Atlantic Ocean and North Sea Workshop outcomes

On 26 September 2024, the Atlantic Ocean and North Sea Workshop took place in Saint Malo. This event was one of the series of events organized in EU sea basins by the MSP-GREEN project, co-funded by the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund, dedicated to the implementation of the European Green Deal through Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP).

During this workshop, the main results of the MSP-GREEN project (recommendations for European Green Deal (EGD) implementation within the MSP process) were discussed from the specific perspectives of the Atlantic and Channel-North Sea basins.

The workshop was an opportunity for cross-basin discussions exploring how both the Atlantic Maritime Strategy (AMS) and the Greater North Sea Basin Initiative (GNSBI) can contribute to key objectives of the EGD, taking into account their specific and common features.

Discussions recalled how voluntary cooperation under the umbrella of the AMS can be a booster for the Blue Economy within the Atlantic, where AMS parties and stakeholders have common issues and can implement the EGD in accordance with their own specificities and priorities (i.e. Pillars of the AAP2.0).

It was also the opportunity to engage in a cross-sea basin dialogue, in particular on how the AMS and its AAP2.0 can provide some practices for the GNSBI, which is under consolidation, particularly regarding its governance. It was all the more interesting to consider the development of potential synergies and common areas of interest as the two sea basin initiatives share common maritime spaces (Channel and Celtic Sea).

In line with the French Presidency for the AMS and its Porto Ministerial declaration, it was an opportunity to exchange on how MSP has been considered as an enabler for an enhanced operationalization of the AMS and the EGD via a nested approach, through specific strategies from the sea basin, national, to local level, thanks to the MSP Directive implementation and in accordance with its Articles 11 and 12 related to cooperation.

For more information: here.