This report, which has been voted in the plenary meeting of 8 September 2015, is an important contribution to the EU's Blue Growth agenda. It recognizes the significant potential of the Blue Economy to create jobs and growth especially through research and innovation, and stresses the importance of action by the EU and its Member States to unlock this potential.

The Report stresses the importance of innovation in both traditional and emerging marine sectors and of embedding the sustainability dimension in our approach. We can confirm that the Commission wholeheartedly agrees with this view. It is also in line with the Commission's Communication of May 2015 on Innovation in the Blue Economy: realizing the potential of our seas and oceans for jobs and growth. Already now, we are making a major investment into research and innovation in all Blue Economy sectors through Horizon 2020, our research and innovation funding programme. These domains include marine environment, maritime transport, fisheries, aquaculture, marine biotechnology, ocean energy and maritime security. In the so-called Blue Growth Focus Area alone, which cuts across many sectors, the Commission is funding projects in 2014-2015 with a total of €144 million. Furthermore, we are taking steps to better exploit the results of these projects and to make research data more easily available.

We will be taking careful note of all the recommendations made in this this report. We will continue our efforts on developing the European Blue Economy and look forward to working closely with the European Parliament and the Member States in exploiting its potential."