European pact for the omni-ocean

The European Commission has adopted the European Pact for the Oceans, a comprehensive strategy to strengthen effective ocean protection, promote the blue economy and the well-being of people living in coastal areas. The pact integrates EU ocean policy into a single frame of reference, addressing the serious threats currently facing the oceans. It also implements the recommendations for fisheries and ocean protection presented in the European Commission’s policy guidelines for 2024-2029.

The European omni-ocean pact and its priorities

The European Pact for the Oceans focuses on six priorities:

1. protecting and restoring the health of the omniocene

As announced, the European Commission will support member states in restoring degraded coastal and marine habitats. Above all, it will encourage member states to establish and manage marine protected areas, and will review the Marine Strategy Framework and Marine Spatial Planning Directives.

2 Stimulate the competitiveness of the EU’s sustainable blue economy

The oceans are of great importance to sectors such as fishing, aquaculture, shipping, tourism and energy. The European Commission plans to boost the EU’s maritime industry with a new maritime strategy and an EU port strategy. It will evaluate and possibly revise the Common Fisheries Policy, as announced. In 2026, the European Commission plans to present a long-term vision for the EU’s fishing and aquaculture sectors.

3. support coastal and island communities and outermost regions

Under this priority, the European Commission will present a dedicated strategy for the development and resilience of the EU’s coastal communities, and consult with stakeholders on a new strategy for islands, as well as an updated strategy for the outermost regions.

4. advances in ocean research, knowledge development, skills and innovation

The Pact for the Oceans proposes an ambitious EU initiative on ocean observation. It will be based on an ocean research and innovation strategy and will help build its European digital twin. To raise awareness of the importance of the all-ocean, the European Commission will establish an EU intergenerational network of youth ambassadors for the all-ocean, engaging young advocates to promote sustainable use of the all-ocean in the EU and around the world.

5. improving maritime security and defense

The European Commission will strengthen cooperation between EU coast guards and navies and improve maritime border security. According to the announcements, there will be a coordinated strategy to remove unexploded ordnance from European waters, starting in the Baltic and North Sea. The European Commission also intends to make investments in Europe’s pioneering drone fleet (to use them to monitor maritime activities in real time) and technologies such as artificial intelligence and advanced sensors to enhance the EU’s maritime surveillance capabilities.

6. strengthen EU diplomacy on the seas and oceans and international ocean governance

The European Commission will step up the fight against IUU fishing by making the implementation of IT CATCH, a system for digitizing catch certificates to combat IUU fishing, mandatory from January 2026. The European Commission will strengthen European diplomacy on the seas and oceans, focusing on priorities such as the rapid global ratification and implementation of the Biodiversity Agreement beyond national jurisdiction, an ambitious plastics treaty, and the designation of three extensive marine protected areas in the Southern Ocean.

What is the significance of the European Pact for the Omniocene?

The ocean is crucial for food security, energy production and data. It is crucial to the prosperity and competitiveness of the EU’s blue economy.

As figures prepared by the European Commission show, the EU has about 70,000 kilometers of coastline, 40 percent of Europeans live within 50 kilometers of the sea, sea routes are responsible for about 74 percent of the EU’s foreign trade, and underwater communication cables account for about 99 percent of intercontinental Internet traffic. All of this makes the European Pact for the Oceans extremely important.

What will the implementation and monitoring of the European Pact for the Omniocene look like?

In order to achieve the goals of the omni-ocean pact, the European Commission will present an omni-ocean act by 2027, as announced. It is expected to establish a unified framework to facilitate the achievement of key goals, while cutting red tape. It will be based on the revised Marine Spatial Planning Directive, which will strengthen cross-sectoral coordination and management of sea basins.

The European Commission will also set up an All-Ocean Council, bringing together representatives from various ocean-related sectors to guide implementation of the pact, and will make available an EU All-Ocean Pact dashboard, providing a public, transparent and centralized platform to track progress toward its goals.