On 19 and 20 May 2022, the European Maritime Day will take place both online and physically in Ravenna, Italy. This year's theme of ‘Sustainable blue economy for green recovery’ will also address Maritime Spatial Planning in a dedicated thematic session entitled: "Maritime Spatial Planning and Stakeholder Engagement". This session will allow to take stock of the progress made since 2010, with the results and lessons of multiuse projects at sea, targeting research and innovation on food security, clean energy, green transport, climate action and resource efficiency, as well as cross-boundaries projects on MSP. The session will present the progress of the EU, as a global leader on maritime spatial planning, in addressing the Green Deal’s objectives at sea and stakeholders’ engagement.

The Mediterranean Biodiversity Protection Community and the Interreg Euro-MED Academy is organising the learning programme “Ecosystem-Based Management (EBM) and Marine Spatial Planning (MSP)” from 19 April 2022 to 22 May 2022. This programme is endorsed by the IOC UNESCO UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.

Germany’s draft Wind Energy at Sea Act (WindSeeG) has been amended to include measures to accelerate the market’s development. The measures include the new expansion targets, the prioritising of offshore wind energy in maritime spatial planning, short-term tendering of additional areas and reorganisation of responsibilities in authorities and ministries.

MedCities is a partner of the Interreg-Med project BLUEfasma, which integrates and implements Circular Economy (CE) principles in the key blue growth sector of fishing, processing and marketing, as well as maritime spatial planning and maritime strategies' impacts on fisheries and aquaculture. Its overall objective is to empower the innovation capacity of SMEs, maritime clusters/networks, Public Authorities to boost blue CE growth in insular, island and coastal areas. The project already provides toolboxes and guidances such as the BLUEfasma Circularity Self-Assessment Tool, used as a unified Mediterranean measure of the SMEs readiness & willingness to invest in CE; acting as a decision support tool.

An interactive digital tool for marine spatial planning in Ireland has just been launched. This web map portal is Ireland’s first marine spatial planning portal. It links planning within the maritime area and the relevant policies for each marine sector or activity listed in the National Marine Planning Framework (NMPF).