European Ocean Community Commits to the European Ocean Pact

This event marked a crucial moment of engagement with the newly launched European Ocean Pact. Stakeholders from civil society, institutions, and the scientific community reflected on the Pact’s priorities, shared experiences from projects aligned with its principles (notably those under Horizon Europe and the Starfish Mission), and strengthened collective ownership of its vision.

Introduction

·      Geneviève Pons, Europe Jacques Delors, Director General and Vice-President.  

·      Catherine Chabaud, Institut Français de la Mer, Vice-President.

·      Costas Kadis, European Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans.

1. Strengthening European Ocean Governance

Moderation Geneviève Pons and Catherine Chabaud  

·      Christophe Clergeau, MEP, S&D, France, President of SEArica.

·      Monica Verbeek, Executive Directive, Seas at Risk.

2. Tackling marine pollution in all its forms and protecting and restoring marine, coastal, and freshwater ecosystem

Moderation Geneviève Pons and Catherine Chabaud

·      Spyros Kouvelis, Starfish Mission Board member, former Greek Minister of State for Economic, Environmental and Cultural Affairs.

·      Isabella Lövin, MEP, Greens/EFA, Sweden.

3. Advancing knowledge and raising citizen awareness on ocean sustainability Moderation Geneviève Pons and Catherine Chabaud  

·      Pascal Lamy, Co-chair of the Blue Economy and Finance Forum (BEFF), Europe Jacques Delors, Vice-President.

·      Alain Arnaud, Copernicus Marine Service, Head of Digital Ocean Program.

·      Richard Brisius, Race Chairman, The Ocean Race.

4. Sustaining a sustainable and regenerative blue economy

Moderation Geneviève Pons and Catherine Chabaud

·      João Rito, BLUEBIO ALLIANCE, President.

·      Dr. Sylvain Pioch, Montpellier 3 University, Lab. LAGAM, FISHWIND project.

Conclusion

·      Tiago Pitta e Cunha, CEO,  Oceano Azul Foundation.

·      Geneviève Pons and Catherine Chabaud