The ocean is changing at an alarming rate, with direct consequences for marine life, coastlines and communities around the world. This is the main conclusion of the tenth report on the state of the ocean, published by the Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service, the EU’s Earth observation programme. The report goes back to 1960 and […]
The EU is bolstering research and innovation with an additional €500 million for Horizon Europe
The European Commission has allocated an additional 500 million euros to Horizon Europe, the EU’s flagship research and innovation programme, for 2026 and 2027. With this additional funding, the total budget now stands at around 14.8 billion euros for the two years. Furthermore, the Commission will broaden the scope of Horizon Europe by including two […]
A new strategic vision for the outermost regions, strengthening the EU’s global reach
The European Commission adopted a Communication setting out a new strategic vision for the EU’s outermost regions – French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, Réunion, Saint-Martin (France), the Azores, Madeira (Portugal), and the Canary Islands (Spain). From the Atlantic to the Caribbean, the Indian Ocean and South America, the outermost regions are a unique part of […]
The Commission proposes extending the fishing ban in the Bay of Biscay to protect dolphins until winter 2027
On 4 September, the Commission proposed extending the annual winter closure in the Bay of Biscay for fishing vessels over eight metres in length until the winter of 2027, in order to prevent the by-catch of common dolphins and other small cetaceans, species strictly protected under the EU Habitats Directive. For the fourth consecutive year, […]
The EU has pledged more than 338 million euros for the global protection of the oceans at the ‘Our Ocean’ conference held in Kenya
The European Union has pledged 338.35 million euros to support ocean conservation, sustainable fisheries and maritime safety at the Our Ocean 2026 Conference. Costas Kadis, Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans, announced the news at the event, which is taking place today and tomorrow in Mombasa, Kenya. The EU funding will help to ensure safe, clean, healthy […]
The Commission has registered two European citizens’ initiatives on the protection of biodiversity and ecosystems
The European Commission has registered two European Citizens’ Initiatives (ECI) entitled ‘Rights for Nature: Empowering citizens to represent and protectecosystems’ and‘Reconnecting nature by creating European biodiversity corridors’. The initiative “Rights for Nature: Empowering Citizens to Represent and Protect Ecosystems”calls on the Commission to “recognise the rights of nature in European law through a legal act, […]
The European Commission and the United Nations Environment Programme reaffirm their commitment to science and global environmental cooperation
The European Commission and the United Nations reiterated their support for global environmental multilateralism at a meeting. The high-level meeting held in Brussels, where Jessika Roswall, Commissioner for the Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy,met with Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), enabled both institutions to align their […]
EU reaffirms commitment to science-based multilateralism on chemicals, waste and pollution
The panel will provide authoritative and policy-relevant scientific assessments on chemicals, waste and pollution. Countries will meet in Geneva from 2 to 6 February for the first plenary session of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Chemicals, Waste and Pollution (ISP-CWP), marking a key step in the launch of a new independent scientific body. The EU […]
EU becomes major Green Bond issuer
The EU has become one of the largest issuers of green bonds in the world, according to the 2025 edition of the NextGenerationEU (NGEU) Green Bonds Annual Allocation and Impact Report, published last December 9. It shows that, a total of €78.5 billion worth of NextGenerationEU Green Bonds have been issued to date, which will […]