The 1st Steering Group Meeting for the Common Maritime Agenda (CMA) for the Black Sea was held online on 6 March 2023, to present and agree on the Romanian Coordination plan of activities for 2023.
The aim was to assess the progress to date and discuss upcoming activities for the rest of the year, identify synergies with the other initiatives in the sea basin and initiate discussions on the possible activation of technical groups.
The meeting brought together National Coordinators and National Hubs from all the CMA participant countries as well as representatives of the European Commission. The meeting was chaired by Romania, assuming the role of CMA Coordination for 2023.
Proposed activities include holding a series of national and regional events to support CMA implementation, discussion on blue economy priorities as well as promotion and uptake of available funding opportunities.
Some good examples from the other sea basins were introduced, and the opportunity of the activation of technical groups was discussed to further strengthen support for stakeholders and build common blue economy projects in the CMA context.
The CMA Coordination continues its cooperation with observers and regional partners: Black Sea Commission, INTERREG Next Black Sea, Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions (CPMR), General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM), Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization (BSEC), and the World Bank, who introduced their upcoming initiatives that offer possibilities for collaboration in the Black Sea and funding for CMA stakeholders.