EU Blue Partnership for Sustainable Blue Economy

Your notes (local)

Relevance Comment (remote)

Enriched UN / Multilateral · Found: 2026-03-10 13:23

European partnership initiative promoting sustainable blue economy through cross-border cooperation, innovation funding, and ocean governance improvements.

Source: https://www.bluepartnership.eu/

Funding Details

Funder: Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership (SBEP) / European Commission Horizon Europe
Funding Goal: Transnational research and innovation projects focused on digitalisation and innovation for resilient marine ecosystems, businesses, and communities to strengthen the EU blue economy's competitiveness. Priority areas include Digital Twins of the Ocean, blue economy sector transition, marine multi-use infrastructure, climate-smart marine spatial planning, blue bioresources (sustainable fisheries, aquaculture, new bio-based products), and resilient coastal communities and businesses.
Funding Amount: Total call budget approximately EUR 43.5 million pooled from 38 funding organisations across 28 countries; individual project budgets depend on national/regional funder rules
Deadline: 2026-06-17 (Fixed)
How to Apply: Two-stage process: pre-proposals submitted by 17 November 2025 (closed), followed by full proposal deadline on 17 June 2026. Applications via the ETAG online portal at https://proposals.etag.ee/sustainable-blue/2025. Partner search tool also available at the same platform.
Target Region: European sea basins (Atlantic, Baltic, Black Sea, Mediterranean, North Sea) with transnational scope; minimum 2 EU sea basins required per proposal
Contact: sbep.call-secretariat@uefiscdi.ro | General coordination: sbep@mur.gov.it (Italy, coordinator); Research Council of Norway (co-coordinator)
Official Page: https://www.bluepartnership.eu/funding-opportunity/sustainable-blue-economy-partnerships-third-joint-transnational-call
Last Checked: 2026-03-15 09:27

Application Checklist

Eligibility

Consortium must include partners from at least 3 participating countries requesting funding from at least 3 national funding organisations
At least 2 independent legal entities from 2 different EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries must be in the consortium

Project Scope

Project must address one of five defined priority areas (Digital Twins, blue economy sectors, climate-smart planning, blue bioresources, or resilient coastal communities)
Proposals must cover a minimum of two EU sea basins (Atlantic, Baltic, Black Sea, Mediterranean, North Sea, or European regional seas)

Required Documents

Pre-proposal form (Annex D) and full-proposal form (Annex E) must be submitted via the ETAG online portal
Impact plan following the Theory of Change (Annex A) must be included in proposals

Constraints

Project duration must be 36 months
Self-funded partners from non-participating countries/regions are allowed but do not count toward minimum consortium size
Open Access and FAIR data requirements apply (see Annex F)

Summary

The Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership (SBEP) is a European partnership co-funded under Horizon Europe that coordinates transnational research and innovation for a sustainable, competitive blue economy. Its third joint transnational call invites multi-country consortia to address key challenges at the intersection of digitalisation, marine ecosystems, coastal resilience, and sustainable blue industries. The call targets five priority areas: Digital Twins of the Ocean, blue economy sector transition and marine multi-use infrastructure, climate-smart sea-use planning, blue bioresources including sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, and resilient coastal communities. Projects must span at least two EU sea basins and last 36 months. Eligibility requires consortia from at least three participating countries (from a pool of 28, including Denmark, Germany, Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Sweden, Netherlands, and others) requesting support from at least three national funding organisations. Civil society organisations, SMEs, and public administrations are explicitly encouraged to participate as self-funded or co-funded partners. The total estimated budget is EUR 43.5 million pooled across 38 national/regional funding agencies. Full proposals are due 17 June 2026 (provisional), with pre-proposals for Round 3 having closed November 2025. The partnership is co-branded as a UN Decade of Ocean Science endorsed programme.

Historical Context

This is the third joint transnational call of the Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership, a European partnership under the Horizon Europe Programme. The partnership has launched six co-funded calls over its seven-year timeframe. Round 1 and Round 2 are now closed. Round 3 is the current active call, co-branded as a UN Ocean Decade project.

Why it was added

EU-level blue economy partnership with potential funding and cooperation opportunities for marine conservation NGOs

Sources

Similar Programs

Program	Source	Shared Tags
Horizon Europe - Mission: Restore our Ocean and Waters For NGOs For Researchers Government Multilateral Grant Arctic Baltic Sea Mediterranean North Sea Biodiversity Blue Economy Climate Coastal Protection Fisheries Marine Conservation Plastic Waste Pollution Research	EU	11
EU Blue Partnership - Transitioning Blue Economy Sectors For Researchers Multilateral Grant Baltic Sea Nordic / Denmark North Sea Aquaculture Blue Economy Coastal Protection Fisheries Marine Conservation Research Seaweed & Algae	EU	11
Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership (SBEP) For Researchers Multilateral Grant Baltic Sea North Sea Aquaculture Biodiversity Blue Economy Coastal Protection Fisheries Marine Conservation Pollution Research	EU	11
Call for proposals to support the development of Transition Agendas ... For NGOs For Researchers For Startups Government Multilateral Grant Baltic Sea Nordic / Denmark North Sea Aquaculture Biodiversity Blue Economy Circular Economy Climate Coastal Protection Fisheries Marine Conservation Plastic Waste Pollution	Nordic	11
Funding Opportunities Now Open for Baltic and North Sea ... For Communities / Cooperatives For NGOs For Researchers Multilateral Grant Baltic Sea North Sea Aquaculture Biodiversity Blue Economy Capacity Building Circular Economy Climate Coastal Protection Fisheries Marine Conservation Plastic Waste Pollution	Nordic	11

← Back to list