Blue growth

Today we celebrate the World Maritime Day. With 50% of the EU population living in coastal regions, the maritime economy is of crucial importance for the EU economy as it represents 5.4 million jobs and generates more than €500 billion per year.

With global competition in tourism fiercer than ever, European coastal regions have to become creative to stay ahead of the game. As Europe joins in the celebrations on this year's World Tourism Day, the EU is therefore deepening its commitment to developing tourism in our coastal and maritime regions.

Commissioner Karmenu Vella participated in the 3rd Atlantic Stakeholder Platform Conference in Dublin, following the successful editions in Porto and Brest last year. The Commissioner reaffirmed his commitment to strengthen cooperation in the Atlantic. He expressed his appreciation for the progress made by the maritime stakeholders in the region. He also chaired the first edition of the "Atlantic project awards", rewarding the five most innovative and successful projects.

The first Blue Economy Business & Science Forum is currently taking place at the International Maritime Museum of Hamburg (12 and 13 September 2016). This initiative by the European Commission aims at improving cooperation between the public and private sectors so that research results can find their way to the market more quickly.

Speech by Commissioner Vella

The Baltic Sea is a hotbed for innovation and competitiveness, the Baltic Sea Region also features a strong tradition of transnational cooperation for working with and for a healthy Baltic Sea. In order to harness these unique characteristics, the Commission is now taking the development of the Baltic Blue Growth Agenda one step further.

The first summit of the Blue Economy Business and Science Forum took place in Hamburg on 12-13 September 2016 at the International Maritime Museum Hamburg.

The Blue Economy Business Awards recognise and reward individuals or organisations who have made a specific contribution to bringing and developing innovation in the Blue Economy.

The first summit of the Blue Economy Business and Science Forum will take place in Hamburg on 12-13 September 2016 at the International Maritime Museum Hamburg.

The European Commission is pleased to announce today the nominees for the first edition of the Blue Economy Business Awards 2016. With this prestigious annual award, the European Commission honours scientists, researchers and entrepreneurs who have made a specific contribution to bringing and developing innovation in the Blue Economy.

About 60 stakeholders from the North Sea region met on 20 and 21 June in The Hague, Netherlands for a workshop on strategic cooperation on blue growth in the North Sea area, organised by the European Commission.

Registration is now open

Speech by Commissioner Vella

European Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Karmenu Vella, and Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine, Volodymyr Kistion, opened today in Odessa a high-level stakeholder conference entitled “Conference on the blue economy of the Black Sea: Towards better integration”.

This webinar which will take place on June 2, will cover the major ways to fund projects in blue economy and show how project promoters can combine different funding sources (EFSI, EMFF, H2020 etc).

This webinar which will take place on June 2, will cover the major ways to fund projects in blue economy and show how project promoters can combine different funding sources (EFSI, EMFF, H2020 etc).