During the last “Our Ocean Conference” held in Panama on 2-3 March 2023, the European Union confirmed its strong commitment to the protection and governance of the ocean by announcing 39 action commitments for the year 2023, with a total value of 816.5 million euros for all projects.

Some of the projects the EU will finance are related to the topics of marine Protected Areas (MPAs), marine pollution, climate change, sustainable fisheries, sustainable blue economies, and maritime security. The EU has also created a commitment tracking tool, so that citizens can follow progress of the implementation of all the commitments made in the conference.

In addition to the above commitments, the EU has also decided to join the “Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing Action Alliance”, which aims at fighting against illegal, unreported, unregulated fishing.

The “Our Ocean Conference”, which was launched in 2014, aims to bring together states, civil society, and industries, working together to have safe, clean, and sustainably managed oceans. This year’s Conference closed with 410 commitments worth $16.35 billion across the six issue areas of the conference. Since 2014, the “Our Ocean Conference” has now mobilized more than 1,800 commitments worth approximately $108 billion.