MARITIME POLICY
European Maritime Strategies Shift Focus from Planning to Implementation
The 2026 EU Macro-Regional and Sea Basin Strategies Days in Brussels emphasized practical delivery of European territorial cooperation, highlighting blue economy development, sustainable skills training, and cross-border partnerships as key priorities for maritime regions.
maritime-forum.ec.europa.eu
· 2 MIN read
· BLUE ECONOMY
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Strategic Cooperation Takes Center Stage
The third edition of the EU Macro-Regional and Sea Basin Strategies Days, held July 8-9, brought together policymakers, regional authorities and practitioners to strengthen cooperation among Europe's four macro-regional strategies and four sea basin initiatives. The event showcased how these frameworks increasingly support resilience, competitiveness and sustainable blue economy development.
For the first time, all four Sea Basin initiatives presented a unified presence in the Networking Village, displaying projects from across Europe's maritime regions and encouraging exchanges between stakeholders. The collaborative approach demonstrated the evolution from coordination platforms toward practical delivery mechanisms for European priorities.
Blue Skills Development Highlighted
A well-attended workshop on blue skills explored cooperation between education, research and industry to prepare workforces for green and digital transitions. The session, co-moderated by representatives from the EU Sea Basins Assistance Mechanism and the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions, showcased the WestMED Technical Group on Blue Skills as a model for strengthening cooperation on education and training.
Panel discussions examined practical collaboration opportunities in green shipping, maritime spatial planning, renewable energy, sustainable tourism, and SME development. Rather than focusing solely on governance structures, participants emphasized how stronger thematic cooperation can capitalize on successful projects and increase stakeholder engagement.
Future Collaboration Framework
The event established foundations for continued cooperation through Technical Groups, National Events and Regional Sea Basin Workshops. These platforms aim to transform European-level discussions into practical initiatives involving regions, stakeholders and project communities.
Upcoming milestones include the Atlantic-WestMED Conference in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria on September 15-16, 2026, and the Common Maritime Agenda for the Black Sea Conference in Burgas, Bulgaria on September 30, 2026. Both events will address shared challenges and explore new cooperation opportunities as Europe prepares its next programming period.