In order to better understand the state-of-play for blue economy in the selected sea-basins, it is necessary to take into account the regional funding frameworks and programmes through which blue economy initiatives can be implemented and developed. Although the majority of them are EU-level focused, they target both EU and non-EU Member States, while their financial support covers a wide range of themes (e.g. education, research, digital innovation, market competitiveness, sustainable management of entreprises etc.). In this regard, these frameworks and programmes fund projects so as to promote blue businesses and, in general, to support the development of blue economy sectors -including fisheries and aquaculture, coastal and maritime tourism, and maritime transport. Furthermore, there are funding mechanisms which are specific to sea-basins, such as the Interreg programmes, that aim to provide financial resources and technical support based on the needs of each region.
1) BlueInvest, enabled by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, aims to boost innovation and investment in sustainable technologies for the blue economy, by supporting readiness and access to finance for early-stage businesses, SMEs and scale-ups. The BlueInvest Fund provides finance to funds that are wholly or partly targeting the blue economy or to individual enterprises backed by more general funds. Moreover, there are the Blue Invest Awards for SMEs and Start-ups.
2) The European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF), inter alia:
a) European Regional Development Fund
• innovation and support to small and medium-sized businesses
b) European Social Fund Plus
• Modernising labour market institutions and services
• Adaptation of workers, enterprises and entrepreneurs to change
c) European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund26
• growth of a sustainable blue economy
3) Connecting Europe Facility for Transport 2021-202727, a funding programme that supports trans-European networks and infrastructures in the sector of transport.
4) Creative Europe supports synergies between cultural and nature tourism, including coastal
and maritime heritage.
5) Horizon Europe, the financial instrument for the EU’s research and innovation strategy. In this regard, the Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership, a Horizon Europe co-funded partnership, enables an effort to pool research and innovation investments and align national programmes at pan-European scale, taking into account the sea-basin and Atlantic Ocean dimension. Most of the Baltic Sea countries (including Estonia and Sweden) are members of the partnership – in contrast to the Black Sea where Romania and Türkiye participate in.
6) The LIFE Programme is the EU’s funding instrument for the environment and climate action. Inter alia, it co-finances innovative projects regarding coastal and maritime tourism, as well as SMEs and start-ups.
7) The European Investment Bank provides SMEs with financing for investments in the 4BIZ focus sectors.
8) The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is an international financial institution which ‘’fosters the transition towards open market-oriented economies and promotes private and entrepreneurial initiative’’.
9) The World Bank provides a wide variety of financial products and technical assistance helping countries apply innovative solutions to the challenges they face.
a) The Baltic Sea Regional Project (BSRP) facilitated the restoration of a sustainable ecosystem and improved coastal zone management through the introduction of ecosystem-based approaches for land, coastal and open sea environmental management.
10) The European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency provides support to European innovators, researchers, businesses and consumers, opening up opportunities for SMEs.
11) The Interreg Baltic Sea Region programme is a source of EU funding covering the above-mentioned nine countries. Namely, three projects which are relevant with the 4BIZ focus sectors are:
a) The RETROUT project focalizing on an eco-brand enabled to promote the Baltic Sea as a destination for ethical and sustainable coastal fishing tourism.
b) Creative Ports focalize on internationalisation, joint value creation and peer learning in cultural and creative industries.
c) The BestAgersLighthouses project (2007-2013 Baltic Sea Region) focused on the implementation of age management interventions in selected small and medium-sized enterprises and public organisations in different Baltic Sea Region countries.
12) The Interreg Euro-Med programme is a source of EU funding that aims to make the Mediterranean region smarter and greener and improve the governance between its stakeholders. It gathers 14 countries from the Northern shore of the Mediterranean: 10 EU Member States and 4 countries from the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance. Namely, two projects which are relevant with the 4BIZ focus sectors are:
a) The BLUEfasma project aims to empower innovation capacity of SMEs, maritime clusters and networks in MED islands and coastal areas to support blue circular economy growth in fishing/aquaculture
b) The PSAMIDES project helps ports authorities, clusters and technological & research centres work together as an integrated business ecosystem to optimize the performance of small and medium-sized ports though the implementation of various innovative tools
13) The Interreg ADRION programme is a source of EU funding that aims to act as a policy driver and governance innovator for the benefit of more than 70 million people in the Adriatic and Ionian region.
a) The BLUE BOOST45 project supports the potential of knowledge/technology transfer, transnational and cross-sectoral cooperation between key innovation actors (e.g., SMEs) of sectors, such as fisheries and aquaculture.
b) The ECO-NautiNET and ECO-NautiNET PLUS projects promote the realization of a common and innovative ADRION’s network dedicated to SMEs, research institutions and business support organizations with aim of improving SME’s competitiveness and innovation in the nautical sector and supporting their internationalization.
14) In the context of Interreg programmes, ENI CBC Med constitutes a hub for cooperation in the Mediterranean. The Fishery Mediterranean Network (FISH MED NET) project promotes sea-basin collaboration through working on the diversification and integration of the fisheries industry as well as the enhancement of the innovation processes and increased visibility on global markets.
15) The SwitchersFund provides and facilitates direct funding and business support services to existing and future green, circular and social entrepreneurs in the Mediterranean region. It also mobilizes local investors and enterprise support programmes as well as European resources to strengthening Mediterranean start-up projects and raise additional funds.
16) The Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA) III (2021-2027)48 provides significant financial resources and a wide range of tools and technical options to non-EU countries so as to comply with Union values and to progressively align to its rules, standards, policies and practices with a view to Union membership.
17) The Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF) 49is a joint initiative of the EU, financial organisations, bilateral donors and beneficiaries, aimed at enhancing harmonisation and cooperation in investments for the socio-economic development of the region and contributing to the European perspective of the Western Balkans.
18) The Interreg Atlantic Area programme is a source of EU funding promoting transnational cooperation among 36 Atlantic regions of five European countries. Namely, two projects which are relevant with the 4BIZ focus sectors are:
a) The INTEGRATE project facilitates the industrial transition towards Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) in the European Atlantic Area.
b) TIDE, or the ‘’Atlantic Network for Developing Historical Maritime Tourism’’ project, focalizes on the use of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality to create sustainable multi-region maritime tourism attractions (e.g., archaeology and submarine exploration fields). c) The Atlantic Smart Ports Blue Acceleration Network (AspBAN)54 helps EU Atlantic ports work as blue economy hubs, foster innovation and diversify their business models and revenue sources (Atlantic Awards Winner 2021).
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