Study on maritime clusters in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea

DG MARE has commissioned a study to provide policy makers at the EU and sea-basin levels an updated analysis of the current status and potential development of maritime clusters in the Mediterranean and Black Sea areas.

In order to realise this aim, the study:

+ Provides insights into the state of the art of existing clusters in the field of the maritime economy, in the Black Sea and in each of the four Mediterranean sea-basins, and identifies their specialisation, functioning and overall performance. This helps to identify the most important maritime economic activities in each sea-basin, from a clustering perspective;

+ Brings together local stakeholders to discuss issues at the cluster but also at the sector level;

+ Develops a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses, from a clustering perspective, of the most important maritime economic activities in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea areas;

+ Identifies possible existing international cluster cooperation in the maritime sector between EU and non-EU countries;

+ Assesses the possible implementation of maritime clusters concepts in each region and for the relevant sectors; and

+ Develops a ground for future activities and policy initiatives that can best trigger innovation and promote sustainable growth at a cluster as well as at a sea-basin level.