EU Blue Partnership for Sustainable Blue Economy
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
- Funding Goal
- Research and innovation projects contributing to a climate-neutral, sustainable, and resilient blue economy across European sea basins (Mediterranean, Black Sea, Baltic, North Sea, Atlantic). The third call focuses on advancing sustainable ocean science and innovation that engages civil society, academia, policy, and industry.
- Funding Amount
- €43.5 million total for the third joint transnational call; individual project allocations not specified on the page (up to 43.500.000 €)
- Deadline
- 2026-06-17 (Fixed)
- How to Apply
- Two-stage process: pre-proposals submitted by 17 November 2025 (closed), full proposals due 17 June 2026. Applications through the call secretariat. Contact: sbep.call-secretariat@uefiscdi.ro
- Target Region
- European sea basins — Mediterranean, Black Sea, Baltic Sea, North Sea, Atlantic Ocean
- Contact
- sbep.call-secretariat@uefiscdi.ro; Partnership coordinated by Italy's Ministry of Universities and Research: sbep@mur.gov.it
- Official Page
- https://www.bluepartnership.eu/funding-opportunity/sustainable-blue-economy-partnerships-third-joint-transnational-call
- Last Checked
- 2026-05-07 08:49
Application Checklist
Eligibility
Project Scope
Required Documents
Constraints
Summary
The Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership is a Horizon Europe co-funded research and innovation partnership uniting 74 partner institutions from 32 countries and the European Commission. It was established to pool research and innovation investments and align national programmes at pan-European scale, with a seven-year strategy and €450 million planned investment. The partnership covers all major European sea basins — Mediterranean, Black Sea, Baltic Sea, North Sea, and Atlantic Ocean. Its work is guided by a Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) 2024-2026 focused on the transformation toward a sustainable, climate-neutral blue economy. Priority themes include ocean governance, sustainable fisheries, coastal and marine ecosystem health, blue biotechnology, marine energy, and citizen and civil society engagement in ocean science. The third joint transnational call invites transnational research consortia to submit proposals for research and innovation projects. The call is currently in the full proposal stage (pre-proposals were due 17 November 2025; full proposals are due 17 June 2026). The total budget for this call is €43.5 million. Projects must be transnational in nature and involve partners from eligible participating countries. Eligible applicants are research institutions, universities, innovation entities, and SMEs from participating countries. Proposals must fit the SRIA and demonstrate the potential to contribute to a climate-neutral, sustainable, and resilient blue economy. The partnership emphasizes engagement of civil society, academia, policy, and industry in its calls. In addition to co-funded calls, the partnership organises transnational access to research infrastructures, thematic workshops, and knowledge exchange activities. A separate Transnational Access Call to Research Infrastructures was launched in February 2025 (now closed). The partnership also facilitates synergies between Horizon Europe funding and national funding streams.
Historical Context
The Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership launched in January 2023 in Rome. The first call (2023) funded 19 projects totalling €450M planned over 7 years. The second call (2024) resulted in 24 projects recommended for funding in March 2025. The third call is the current active call. A transnational access call to research infrastructures was also launched in 2025 (now closed).
Why it was added
EU-level blue economy partnership with potential funding and cooperation opportunities for marine conservation NGOs
Sources
- https://www.bluepartnership.eu/
- https://www.bluepartnership.eu/funding-opportunities
- https://www.bluepartnership.eu/funding-opportunity/sustainable-blue-economy-partnerships-third-joint-transnational-call