JOINT STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Synopsis of consultation activities Accompanying the document JOINT COMMUNICATION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS Setting the course for a sustainable blue planet - Joint Communication on the EU’s International Ocean Governance agenda
Date: 2022-06-24
Institutions: Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, European Commission
Subjects: biodiversity, conservation of resources, fishery management, fishing agreement, international cooperation, marine environment, marine pollution, ocean, resources of the sea, sustainable fisheries

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION HIGH REPRESENTATIVE OF THE UNION FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND SECURITY POLICY Brussels, 24.6.2022  SWD(2022) 174 final  JOINT STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT  Synopsis of consultation activities     Accompanying the document JOINT COMMUNICATION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS  Setting the course for a sustainable blue planet - Joint Communication on the EU’s International Ocean Governance agenda      {JOIN(2022) 28 final}  
 
 
INTRODUCTION 

This  synopsis  collates  the  information  on  consultation  activities  carried  out  in  2020-2022  for 
updating  the  2016  Joint  Communication  by  the  European  Commission  (EC)  and  High 
Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (HRVP) on the International 
Ocean Governance (IOG).  

The  IOG  Agenda  offers  a  coherent  frame  for  the  EU’s  contribution  towards  healthy,  clean, 
secure,  safe  and  sustainably  managed  oceans.  The  adoption  of  the  Agenda  in  2016  triggered 
international  cooperation to  improve  governance  to  protect  the oceans, strengthen international 
research  and  develop  a  sustainable  blue  economy.  The  progress  report  on  the  IOG  Agenda 
published  in  March  2019  confirmed  timely  delivery  of  most  actions  of  the  Agenda  and 
confirmed the Agenda’s value for concerted and targeted EU action. This support was echoed by 
the European Parliament’s resolution in 2020 on the European Green Deal, which highlighted the 
importance of fostering the role of the EU as a global leader in ocean governance. The update of 
the  IOG  Agenda  is  included  in  the  Commission’s  work  programme  2022  (PLAN/2021/11284) 
and in President von der Leyen’s 2021 letter of intent. 

This  synopsis  report  compiles  and  analyses  information  on  consultation  activities  carried  out 
over the years from 2020 to 2022. They include the activities of the IOG Stakeholder Forum, the 
targeted online consultation on the IOG, as well as the consultation of stakeholders in relation to 
the Commission’s ‘Call for Evidence’ document in early 2022. 

The IOG Stakeholder Forum, the targeted online consultation on the  IOG and the responses to 
the ‘Call for Evidence’ document confirmed the relevance of the Agenda, supported its renewal 
and presented recommendations for its development to ensure the EU’s continued leadership in 
achieving  global  sustainability  objectives.  This  document  provides  an  overview  of  these 
consultation activities as well as analysis related to the recommendations by the stakeholders and 
conclusions on how they were taken into account in the update of the IOG Agenda. 

1.  CONSULTATION 

The  consultation  strategy  consisted  of  various  types  of  stakeholder  engagement  activities 
organised from 2020 to 2022. The activities included online conferences, meetings, workshops, a 
targeted  online  consultation  as  well  as  consultation  on  a  ‘Call  for  Evidence’  document  on  the 
EC’s initiative to update the IOG. The aim was to enable all interested stakeholders and experts 
to have their say.  

The  International  Ocean  Governance  Stakeholder  Forum  was  established  by  the  EC  and  the 
HRVP in 2020. The Forum was intended to serve as a platform for all stakeholders to share their 
expertise, understanding, experiences and good practices on ocean governance and it carried out 
activities  in  2020  and  2021.  It  involved  a  consortium  of  consultants,  including  scientific 
institutions  and  think  tanks,  to  support  the  organising  of  the  consultation  activities  of  the  IOG 
Stakeholder Forum. 

Stakeholder  involvement  activities  of  the  IOG  Stakeholder  Forum  included  three  main  online 
conferences: 

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o  International Ocean Governance (IOG) Forum virtual event on 22-24 April 2020,  
o  The second virtual IOG Forum event on 14-16 December 2020,  
o  The third and final virtual meeting of the IOG Forum on 20 April 2021 

In addition to, or in association with the conferences, thematic online working group discussions, 
webinars and workshops were organised, focusing on thematic challenges, practical experiences, 
solutions and pre-conditions for success. 

A targeted online Consultation on International Ocean Governance was conducted in EU survey 
between  15  July  and  15  October  2020  targeting  stakeholders  within  and  beyond  Europe.  The 
consultation  aimed  to  identify  relevant  actions  in  the  light  of  challenges  and  opportunities  to 
deliver global sustainability objectives for the ocean, in particular, the Sustainable Development 
Goal on the ocean (SDG14) under the 2030 Agenda, in support of the European Green Deal. The 
targeted online consultation complemented the International Ocean Governance Forum.  

In addition to the activities of the Stakeholder Forum and the targeted consultation,  a study on 
the implementation of SDG14 by the EU and its Member States was published in May 2021. The 
study  provided  background  information  on  the  status  of  implementation  of  the  Sustainable 
Development  2030  agenda  and  progress  of  implementing  SDG14  on  life  under  water  and 
supported the development of recommendations based on the output from the IOG Stakeholder 
Forum. 

In  2022,  following  EC’s  better  regulation  rules,  a  ‘Call  for  Evidence’  document  “Setting  the 
course  for  a  sustainable  blue  planet,  an  update  of  the  international  ocean  governance  agenda” 
was published with the objective to update the 2016 IOG Agenda. The intention was to inform 
the public and stakeholders about the initiative and to offer a possibility to provide feedback and 
participate  effectively.  The  ‘Call’  was  open  from  18  January  to  15  February  2022  in  the  EC’s 
Have Your Say portal.  

2.  RESPONSES TO THE CONSULTATIONS 

The  IOG  Stakeholder  Forum  events  in  2020  and  2021  brought  together  up  to  350  ocean 
stakeholders and experts per meeting, including EU Member States, international organisations, 
the  private  sector,  civil  society  and  science  actors.  Altogether,  the  IOG  Stakeholder  Forum 
provided  a  platform  for  about  1000  actors  for  interactive  dialogue  to  share  and  discuss 
challenges, practical experiences, solutions and pre-conditions for success. 

The  contributions  obtained  through  the  IOG  Stakeholder  Forum  activities  in  2020-2021  were 
compiled by the consortium in a final report with recommendations for priority EU actions. The 
final  report  with  recommendations  is  the  main  outcome  of  IOG  Stakeholder  consultation 
activities.  It  was  developed  through  a  co-creative  process  with  experts  from  the  EC  and  the 
EEAS.  In  addition,  the  thematic  groups  of  the  IOG  Stakeholder  Forum  made  available  three 
thematic  discussion  papers  1:  Improving  the  International  Ocean  Governance  framework,  2: 
Reducing  pressure  on  the  ocean  and  seas  and  creating  the  conditions  for  a  sustainable  blue 
economy and 3: Strengthening international ocean research, data and knowledge. 

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The  targeted  online  Consultation  on  International  Ocean  Governance  in  2020  received  123 
contributions  from  a  broad  range  of  stakeholders,  including  governments,  international 
organisations, business representatives, associations, NGOs, and academia. 79% of the responses 
came  from  the  EU,  including  international  organisations  based  in  the  EU,  and  21%  originated 
from  non-EU  countries.  The  results  of  the  targeted  consultation  on  IOG  are  presented  in  the 
Summary of the results of the targeted consultation on International Ocean Governance (2021). 
This  consultation  also  fed  the  work  of  the  IOG  Stakeholder  Forum  and  contributed  to  its 
recommendations for action. 

Altogether 52 responses were received in response to the ‘Call for Evidence’ document “Setting 
the course for a sustainable blue planet, an update of the international ocean governance agenda”. 
Most of the responses were from non-governmental organisations and EU citizens but responses 
were  received  also  from  one  public  authority,  one  research  institution,  two  environmental 
organisations and an UN agency. A summary of the responses to the Call for Evidence report is 
available at Setting the course for a sustainable blue planet, an update of the international ocean 
governance  agenda  (europa.eu).  Overall,  the  feedback  received  confirmed  the  support  to  the 
updating  of  the  IOG  Agenda  and  recommendations  for  action  covered  largely  the  same  topics 
addressed also by the IOG Stakeholder Forum and the targeted consultation. 

3.  MAIN RESULTS 

Responses  by  the  stakeholders  to  the  consultations  by  the  IOG  Stakeholder  Forum  and  the 
targeted online consultation confirmed that the EC and the HRVP are taking an important step by 
updating the International Ocean Governance Agenda. They also confirmed that the EU should 
play a strong role in strengthening international  ocean governance, while highlighting the need 
for further action at home and abroad. Many contributions underlined the importance of updating 
the Agenda to ensure EU’s support towards achieving global sustainability objectives pertaining 
to  the  ocean.  This  leadership  was  proposed  to  inter  alia  build  on  external  partnerships  and 
targeted initiatives backed by solid delivery within the EU.  

Whilst perceptions varied on how this could be achieved, the majority of the contributors made a 
clear call for the EU to:  

  Lead  by  example  through  effective  and  timely  delivery  of  its  own  maritime,  marine 

conservation and sustainable resource use policies, including fisheries policy; 

  Give a clear priority to ecosystem conservation and restoration for improving the overall 
status of the marine environment through reinforcing action for climate change resilience, 
reversing biodiversity loss and halting and removing pollution; 

  Drive  a  sustainable  blue  economy  by  paying  equal  regulatory  attention  to  all  sectors, 
inclusive  decision-making  and  strengthening  social 

promoting 
transparent  and 
sustainability considerations; 

  Facilitate, support and promote cooperation among and within sectoral polices to ensure 

policy coherence at and across all levels, notably at regional scale; 

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  Foster  the  effective  use  of  spatial  management  tools  and  instruments  for  ensuring 
sustainable  and  ecosystem-based  balance  between  different  uses,  which  should  be 
sustainable, and the conservation prerequisites; 

  Ensure  evidence-based  policy  making  by  strengthening  ocean  research  and  scientific 
advice  in  response  to  policy-needs  backed  by  sustainable  funding,  coordinated 
infrastructures,  the  development  of  operational  integrated  ocean  services  and  data 
collection,  facilitated  through  tailor-made  science-policy  interfaces,  digital  innovative 
infrastructures and existing space programs;  

  Promote  and  upscale  the  coordinated  and  coherent  use  of  critical  enablers  such  as 
financial  support  and  investment,  capacity  building  and  ocean  literacy  to  empower  and 
to 
mobilise 
sustainability. 

tomorrow’s  actors  and  stakeholders  on 

todays  and 

transition 

the 

Responses to the ‘Call for Evidence’ document on the EC and HRVP’s joint initiative to update 
the  IOG in  the beginning of 2022 further confirmed the support of stakeholders to  the broader 
aims of the EC and HRVP to safeguard ocean health, release the sustainable potential of the blue 
economy and to tackle effectively climate change, pollution, biodiversity loss and other impacts 
from  human  activities  and  illegal  activities  at  sea  by  promoting  a  shared  and  integrated 
management approach at all levels.  

The  input  to  the  ‘Call’  contained  proposals  and  recommendations  for  actions  that  related  to 
governance (e.g. secure an ambitious new global legally binding treaty on marine biodiversity of 
areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ) and conclude WTO negotiations on fisheries subsidies 
disciplining  harmful  subsidies),  rendering  fisheries  and  aquaculture  sustainable,  increasing 
sustainability  of  shipping,  extending  the  networks  of  marine  protected  areas,  improving  the 
protection of species and restoring ecosystems, regulating, restricting or banning exploitation of 
sea-bed  resources  like  sea-bed  mining,  making  marine  tourism  sustainable,  increasing  marine 
renewable  energy,  incorporating  the  crucial  role  of  the  ocean  on  climate  regulation  in  climate 
action, enhancing evidence-based policy through better linking research, science and observation 
to decision making, as well as improving maritime security. 

4.  CONCLUSION 

The findings were fed into the process of updating of the Joint Communication on International 
Ocean  Governance.  The  actions  set  out  in  the  Joint  Communication  are  integral  to  the  EU’s 
response  to  the  2030  Agenda,  and  notably  SDG  14  and  related  SDGs.  They  are  also  coherent 
with the call for action from respondents to the consultation activities carried out from 2020 to 
early 2022. 

The contributions received in the context of the consultations cannot be regarded as the official 
position of the Commission and its services and thus do not bind the Commission, nor can the 
contributions be considered as a representative sample of the EU population. 

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