Cooperating for sustainable development

European seas and coasts are important drivers of the economy. In 2012 the EU’s blue economy represented 5.4 million jobs and a gross added value of just under €500 billion per year2. In all, 75% of Europe’s external trade and 37% of trade within the EU is seaborne. Much of this activity is concentrated around Europe’s coasts, but not all. Some landlocked countries host very successful manufacturers of marine equipment.

The blue economy is rather diverse and encompasses sectors such as coastal tourism, offshore oil and gas, deep-sea shipping, short-sea shipping, yachting and marinas, passenger ferry services, cruise tourism, fisheries, inland waterway transport, coastal protection, offshore wind, monitoring and surveillance, blue biotechnology, desalination, aggregates mining, marine aquatic products, marine mineral mining, ocean renewable energies. The individual sectors are interdependent and rely on common skills and shared infrastructures such as ports and electricity distribution networks.
The Blue Growth initiative sets out to harness the untapped potential of Europe’s oceans, seas and coasts for jobs and growth. As such, it represents the maritime dimension of the Europe 2020 Strategy.

Against this backdrop, “smart development” in the context of this workshop session was understood as the development of Europe’s blue economy based on knowledge and innovation. Taking up the Europe 2020 goals in the broader sense, smart development of the blue economy requires the development of innovative sectors, strengthening of research and innovation as well as promotion of education and lifelong learning to ensure the long-term competitiveness of the economy.

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