Atlantic News

The European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) has announced the launch of four new flagship projects under the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF), aimed at advancing sustainable blue economy across EU sea basins.

These projects are funded under the EMFAF, following the call for proposals for smart specialisation and regenerative ocean farming, focused...

EU Sea Basin Assistance Mechanism gathers experts from 15 countries to discuss maritime regional cooperation in Europe’s Atlantic facade, the Western Mediterranean and the Black Sea

On 25 September 2025, alongside the Macro-Regional and Sea Basins Strategies Days, a dedicated networking event was held in Brussels for the National Hubs of the Sea Basin Strategies’ Assistance Mechanism. The...

The 3rd meeting of the Atlantic Strategy Committee (ASC) under the Irish Presidency took place in Brussels on Friday, 26 September, following two days of the EU Macro-Regional and Sea Basin Strategy Days. The meeting brought together the European Commission, the Irish Presidency, National Representatives, National Hubs, Pillar Coordinators, and other observers.  

The morning started with a presentation from...

UNESCO has released MSPglobal: International Guide on Marine/Maritime Spatial Planning, Volume 2 – Biodiversity Inclusive Principle. 

This new volume provides practical guidance for integrating biodiversity into marine spatial planning (MSP), ensuring that conservation is a core part of ocean governance.

The guide offers tools, indicators, and case studies to help planners assess biodiversity impacts and embed ecosystem-based approaches in...

The European Commission - through CINEA - has published a new study aimed at strengthening skills development across the blue economy—covering sectors such as offshore renewables, fisheries, maritime transport, and marine biotechnology.

At the heart of the study is BlueComp, a new EU competence framework designed to guide education and training in four key areas: 

understanding the blue...

AtlanticFloat project  

The AtlanticFloat project aims to better understand the behaviour and dynamics of floating wind turbines in the Atlantic environment. It is a joint research project between industry and academia that will design a floating platform specifically for the harsh Atlantic conditions and benchmark its performance against two established floating wind platform designs.  

In addition to...

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has published a new sector report revealing a significant investment gap in the EU bioeconomy — estimated at €121.8 billion per year.

Globally, the shortfall exceeds $777 billion annually, underscoring the urgent need for targeted financing to meet sustainability goals.

The report identifies nine key subsectors where investment is most needed with agriculture...

The European Commission has launched a Call for Expression of Interest to establish a Community of Practice (CoP) under the EU Blue Economy Observatory. This initiative aims to bring together experts and stakeholders from across Europe to support the Observatory’s mission of delivering high-quality, timely data and insights on the blue economy.

The CoP will contribute to:

Enhancing methodologies...

On 9th July, the webinar “Readiness of ports to support the ORE transition - an Atlantic Strategy perspective”, organized by the Irish and Spanish National Hubs, brought together over 50 participants and featured insights from leading voices in energy, transport, and port management.

The webinar, aligned with Atlantic Strategy Pillars I and III - focusing on ports as gateways...

In a move aimed at streamlining data collection and enhancing sustainability, the European Commission has proposed a significant simplification of how fisheries and aquaculture statistics are gathered across the EU.

The new proposal consolidates five existing regulatory frameworks into a single, integrated system. This change is expected to reduce the administrative burden on Member States by allowing the...