At the Mission Ocean and Waters Forum, Commissioners Zaharieva and Kadis welcomed communities engaged in the EU Mission ‘Restore our Ocean and Waters,’ along with representatives from nearly 100 Horizon Europe projects.
Taking place during the European Ocean Days (3-7 March), the Forum and connected events brought together 1,800 stakeholders including policymakers, regional authorities, cities, islands, ports and rivers, fisheries and conservation communities to review progress and to set the future direction of the Mission. Youth, researchers, innovators, and the European Blue Parks community also showcased the most promising solutions to restore our ocean and waters.
The Commissioners highlighted the need to focus on a Mission deployment agenda until 2030, and to intensify efforts to embed the Mission in future EU Ocean and Waters policies.
Startups, Research and Innovation Commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva said:
“The Mission Ocean Forum is about action, not just ambition. With over 1,000 commitments to the Mission Charter, communities across Europe are stepping up to protect our ocean and waters. Now, we need to turn that energy into lasting change. The Mission’s deployment agenda will help scale up real solutions—cleaner waters, restored ecosystems, and a stronger blue economy. By embedding this work into EU policies, we’re making sure these efforts don’t just make a difference today, but for generations to come.”
Fisheries and Oceans Commissioner Costa Kadis said:
“The ocean offers us many opportunities, but in return we must treat it with care. With the new European Ocean Pact, we are entering into a new era for the EU ocean governance, with the preservation of our blue planet at its heart. Research and innovation will play a critical role in this effort, helping us address complex challenges and making our blue economy more competitive and resilient.”
The Forum presented the progress and major achievements of the Mission across its four lighthouses: the Atlantic and Arctic, Baltic and North Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea and the Danube. It showcased innovative solutions to restore our ocean and waters, to reduce their pollution and promote a circular and carbon-neutral blue economy.
Examples from across all four of the Mission’s lighthouses included restoring wetlands to improve flood resilience, deploying ocean-cleaning robots, clearing litter from rivers, decarbonising small-scale fisheries, and training ‘ocean gardeners’ to regenerate underwater forests. It also gave a voice to the Mission’s communities at national, regional and local level.
Moreover, the Forum featured an exhibition of 17 Horizon Europe-funded Mission projects, showcasing their mobilisation and concrete solutions for protecting and restoring aquatic ecosystems, for the prevention of pollution, for making the blue economy more circular as well as the Digital Twin of the Ocean and citizen science and engagement.
Discussions focused on the Mission’s strategic direction and the next steps for deploying, replicating, and scaling innovative solutions to benefit local communities. The event highlighted the increasing involvement of citizens, public authorities, researchers, NGOs, businesses, and policymakers, demonstrating a strong, collective commitment to achieving the Mission’s objectives.
Background
EU Missions are a new way to bring solutions to some of society’s greatest challenges. They have ambitious goals and will deliver tangible results by 2030.
Launched in September 2021, the EU Mission ‘Restore our Ocean and Waters’ aims to protect and restore the health of our ocean and waters by 2030 through research and innovation, citizen engagement and investments in the sustainable blue economy. The Mission addresses the ocean and waters as one interconnected system and plays a key role in achieving climate neutrality and restoring nature.
The Mission supports regional engagement and cooperation through area-based ‘lighthouses’ in major sea and river basins: Atlantic-Arctic, Baltic-North Sea, Danube-Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea. Mission lighthouses are sites to pilot, demonstrate, develop and deploy the Mission activities across EU seas and river basins.