On 19 November 2025, the EU Blue Parks Community under Mission Ocean & Waters hosted its 5th workshop "Achieving Mission Ocean and Waters Protection Targets: Showcasing the EU Blue Parks Projects." The virtual event gathered around 100 stakeholders from public authorities, businesses, research organisations and civil society. Fourteen speakers shared their project experiences and insights, exploring how Mission Ocean & Waters and Horizon Europe projects are contributing to one of the Mission's core objectives: protecting 30% of EU sea areas and strictly protecting 10% by 2030. 

The workshop presentations and recording are available on the Mission Implementation Platform.

As part of the Mission Ocean & Waters Implementation Support, Ecologic Institute plays a central role in coordinating the EU Blue Parks Community, which provides a platform to identify challenges, exchange tools and best practices, and promote innovative approaches to advancing marine protection across Europe’s sea basins. In less than two years, the EU Blue Parks Community has grown to nearly 130 members across Europe, bringing together scientists, policymakers, entrepreneurs, donors and practitioners to accelerate marine protection and restoration through knowledge-sharing, innovation and stronger governance.

Key workshop outcomes

• The workshop showcased a diverse range of Mission-funded projects, including BLUE4ALL, EFFECTIVE, BLUE CONNECT, PROTECT BALTIC, OCEAN CITIZEN, SEAMPHONI and the European Digital Twin Ocean (EDITO), as well as other EU-supported initiatives such as MPA Europe and Marine SABRES. Together, these projects address key elements of marine protection and restoration. Their work includes identifying sites for new MPAs, expanding existing areas, developing systematic and science-based conservation methods, enhancing ecological connectivity, and equipping MPA managers with practical tools. They are advancing habitat restoration pilots, supporting marine governance reforms, strengthening regional planning, and improving digital modelling capacities to better track, understand and protect marine ecosystems.
• According to the latest European Environment Agency (EEA) monitoring data, 13.7% of Europe's seas are currently protected, well below the 30% target set out in the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030. Participants agreed that accelerating MPA designation is essential but insufficient on its own. Effective protection requires high-quality management, clear conservation objectives and a coherent, well-connected network of MPAs.
• Discussions highlighted governance as a major constraint to effective implementation. Challenges include slow permitting procedures, complex administrative settings, fragmented decision-making and a lack of harmonised indicators and definitions. In addition, long-term financing, stakeholder engagement, monitoring, enforcement and sustained investment remain essential pillars for accelerating progress. Participants stressed that while inclusive co-creation processes take time, early and meaningful involvement of communities, fishers, industries and civil society enhances ownership, improves implementation and increases the uptake of project tools and solutions.
• The workshop also emphasised the transformative potential of emerging ocean technologies. Real-time data streams can reshape monitoring and enforcement, the European Digital Twin Ocean enables advanced scenario-modelling, and citizen science offers rapid, large-scale data input. Participants noted that accessibility, sustainability and inclusivity are essential conditions for these tools to realise their full impact.
• The workshop reaffirmed the importance of collaboration and synergies between projects, networks and competent authorities. The EU Blue Parks Community is increasingly recognised as a leading example of this cooperative approach. By connecting diverse initiatives, it supports shared learning, reduces duplication, promotes scalable solutions and enables project results to remain in use beyond individual project lifecycles, contributing directly to a more coherent European marine protection agenda.