Document signed by former commissioners and MEPs argues that the law planned for the end of 2025 should treat oceans as an environmental imperative and strategic asset for Europe.
The Fundação Oceano Azul and the think tank Europe Jacques Delors warned in Brussels on Wednesday of the need to treat oceans, in a future law, as an environmental imperative and a “fundamental priority.”
In a document titled “Building an Ocean Union: A Blueprint for a Transformative European Ocean Law”, signed by various figures including former commissioners, MEPs and academics, the two organisations call for a European ocean law to be the opportunity to reshape European ocean governance and consolidate Europe as a global leader in the field.
The European Ocean Law, planned for the end of this year and following the European Ocean Pact — aimed at restoring ecosystems and reducing pollution — is expected to strengthen marine protection, harmonise governance and support the so-called “sustainable blue economy.”
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In the view of the two organisations, the future law must treat oceans as “an environmental and climate imperative,” but also as a fundamental priority and an asset for Europe’s competitiveness, security and prosperity.
They argue that the European Union owes much of its progress to the sea, despite its role having been neglected, and that it is “one of the most strategic and competitive assets” of the EU.
The ocean, they argue, can no longer be seen as a sectoral concern, but as critical infrastructure underpinning most policy areas — from transport and security to water, climate change, energy, pollution, fisheries and agriculture, diplomacy, food, digital transition, defence, regional development, research, innovation and health.
Europe, the document warns, cannot ignore threats such as attacks on or competition over shipping routes, nor the large coastal tourism industry, offshore renewable energy, or the maritime transport sector.
In this regard, they consider it would be “a terrible missed opportunity” if the new law were limited to revising the EU’s Marine Strategy Framework Directive.
The new law, they stress, must at minimum cover the six priorities defined by the European Commission and endorsed by European leaders in the European Ocean Pact: ocean health, the sustainable blue economy, security and defence, ocean diplomacy, coastal and island and outermost regions, and ocean research.
A healthy ocean could sustain a sustainable blue economy worth more than three trillion dollars globally, they warn, yet financial support continues to flow to outdated and destructive industries.
They also recall that the ocean absorbs 93% of the excess planetary heat generated by humans, is home to 80% of the world’s biodiversity and produces 50% of the Earth’s oxygen.
“In other words, the ocean is what makes our European way of life possible. A transformative European Ocean Law should reflect that,” they conclude.
