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Tarmo Ots, PA Transport Coordinator

 

Policy Area Transport intends to join the European Commission’s initiatives called BlueInvest Community and the Mission Charter of the Mission Ocean. This step aims to increase the visibility of the Policy Area outside the Baltic Sea Region, promote the objectives of the Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region around Europe, find new stakeholders, and get informed about financing opportunities. 

 

Innovative approaches and implementation of green policies characterise the Baltic Sea Region. Many transport-related companies in the region offer a wide variety of high-tech services and products worldwide. Investments in research and development (R&D) and the use of modern technologies have helped them to achieve their competitiveness not only regionally but also in the global market.

However, R&D activities require a lot of time, human resources, and funding. Policy Area Transport coordinators have had many interviews within their network and the majority of the stakeholders have emphasised the importance of European support funds to assist in developing new sustainable solutions. Therefore, the PA Transport team has decided to focus on finding different financing opportunities the EU offers and provide this information to its stakeholders. 

 

Tools to promote the Blue Economy sector

PA Transport coordinator Tarmo Ots had an opportunity to meet Ms. Andreea Strachinescu, the Head of Maritime Innovation, Marine Knowledge and Investment Unit in the DG MARE in the European Commission. Ms. Strachinescu visited Estonia to introduce initiatives such as Mission 'Restore our Ocean and waters by 2030' (shortly, Mission Ocean) and Blue Invest. These are valuable tools that assist the industry to find investments and project partners and raise the Commission’s awareness of companies and institutions acting in the blue economy sector. 

“The availability of financing is a heavy burden not only for small companies or newcomers but also a real challenge for the big players. Therefore, the European Commission has created several tools to promote the Blue Economy sector and to assist companies in creating value for Europe and increasing the prosperity of our people”, said Ms. Strachinescu. According to her, the total amount of EUR 500 mln will be mobilised to boost the blue economy sector during the period 2022—2026.

“The European Commission is inviting a wide range of stakeholders, including public and private organisations, national, regional, and local authorities, cities, ports, philanthropists, investors, enterprises, civil society, and academia to join the Mission Charter, which is a tool of the Mission Ocean. Any action to achieve the Mission objectives is important."

Ms. Strachinescu also highlights an initiative called Blue Invest. The Blue Invest aims to boost innovation and investment in sustainable technologies for the blue economy by supporting readiness and access to finance for early-stage businesses and scale-ups. 

These two initiatives are finance tools supporting not only green maritime transport and port activities but also marine environment protection, sustainable fishing, ship refit, and coastal and maritime tourism. Therefore, they could also be of interest to Policy Areas Ship, Safe, and Tourism and companies acting under their policy areas.

 

Read more about Mission Ocean and Blue Invest.