Working Group Leaders

Representatives of Brussels-based offices leading the work of Blue Growth Working Group.

Blue Growth WG Leader

Leader

Saara Nuotio-Coulon

Turku-Southwest Finland EU Office

Martine Elise Farstad

Leader

Martine Elise Farstad

South Norway European Office in Brussels

Aki Ishiwa

Leader

Aki Ishiwa

Emilia Romagna Region - ART-ER Attractiveness Research Territory

Sylwia Skwara

Leader

Sylwia Skwara

Pomorskie Regional EU Office

Blue Growth

The Working Group focuses on the blue economy covering both marine and maritime research and innovation areas with the intention to support members with their regional strategies (S3 and sea basin) in the field. Sustainability and the digital challenges related to the marine and maritime sector are key issues. The group aims to foster participation in present and future European funding programmes and initiatives and to build partnership between members.

Annual Plan

ERRIN Contact

Anna Tranberg
Next Working Group Meetings

Next Working Group Meetings

Blue Growth WG

Blue Growth WG webinar: Mission Healthy Oceans, Seas, Coastal and Inland Waters

Anna Tranberg

The European research and innovation mission area on healthy oceans, seas, coastal and inland waters will be an integral part of Horizon Europe. The suggested title by the Mission Board is “Restore

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Last Working Group Meetings

Last Working Group Meetings

Blue Growth WG

Webinar: European Partnership on zero-emission waterborne transport

Anna Tranberg

In light of the current COVID-19 concerns, the event will be organised as a webinar. We thank you in advance for your understanding. To register for the webinar, please use the following link. 

PRESENTATION
Bioeconomy WG

Future prospects of algae cultivation for a greener and more sustainable society

Anna Tranberg

Algae – being a rich source of proteins, antioxidants, and oils – is becoming increasingly interesting as a sustainable raw material in food, feed, nutrition supplements as well as bioplastics and

PRESENTATION
WG Events

WG Events

JPI Oceans

JPI Oceans beyond 2020: A stakeholder consultation forum

This event has been postponed, for more information click the links below.  The Forum will bring together diverse stakeholders to solicit feedback, engagement and discussion on the draft Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) of JPI Oceans. This event will represent a crucial step towards the revision of the SRIA 2015-2020. The revised strategy will aim to provide a framework and direction allowing JPI Oceans to add value to national research and innovation efforts, to address European science and policy ambitions and to contribute to global marine and maritime agendas.  Forum…

Blue Growth WG

Webinar: European Partnership on zero-emission waterborne transport

In light of the current COVID-19 concerns, the event will be organised as a webinar. We thank you in advance for your understanding. To register for the webinar, please use the following link.  Welcome to the first Blue Growth WG meeting of the year where we will explore the future of clean waterborne transport.  In the meeting, we will be joined by Mr. Jaap Gebraad who will present the proposed European Partnership on zero-emission waterborne transport including the definition and objective. More information on the partnership can be found here. With the Green Deal, a substantial part…

A green boat

New green deal and new industrial policy: a new agenda for maritime industries

An interactive discussion on the development of maritime industries as a key economic driver for Europe's coastal regions in light of regional decarbonisation is the subject of an upcoming session at the Committee of the Regions. Advanced maritime technologies, the latest developments in the blue growth field and smart specialisation strategies will all feature in the discussion among stakeholders, which will be followed by an extensive question and answer session.  To learn more and to register, please click here. 

Women and stem

Women & STEM: IWD breakfast discussion

For its annual International Women's Day event, this year the Nordic diplomatic representations and cultural institutes are hosting a breakfast discussion on the subject of women and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).  The discussion will address the problem of a scarcity of women in the STEM fields, ask how to tackle it and bridge collaborations for equality within different areas of STEM. The role of quotas will be discussed, as well as how women in STEM will contribute to innovations in the future.  The event will be opened by Sweden's Ambassador to Belgium, Annika…

Poster

Mission Clean Oceans: how can science and innovation tackle ocean pollution?

JPI Oceans and SEARICA are to present a discussion on how science and innovation can tackle the challenge of ocean pollution. The issue of ocean pollution, both plastic and more, is a key issue that needs to be addressed if the European Commission's ambitious climate-neutral goals are to be met. This event will present the progressing discussions of the Oceans Mission Board, as a panel of experts and stakeholders will discuss how science and innovation can tackle this problem. More information and details about joining the waiting list can be found here. 

Bioeconomy WG

Future prospects of algae cultivation for a greener and more sustainable society

Algae – being a rich source of proteins, antioxidants, and oils – is becoming increasingly interesting as a sustainable raw material in food, feed, nutrition supplements as well as bioplastics and other materials. The applications are manifold, from pharmaceutical uses to biofuel and algal oil replacing fish oil. Research and innovation are needed to improve the techniques for mass production and processing and as pointed out in the Blue Bioeconomy Forum’s roadmap (published in November 2019) the legislation around the algae sector is a major bottleneck to advance the sector. In this meeting…

WG Related Content

WG Related Content

Announcement

Information concerning the COVID-19 outbreak and ERRIN meetings

  Considering the current outbreak of the Coronavirus and cancellations of some events taking place in Brussels, we would like to inform members that for the time being all ERRIN Working Group meetings will take place as planned, unless communicated otherwise. We advise all our members to follow our communications in the coming weeks for possible updates on the current situation.    

EU Green Deal

European Commission unveils European Green Deal

Today the European Commission is presenting the ‘European Green Deal’ in the European Parliament. The deal, presented by President Ursula von der Leyen and Frans Timmermans, is pitched to be a response to the challenges of climate change and a bid to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. It is also an integral part of the Commission’s strategy to implement the UN 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals. One of the goals is to mobilise European research and foster innovation. The ambitious deal lays out plans for caring for the continent’s natural capacity while…

The poster for the Blue Economy Window call

Blue Economy Window call launched

The European Maritime and Fisheries Fund has this week launched a €22.5 million open call. For-profit SMEs (both single and consortia) can apply to recieve anywhere between €700,000 and €2,500,000 for proposals that bring to market new products, services and business models that have the potential to create profitable activities.  The call is launched as part of the BlueInvest platform and hopes to support the sustainable development of the blue economy across SMEs in the European Union.   There will be a (webstreamed) information day on Monday 25 November. For more information please…

Regions and the blue economy - ERRIN at the European Maritime Day

  Entrepreneurship, investment, research and innovation were the key words for this year’s European Maritime Day taking place in Lisbon last week, with sessions looking at different opportunities – from energy and food to transport and tourism - offered by our oceans. The European Commission also launched the second edition of its Blue Economy Report, with a specific analysis for each Member State. ERRIN and its Blue Growth WG was there to organise one of the stakeholder workshops together with speakers from the MISTRAL Interreg project, the PERISCOPE Horizon 2020 project, STARTER incubator,…

Latest Updates

Announcement
  • By Agnieszka Wieczorek Jetha

Information concerning ERRIN Working Group meetings

In light of the current COVID-19 concerns and the guidelines given by the Belgian authorities, we regret to inform you that our upcoming Working Group meetings will be postponed or will take place online.

Announcement
  • By Agnieszka Wieczorek Jetha

Information concerning the COVID-19 outbreak and ERRIN meetings

Considering the current outbreak of the Coronavirus and cancellations of some events taking place in Brussels, we would like to inform members that for the time being all ERRIN Working Group meetings will take place as planned, unless communicated otherwise.

Microalgae and spirulina
  • By Angèle LIAIGRE

Organic production of microalgae and spirulina - The Regions are calling the European Commission to support the producers' demands

A letter is being sent to European Commissioners in order to raise awareness of regulatory restrictions on algae and cyanobacteria producers. The authors are looking for others to co-sign the letter.

Training course
  • By Agnieszka Wieczorek Jetha

'Evidence informed policymaking' training course by JRC

A 2-day training course is organised on “Evidence informed policymaking” which will aim to introduce participants to useful tools, train them to navigate between different types of evidence and research methods, and reflect on how to deal with the many challenges of evidence-informed policymaking. ERRIN has been invited to nominate up to 3 candidates.

Blue Bioeconomy Forum roadmap
  • By Anna Tranberg

Blue Bioeconomy Forum - Roadmap for the blue bioeconomy

The Blue Bioeconomy Forum was set up in 2018 as a platform for entrepreneurs, researchers, government officials and other stakeholder to further develop the blue bioeconomy. At the centre of this initiative was the creation of a roadmap to identify the future regulatory, financial assistance and product needs.

EU Green Deal
  • By Hilary Webb

European Commission unveils European Green Deal

The European Commission presents its European Green Deal ahead of a debate in the European Parliament.