Innovation in the blue economy: realising the potential of our seas and oceans for jobs and growth

Summary:

Communication adopted by the European Commission on 8 May 2014, which sets out an Action Plan for Innovation in the so-called Blue Economy.

Further information:

This Communication sets out the European Commission's plans for addressing the following issues:

• gaps in knowledge and data about the state of our oceans, seabed resources, marine life and risks to habitats and ecosystems;
• diffuse research efforts in marine and maritime science that hinders inter-disciplinary learning and slows the progress of technological breakthroughs in key technologies and innovative business sectors;
• lack of scientists, engineers and skilled workers able to apply new technologies in the marine environment.

The document follows up on work launched by the Commission's 2011 Communication on Blue Growth, and on the support already provided by the EU's Innovation Union. This Flagship Initiative in particular identified a number of weaknesses relating to innovation in this field, lack of collaboration between the public and private sectors, and lack of skilled workforce.

Official

EUR-Lex: SWD(2014)149: Marine knowledge 2020: roadmap http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=SWD:2014:149:FIN

European Commission: Press Release, 08/05/2014: EU eyes oceans innovation as source of sustainable growth https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_14_536

European Commission: Memo, 08/05/2014: Questions and Answers on innovation in the blue economy https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/MEMO_14_336

European Commission: Memo, 08/05/2014: Blue Economy Innovation: examples of EU marine research https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/MEMO_14_337

European Commission: Speech, 08/05/2014: Blue Innovation: Removing the bottlenecks for sustainable investment in our seas https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/SPEECH_14_362

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