The importance of the ocean is increasingly being recognised on a global scale in terms of geopolitical balance, the maintenance of global supply chains, food security, climate change and in addressing pressing and long-lasting socioeconomic, environmental, and governance challenges. Both the African Union (AU) and the European Union (EU) acknowledge the urgent need to harness global action for the ocean while concurrently considering the bottlenecks and opportunities that lie at different levels of development across Africa and Europe. However, to date, the blue economy and ocean governance have been absent from existing AU-EU partnership.
Against this background, the European Commission Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, in partnership with the African Union, set up the Africa-Europe Strategy Group on Ocean Governance. The Africa-Europe Foundation facilitated the work of the Group.
Moving towards 2030, the Group proposes to advance effective ocean governance mechanisms and improved inclusion of regeneration in the blue economy approaches promoted by the EU and AU, at regional and national levels, given the urgent need for more resilient and healthy ecosystems to support the sustainable development of global and local economies.
The Group outlines that there is true momentum to improve the state of the ocean, a global common good, at regional and international levels – as well as to elevate it politically and financially. The key recommendation of the Strategy Group is the design, formalisation and implementation of an Africa-Europe Ocean Partnership. Such partnership would aim to promote sustainable, regenerative blue economy practices at national, regional, and continental levels, alongside the implementation of robust ocean governance mechanisms to support these efforts.