EU Mission ‘Restore our Ocean and Waters’: launch of the Danube & Black Sea Lighthouse

The EU Mission ‘Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030’ officially launched a new 'lighthouse' in the Danube and Black Sea. It will bring together community and sectoral stakeholders in the region to find solutions to restore the health of the water system.

What will the Danube and Black Sea Lighthouse do?

Mission lighthouses are sites to pilot, demonstrate, develop, and deploy the Mission activities across EU seas and river basins. The main objectives of the EU Mission is to protect and restore biodiversity, cut pollution, and support a sustainable blue economy.

With the support of the Coordination and Support Mission Action EcoDaLLi (ECOsystem-based governance with DAnube lighthouse Living Lab for sustainable Innovation processes), the Danube-Black Sea lighthouse will

• centralise governance structures along the Danube river basin, and
• foster a stronger innovation ecosystem for improved ecological restoration, protection and preservation.

What happened at the launch event?

The very successful launch event took place in the Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest (Romania) on 3 and 4 April 2023 and was attended by over 200 participants. It was co-organised by the European Commission, the Romanian government, and EcoDaLLi.

The opening session included speeches by

• representatives of Romanian and Bulgarian governments
• Virginijus Sinkevičius, Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries (on video),
• Charlina Vitcheva, Director General of the Commission’s Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE),
• Kęstutis Sadauskas, Deputy Director-General of DG MARE and Mission Manager, and
• John Bell, Director of Directorate B, Healthy Planet, in the Commission’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD) and Deputy Mission Manager

The Romanian coordinator for the Common Maritime Agenda for the Black Sea (CMA), Alexandra Bogdan, also spoke in the opening session, underlining the importance of regional collaboration for the success of the Mission.

Ongoing projects

The first two Mission projects in the Danube river basin were launched in January 2023.

The DANUBE 4ALL project will test and demonstrate nature-based solutions to enhance the free-flowing status of rivers, reduce flood and drought risks, and support the continuity of habitats.

The DALIA project will deliver a tool to support decision-making for freshwater ecosystem protection, restoration, and connectivity.

The Grant Agreements for two more projects in the Danube Lighthouse area are currently being prepared and should be signed in May 2023. The projects will address the protection and restoration of wetlands, flood plains, coastal wetlands and salt marshes and their biodiversity.

27 actions in the region have also pledged in support of the Mission Charter that will contribute to the objectives of the Mission.

Background

Launched in September 2021, the EU Mission 'Restore our Ocean and Waters' aims to protect and restore the health of our ocean and waters through research and innovation, citizen engagement and investments in the blue economy. The Mission supports regional engagement and cooperation through area-based “Lighthouses” in major sea and river basins: Atlantic-Arctic, Mediterranean Sea, Baltic-North Sea, and Danube-Black Sea.

More information

Website of the EU Mission 'Restore our Ocean and Waters'

Website of the Danube and Black Sea Lighthouse launch event