On Saturday 2 December, at the Blue Mediterranean Partnership's pledging conference, the European Commission committed to pledge €1 million to the recently established Blue Mediterranean Partnership.
This collaborative initiative is designed to catalyse sustainable blue economy investments in the non-EU countries of the Mediterranean region, with a focus on the Southern Neighbourhood. It is spearheaded by the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) and the EU, through the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB).
The partnership’s priority areas include plastic waste reduction, coastal resilience investments, sustainable tourism, wastewater treatment, circular economy, and marine biodiversity.
Virginijus Sinkevičius, Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries emphasised the importance of financial commitments, stating
"Political commitment is one thing, but financial commitment takes things to another level, because we need investments to develop the economy, especially if we want to make sure that all sectors and activities develop sustainably, so that our seas and ocean can keep providing for future generations."
The Blue Mediterranean Partnership aims at obtaining new financial resources from sovereign donors, channelled through a new multi-donor fund,administered by EBRD, bringing together:
- key implementing partners such as the European Commission and its financial institutions (EBRD and EIB), UfM, Agence Française de Développement (AFD), Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) and Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP),
- beneficiary countries (Egypt, Jordan, and Morocco) and
- donors (European Commission, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, AFD).
Its primary objective is to tackle the threats faced by the Mediterranean Sea by coordinating the financing of sustainable blue economy projects located in the Mediterranean and Red Sea region, focusing initially on Egypt, Jordan, and Morocco.
At the pledging conference, donors, including the European Commission, made formal statements and announced their respective pledges, with the European Commission contributing.
In the next months, announcements of additional donations are anticipated from Germany and Spain, with additional donors to follow.