Press releases/news articles

Today, the European Commission has adopted a report urging EU Member States to ratify the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Fishing Vessels Personnel (STCW-F Convention). This will offer extra protection to fishers, one of the most hazardous professions in Europe.

The European Commission, the European External Action Service, and the Government of Sweden will jointly organize a high-level EU Arctic Forum on 3-4 October 2019 in Umeå, Sweden.

On 24 March, hundreds of EU staff in Belgium have spent their lazy Sunday on the beach. “What’s new?” you might wonder. Well, they didn’t come for sunbathing, even if the weather was good for it. Nor for taking an early dip into the sea – though swimming in ice cold water is something of a national tradition here (“ijsberen”, or acting like an ice bear). Equipped with gloves, bags, litter picking sticks and a host of 12-starred paraphernalia, officials from the Commission and other institutions came to clean the beach, ahead of the tourist season.

On 19 March, more than 1000 people gathered in Brussels for this year’s largest EU event on oceans. Organised by MEP Gesine Meissner and European Commissioner Karmenu Vella, the event hosted our continent’s most influential advocates for healthy, safe and sustainable oceans. And with a large delegation of students and youth organisations in the room, the conference was more than an interesting recap of today’s status quo. It was a plea for even more ambition, from policy makers, companies and civil society, to safeguard the most precious organism of our planet: our ocean.

The full provisional programme for the European Maritime Day (Lisbon, 16-17 May), is now available with the names of speakers.

The Commission on 15 March 2019 published a report outlining the progress made on the ocean governance agenda since the adoption of a Joint Communication on International Ocean Governance, together with the High Representative of the European Union, two years ago.

European seas are a hub of human activity. Maritime transport is so omnipresent that it inevitably affects anybody working in or with the ocean.

On 19 March, the European Parliament and the European Commission organise a high-level conference on oceans: Future of the blue planet. Speakers include top representatives of leading NGOs, business, academia and government. The event will also display several EU projects that all play a unique role in protection and sustainable management of our ocean. All stakeholders and citizens interested in ocean policy are invited!

EUMOFA has released new species profiles that provide key market information and data for the most important species in the EU market, such as European hake, mussel and Norway lobster.

On 20 February in Brussels, the European Commission, in cooperation with the European External Action Service, organised a Colloquium on the Challenges of Unexploded Munitions in the Sea.

This year EMD In My Country offers a big variety of events organised in 15 EU and 5 non-EU countries: beach-cleaning activities, guided tours of ports, workshops, conferences, seminars and exhibitions on maritime themes, eco-tours and walks in areas with significant maritime heritage (cultural, environmental), excursions by boat, visits to maritime museums or former ships, shipyards and port facilities etc.

The World Bank and the European Commission have launched the Blue Economy Development Framework (BEDF). The Framework is a novelty in the area of international ocean governance. It helps (developing) coastal states transition to diverse and sustainable blue economies while building resilience to climate change.

In the framework of the EU cooperation PESCAO project, a joint fisheries surveillance operation to detect illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing was just undertaken, the operation Alexandre Baptista.

Today the European Parliament and the Council agreed on the Commission's proposal for decentralised and simplified technical rules, giving fishermen a stronger say in deciding on the best measures for sustainable fishing adapted to their specific needs.

Unexploded ammunition dumped on the seabed poses an increasing concern all around the world. In Europe, this problem is particularly felt in the Adriatic-Ionian, the North Sea and the Baltic Sea.

The European Parliament has given its consent to the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the EU and Morocco. This agreement, valid for 4 years, allocates fishing opportunities for the EU in exchange for an overall financial contribution of € 208 million euros. A substantial part of this contribution will be used to promote the sustainable development of the fisheries economy in Morocco and the Western Sahara.

Illegal fishing is the world’s third largest illegal economic activity. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN, it could value 10-20 billion euro per year. A dazzling amount, but peanuts compared to the damage it causes: collapsing fish stocks, marine ecosystem destruction, poverty among coastal regions, even forced labour and other severe human rights abuse.

Having accurate and timely data is crucial not only for policy makers but for the entire fishing sector.

The European Parliament and the Council have reached an agreement on the Commission’s proposal establishing a multi-annual plan for fish stocks in the western Mediterranean Sea, covering mainly areas that concern France, Italy and Spain. The agreement will help restore stocks in the region to levels that can ensure social and economic viability for the fishers.