to examine the future role of fishers in society up to 2050.
The issue of ocean literacy is the main axis of activity for the EU4OCEAN coalition, and particularly when it comes to involving the younger generations and “training the trainers”. As such, this initiative is supporting integrated outreach actions with the aim to attract and engage such groups to the vast opportunities of the Blue Economy job market. In this sense, the project “Blue Generation” has the goal to inspire and engage young people between 15 and 29 years to pursue a sustainable career in a Blue Economy sector.

In conclusion, the workshop highlighted the vital role of collaborative efforts in advancing the EU’s blue economy initiatives, particularly through focused areas such as ocean literacy and blue skills development. As a key result, the different initiatives committed to continue working together to further operationalise future joint actions.

WestMED Malta presents three blue skills project ideas at the scientific SEA-EU conference in Malta

11 juin 2024/dans Actualités /par National Hub Malta

On 10 June 2024, the multidisciplinary scientific SEA-EU conference was held at the University of Malta in Valletta.

The Observatory for Sustainable Blue Economy (OSBE) within the SEA-EU invited the Maltese National Hub to present an overview of the WestMED initiative as part of their conference

The WestMED National hub Malta, represented by Stephanie Vella, explained the main objectives of the WestMED and highlighted the synergies which exist in terms of the research areas discussed by members of OSBE and the priority areas of the WestMED

The National Hub also presented three specific project ideas related to Blue Skills. These emanated from the WestMED hackathon held in Malta and are relevant for SEA-EU, highlighting the importance of identifying skills shortages, the role of educational institutions, as well as the importance of knowledge transfer across the Mediterranean.

The OSBE seeks to create a framework for longitudinal research projects across partners, countries and industries related to the transition of the blue economy. The platform includes environment and human related data research and technology transfer, education, blue jobs, industry related information and the identification of best practices and case studies which are extremely relevant to Westmed stakeholders.

For more information about this presentation and the project ideas, contact Stephanie Vella from the WestMED national hub Malta: malta@westmed-initiative.ec.europa.eu

Group picture of Management Committee members RethinkBlue - 2024 Zadar

Malta represented at International Conference on Blue Economy

9 mai 2024/dans Actualités /par National Hub Malta

On 23-24 April 2024, the first RethinkBlue international conference was organized by EU COST Action CA22122 – Rethinking the Blue Economy: Socio-Ecological Impacts and Opportunities, with the support of COST – European Cooperation in Science and Technology, the University of Zadar, and the Croatian Science Foundation.

During the conference, scholars and other experts discussed and presented research on issues related to social, environmental and economic aspects of the Blue Economy. This included maritime occupations; food security; sustainable blue consumption; port cities; coastal communities; fisheries governance; marine tourism; emergent activities; climate change; and natural hazards.

The RethinkBlue conference was opened by the Chairperson of RethinkBlue, Dr Dražen Cepić and the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Zadar Prof Zvjezdan Penezić.

Malta was represented by RethinkBlue Management Committee members Prof Michael Briguglio and Matthew Laspina. Prof Briguglio and Prof Godfrey Baldacchino also presented their respective research during the conference.

Download the book of abstracts

Photo: Management Committee members RethinkBlue

Poster announcing EU sea basins strategies presence at EMD 2024

EU Sea Basins Strategies featured at the European Maritime Day 2024

23 avril 2024/dans Actualités /par Communication team

Go straight to EMD 2024 registration | Register before 15 May

Set against the picturesque backdrop of Svendborg, Denmark, this annual event, hosted at the International Maritime Academy (SIMAC), promises to be enlighting for the maritime world.

On May 30-31, EMD 2024 will attract Ocean Leaders from across Europe to converge, deliberate, and establish collaborations focused on addressing pressing challenges and promising opportunities within the blue economy and marine ecosystem.

Kickstarting the festivities on May 30, the High-Level event on the main stage will feature prominent policymakers, including Charlina Vitcheva, Director General at DG MARE, along with representatives from Denmark, France, Portugal, and Moldova. This session, scheduled from 10:30 to 11:45, will spotlight the remarkable success of the EU Sea Basin Strategies as pivotal drivers of the Blue Economy, offering valuable insights into fostering sustainable maritime growth.

Later that day, from 15:00 to 16:15, a workshop led by the Sea Basins Assistance Mechanism (that includes the WestMED, Atlantic and Black Sea) will disclose synergies amongst EU « blue » initiatives. Expert speakers from EU4OCEAN, Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership, and the Energy Transition Partnership for EU fisheries and aquaculture will shed light on collaborative pathways for sustainable marine development.

EMD 2024 serves as an interactive in-person conference and exhibition. A place where businesses, governments, NGOs, academia, and EU citizens connect and discover. Through engaging discussions, workshops, and pitch sessions, stakeholders actively help shape the maritime agenda, tackle current challenges, and chart a course for future opportunities.

EU Sea Basin Synergies Workshop info and registration (Registration for the conference required)

EMD2024 info and registration

Collaboration between WestMED Malta and the International Ocean Institute, headquartered in Malta

6 avril 2024/dans Actualités /par National Hub Malta

On April 4 2024, the Maltese WestMED National Hub, Dr. Stephanie Vella and Ms. Stephanie Bugeja, met with the International Ocean Institute (IOI), represented by Ms. Antonella Vassallo, its managing director and their project officer Mr Cosmin Nicolae Chivu.

Since its foundation in 1972 by Professor Elisabeth Mann Borghese, the IOI has grown into a world leading independent, non-governmental non-profit organisation conducting training and capacity building in Ocean Governance with the aim of creating knowledgeable future leaders. It has a tremendous network of 10 centres and 21 focal points around the world, and is headquartered in Malta.

The IOI enjoys special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and consultative status at some of UN’s Specialized Agencies

The scope of the meeting was to explore areas of collaboration between the WestMED and IOI. Especially because ‘improved maritime governance’ is one of WestMED’s leading goals. The identified areas are mainly related to helping IOI’s vast ocean governance knowledge and networks expand to the wider WestMED region, find potential funding opportunities to allow better access through scholarships and mutually promote each other’s initiatives for the benefit of stakeholders in the region.

IOI trains young and mid-career practitioners in contemporary approaches to coastal and ocean management, with an emphasis on the moral, ethical and legal values in Ocean Governance (equity and peaceful uses of the ocean). As a knowledge-based institution the IOI offers a number of training courses which can benefit stakeholders within the WestMED.

Of particular importance is the training programme on Regional Ocean Governance for the Mediterranean, Black, Baltic and Caspian seas; organised in close collaboration with the University of Malta. Next to this, the IOI also organises the Ocean Academy Course on Ocean literacy in order to empower stakeholders become more active and positively influence their communities and beyond. These courses are offered periodically through the year.

Last but not least, IOI produces publications on current scientific, legal and policy developments and participates in the development of national and international ocean governance agendas, whereby WestMED’s experience can be of great use.

For more information contact the national hub Malta

Overview of IOI’s World Ocean Review editions. Visit the website to download free of charge

Leonardo Manzari and Irene Alonso at UfM Stakeholder Conference 2024

WestMED goes full Mediterranean at the UfM stakeholder conference 2024

28 février 2024/dans Actualités /par Communication team

The WestMED Initiative actively participated in the 2nd UfM Blue Economy Stakeholder Conference, which took place in Athens on February 19 and 20, 2024.

Background
The WestMED Initiative follows up on the Euro-Mediterranean Ministerial Declaration on the Blue Economy endorsed by the Union for Mediterranean (UfM) which took place on the 17 November 2015, inviting the participating countries to explore the added value and feasibility of appropriate maritime strategies at sub-regional level, and build on the experience of the 5+5 Dialogue.

In October 2016, Foreign Affairs Ministers from Algeria, France, Italy, Libya, Malta, Mauritania, Morocco, Portugal, Spain and Tunisia encouraged further work on an initiative for the sustainable development of the blue economy, alongside the UfM Secretariat.

In the UfM Ministerial Declaration on Sustainable Blue Economy (2021), Ministers “welcome the successful completion of the launch of the ‘Initiative for the sustainable development of the blue economy in the western Mediterranean’ (WestMED)”, and “recognise both the WestMED initiative as successful examples of cooperation, focused on clear goals, priorities and measurable targets and as a catalyst for the development of sustainable blue economy projects in the region”.

The endorsing countries pursue the same priorities under the UfM Working Group and the WestMED Steering Committee: fostering the promotion of the blue economy, achieving a safer maritime space and improving the maritime governance.

Conference involvement
On the occasion of the 2^nd UfM Blue Economy Stakeholder Conference, the WestMED Initiative assisted the UfM both in terms of organization and participation.

At institutional level, the new WestMED Portuguese Co-Presidency represented by Ms. Marisa Lameiras da Silva, Director General for Maritime Policy in Portugal participated as one of the key speakers in the session of marine renewable energy, providing the success case of Portugal developing offshore energy and its potential replicability in the Mediterranean.

From the Commission side, Ms. Delilah Al Khudhairy, Director for Maritime Policy and Blue Economy, Mr. Christos Economou, Head of Unit for Maritime Regional Cooperation and Mr. Manuel Pleguezuelo, policy officer and WestMED coordinator from DG MARE, participated in numerous sessions showing a strong commitment to the sustainable blue economy in the Mediterranean. The same for Ms. Anja Detant (CINEA), as project manager of the WestMED Assistance Mechanism contract, who highlighted the WestMED Initiative and the award winning projects during the ‘Spotlights on Projects’ session.

At operational level, the WestMED Assistance Mechanism participated in different workshops as experts, moderators and rapporteurs, providing technical expertise. They also supported the UfM Secretariat behind-the-scenes in the development of the Conference.

The conference served as a crucial milestone to assess progress, discuss challenges, and engage the entire Mediterranean Sustainable Blue Economy Community in shaping further deliberations at political and practical level.

A concrete example of succesful cooperation beyond the western Mediterranean was the MoU signed during the conference among the Tunisian and Greek Maritime Clusters (with groundwork through the WestMED Cluster Alliance) to further boost the blue economy between the western and eastern Mediterranean.

Download the Conference report with main messages and outcomes

Photos: copyright UfM secretariat

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European Blue Announcement with 2 cover pages of eu blue forum position papares 2024

The European Blue Forum Stakeholder Position Papers are out!

16 février 2024/dans Actualités /par Egbert Hoogstad

The European Blue Forum consisting of stakeholders from all 5 EU sea basins has published its first 2 Position papers related to key issues concerning the European Seas

Paper 1: What do we need from European Seas by 2030, and are we asking too much?
Paper 2: What does a fossil fuel free sustainable blue economy look like? How can we as a community support this transition?

These 2 papers, crafted collaboratively by European Blue Forum members through insightful discussions over the past 10 months are now accessible.

The documents are set to serve as a significant statement on maritime and coastal stakeholders’ common issues, challenges and future expectations for our European Seas. They gather the needs of the European Blue Forum members and provides the main axes of action for the years to come.

The papers will be presented during a public meeting of the inter-parliamentary group SEARICA in Brussels on 7th March 2024.

Download the papers

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