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.
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)
L’atelier du lancement du projet « Promotion des Chaines de Valeur et de l’emploi dans la pêche artisanale dans le secteur des pêches a été organisé le Jeudi 7 Mars 2024 à l’hôtel Valencia à Nouadhibou.
La cérémonie officielle a été présidée par M. Sidi Ali Sidi Boubacar, Secrétaire Général du Ministère des Pêches et de l’Economie Maritime, du Wali de Dakhlet Nouadhibou et des autorités administratives, de l’Ambassade d’Allemagne à Nouakchott et la KFW et a connu une participation massive des acteurs du secteur des pêches mauritanien.
Dans son discours le Secrétaire General du MPEM a précisé que ce projet est un don du Gouvernement Allemand de 19 millions d’Euro sur quatre ans et vise à accroitre la valeur ajoutée et les emplois dans le secteur des pêches en Mauritanie à travers la valorisation des petits pélagiques destinés à la consommation humaine.
Le projet comprend trois volets, à savoir :
Volet 1 : Accès au financement pour un montant de 12 million d’euro sous forme de fonds de revolving destiné à assurer le financement de tous les maillons de la chaine de valeur, a un taux préférentiel. ;
Volet 2 : Formation pour un montant de 3,5 millions d’euro destiné à améliorer l’adéquation de la formation aux besoins du secteur.
Volet 3 : Mesures d’accompagnement pour un montant de 3,5 millions d’euro destinées à renforcer les capacités techniques des partenaires du projet et d’assurer une assistance technique du Ministère des pêches dans la mise en œuvre du projet.
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 2nd 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.
Photos: copyright UfM secretariat
A new policy report, commissioned by the European Commission (DG Near) to the EuroMeSCo network, and developed by eco-union under the supervision of the European Institute of the Mediterranean (IEMed), aims to assess the status and potential of the sustainable Blue Economy in the Mediterranean region, including an analysis of socioeconomic benefits and impacts in relevant Blue Economy activities.
This report not only encapsulates the current state of the Blue Economy in the Mediterranean but also serves as a guide for policymakers, researchers, and stakeholders, pointing towards a future where sustainable practices drive economic growth while safeguarding the invaluable marine ecosystems of the region.
Source: Eco-Union website
The WestMED 2023 factsheet is out listing its major achievements.
Goals, priorities, governance, stories, number of projects supported and much more in one quick overview
Download your copy from the publications page
On 26 On January 2023, CINEA together with DG MARE, launched the ‘Community of Practice on Maritime Spatial Planning for the Mediterranean’, with the support of the WestMED Initiative, the MSP Assistance Mechanism and Union for Mediterranean.
This is a voluntary, enthusiastic group of experts from EU and non-EU countries working on MSP in the Mediterranean.
It was established based on a growing need from the MSP Community for a continuous and structured dialogue at sea basin and sub-sea basin level.
The main objective of this MED-MSP-CoP is to establish a permanent exchange between MSP practitioners across borders (i.e. planners, technical experts, researchers), to share knowledge and relevant experiences in the region, reach a shared perspective on MSP topics of common interest and enhance the cooperation between the north and the south shore of the Mediterranean.
In its first year, 3 workshops and 4 thematic webinars have been organised – mostly online. Participants indicated the added value of this platform and plans are underway to continue with these meetings in the years ahead.
If you want learn more and/ or join this Community of Practice, all information can be be found on the MED-MSP-COP webpage
As part of the WestMED Initiative, Mauritania’s national hub, in close coordination with the Ministry of Fisheries and Maritime Economy, organized the 4th national WestMED event at the Nouakchott Hotel on Tuesday, October 31, 2023. This important meeting was chaired by the Secretary General of the Ministry of Fisheries and Maritime Economy and in the presence of the Secretary General of the Ministry of the Environment.
The event was co-organized this year with the REBOOT MED project, whose national partner is the Diawling National Park (PND).
In addition to Mauritania’s national hub and the national coordinator of the WestMed Initiative in Mauritania, the event was attended by the representative of the WestMed Initiative’s Assistance Mechanism, Mr. Matteo Bocci, representatives of the main national institutions concerned, representatives of the private sector, socio-professional organizations and civil society, representatives of the main scientific research institutions at national level, and representatives of the main technical and financial partners. A total of 55 people participated.
The event attracted extensive media coverage, with the presence of all the official national press (Agence Mauritanienne d’Information, Télévision Nationale Al Mauritaniya, Radio de Mauritanie), private television channels and Internet press platforms. The event was featured as one of the main news items on official and private channels in French, Arabic and national languages broadcast on the evening of 31/10/2023.
In his opening address to the workshop, Mr. Sidi Ali Sidi Boubacar, Secretary General of the Ministry of Fisheries and Maritime Economy, began by thanking the participants and recalling the context and objectives of the WestMED initiative for the promotion of the blue economy. He pointed out that the efforts undertaken by the national coordination, with the support of the national hub, have enabled Mauritania to participate actively in all regional projects aimed at promoting the blue economy in the Mediterranean area, particularly in the fields of fishing, aquaculture, sustainable tourism and renewable energies. These sectors are considered priorities for Mauritania’s co-presidency of the WestMED initiative for 2023.
Mr. Sidi Ali Sidi Boubacar also mentioned that the organization of this event takes place in a particular context, marked by the growing challenges currently facing our marine and coastal zone (exploitation of hydrocarbons: gas and oil, intensification of fishing activities and maritime transport, urbanization, etc.), which requires new, more integrated management approaches to guarantee the sustainability of our resources and the effective preservation of our environment. Consequently, the promotion of a blue economy has become one of the priorities of the national strategy for the fisheries and maritime economy sector.
Following the official opening session, Mr. Mohamed Lemine Abdel Hamid (national hub) presented the program for the event.
The floor was then given to Mr. Matteo Bocci (Ecorys expert), who presented an overview of the WestMED initiative and the main projects underway. He placed particular emphasis on the CallMeBlue project, which aims to promote maritime clusters in the Mediterranean area, and which is due to start up next month, and in which Mauritania is involved through the Mauritanian Maritime Cluster (CMM).
After this presentation, the floor was given to Mr. Hamadi Baba Hamadi, President of the Mauritanian Maritime Cluster (CMM), who presented the progress made in setting up the Mauritanian maritime cluster and the roadmap for its operationalization.
Mr. Tommaso Scavone, Coordinator of the REBOOT MED project, then gave a detailed presentation of the project.
Following these presentations, participants were divided into three thematic groups for round-table group discussions to share their views and to identify ideas related to the following topics:
Group 1: Fisheries and aquaculture, moderated by Dr. Mohamed Lemine Abdel Hamid
Group 2: Hydrocarbons and renewable energies, moderator: Mr Matteo Bocci
Group 3: Sustainable tourism and maritime spatial planning (MSP), moderator: Mr. Tommaso Scavone.
Each group spent two hours discussing opportunities and challenges, and identifying possible solutions in the form of regional/national project ideas to be submitted to the 5th Arab Summit for Economic and Social Development that is planned for 2024
The event was featured on the news the same night by Télévision Nationale Al Mauritaniya with the opening statement by Mr Sidi Ali Sidi Boubaccar General Secretary of the Ministry of Fisheries and National coordinator for Mauritania of the WESTMED Initiative
The new guide on financing opportunities for the Green Energy Transition of Fisheries and Aquaculture is out!
The guide is set to support the sectors through EU funding under the 2021-2027 financial framework and NextGenerationEU. The comprehensive guide aims to elucidate diverse funding options for the energy transition by targeting a broad audience, including enterprises, public administrations, research institutions, and civil society organisations. It distinguishes itself by offering a tailored approach, swiftly aiding stakeholders in identifying and assessing applicable EU funding sources. Covering areas like vessel innovation, energy-efficient gear, and aquaculture management, the guide complements existing European Commission tools and undergoes regular updates to incorporate newly identified funds.
All information can be found in the Energy Transition Partnership
EIB, EBRD, UfM, EC, AFD, CDP, KfW, donors and beneficiary countries sign cooperation agreement at COP28
At COP28, partners and donors involved in the Blue Mediterranean Partnership reinforced their support for developing the sustainable blue economy in the southern Mediterranean region. The parties involved signed a letter of intent to make their participation in the Partnership official and to make the Partnership operational in early 2024.
The Blue Mediterranean Partnership aims to tackle the threats the Mediterranean Sea faces by coordinating the financing of blue economy projects in the Mediterranean and Red Sea regions, focusing initially on Egypt, Jordan and Morocco.
Through a new multi-donor fund managed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the Blue Mediterranean Partnership seeks to secure additional funding from sovereign donors for project preparation and blended finance. Today in Dubai, the European Commission announced a contribution of €1 million, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) contributed SEK 75 million (€6.5 million), and the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) announced a €2 million contribution. In the coming months, Germany and Spain are also expected to announce donations, with additional donors to follow.
The European Investment Bank (EIB), AFD, Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) and the EBRD – will act as implementing financial institutions and cooperate to co-finance blue economy projects, which will benefit from the grants provided by the Partnership, mobilising also existing financial resources provided by the European Commission through the Neighbourhood Investment Platform and the European Fund for Sustainable Development Plus (EFSD+).
Lastly, the beneficiary countries (Egypt, Jordan and Morocco) will lead on identifying strategic blue economy projects in their territories, while the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) will act as facilitator of the political and regulatory dialogue.
Read the full article on the website of the EIB