This pillar contributes substantially to achieving the European Cohesion Policy objectives.

Specifically, it contributes to

• A smarter Europe by supporting research and economic development in sustainable blue growth (Topic 1),

• A greener Europe by supporting sustainable fishing (Topic 2) and a better marine governance (Topic 3),

• A Europe closer to the citizens by supporting an integrated approach across the Topics, in particular through addressing Maritime governance (Topic 3).

Pillar 1 promotes sustainable economic growth and jobs as well as business opportunities in the blue economy sectors. This objective is related to innovations in maritime and marine sectors and development opportunities through cooperation among the countries, regions and cities.

The Pillar aims to reach the following objectives:

·         To promote research, innovation and business opportunities in blue economy sectors, by facilitating the brain circulation between research and business communities and increasing their networking and clustering capacity.

·         To adapt to sustainable seafood production and consumption, by developing common standards and approaches for strengthening these two sectors and providing a level playing field in the macro-region.

·         To improve sea basin governance, by enhancing administrative and institutional capacities in the area of maritime governance and services.

These objectives are covered by three topics: