With a 2030 target, the EU Mission "Restore our Ocean and Waters" aims to protect and restore the health of our ocean and waters through research and innovation, citizen engagement and blue investments. The Mission’s new, systemic approach addresses the ocean and waters as one and plays a key role in achieving climate neutrality and restoring nature.
The Mission supports regional engagement and cooperation through so-called area-based “lighthouses”. Mission lighthouses are research and innovation project portfolios, and hubs for the development, demonstration and deployment of new solutions in major sea/river basins. There are four Mission lighthouses at basin scale in the Atlantic-Arctic, the Mediterranean Sea, the Baltic and North Sea, and the Danube River basin including the Black Sea.
EU Missions are a novelty of the Horizon Europe research and innovation programme. They are a new way to bring concrete solutions to some of our greatest challenges. You will find more information in the Mission Ocean and Waters service portal: mission-ocean-and-waters-service-portal.
Join the Mission Charter
The Charter of the EU Mission "Restore our Ocean and Waters 2030" calls for joining efforts to achieve the three objectives of the Mission Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030 to:
- Protect and restore marine and freshwater ecosystems and biodiversity, in line with the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030
- Prevent and eliminate pollution of our ocean, seas and waters, in line with the EU Action Plan Towards Zero Pollution for Air, Water and Soil
- Make the sustainable blue economy carbon-neutral and circular, in line with the proposed European Climate Law and the holistic vision enshrined in the Sustainable Blue Economy Strategy.
To reach these objectives the Mission is also putting in place two enablers:
- Digital Ocean and Water Knowledge System
- Public mobilisation and engagement.
This Charter is non-binding and open to any public or private interested parties You can contribute by pledging actions to co-design, propose and implement policies, programmes, projects or initiatives that will contribute to the restoration of our ocean and waters.
By adhering to the Charter, you will be able to access services and tools the Mission Ocean and Waters will deploy, best practices from previous projects as well as tools to empower citizens to take action. You will become part of the Mission community and be involved in major Mission fora and events, allowing you to network with other participating communities.
Click here to endorse the Mission Charter.
By endorsing the Mission Ocean & Waters Charter, you will gain access to the following benefits:
- Stay informed: Mission Charter actions receive regular updates on fundings opportunities, relevant events, replicable good practices, and other updates related to the implementation of the Mission.
- Gain visibility:
- Mission Charter actions are displayed on this website and are provided access to communication materials (for instance, via CIRCABC) for actions to showcase their endorsement and contribution to Mission Ocean & Waters objectives.
- Mission Charter actions are offered opportunities to be featured in the monthly Mission Charter articles on the Mission Implementation Portal and social media.
- Showcase your solutions: Replicable and scalable solutions from Mission Charter actions are showcased on the Mission Implementation Portal here.
- Join the community: Mission Charter actions are regularly invited to participate, and even speak, at EU events (such as the annual Mission Forum and surrounding events, Mission lighthouses' events). These events offer valuable networking opportunities with other actions working on implementing Mission objectives.
- Access resources: Mission Charter actions gain access to tools, guidelines and methodologies. For instance, the Digital Academy on mastering digital communications is open to actions who have endorsed the Charter.
Mission Ocean and Waters Actions
1038 actions
| Name of organisation | End date of the action | Title of the action | List of Partners | Type of action proposed | Basin coverage | Budget allocated for the action | Website link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Institute of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Plovdiv, Bulgarian Agricultural Academy, | 31/01/29 | Research and Education Fish farming & reproduction Center | Institute of Biodiversity and Ecological Research, Bulgarian Academy of Science... | Research and innovation | Cross-basin | 0 | Link |
| Municipality of Xiromero | 30/11/27 | Coastal Upgrading, Regeneration and Resilience of Astakos | Μunicipal Port Fund of Astakos - Port Authority | Upscaling, deployment and replication of solutions | Mediterranean Sea | 349369 | |
| Bremen Society for Natural Sciences | 13/09/25 | ICYMARE 2025 BREMERHAVEN | Hochschule Bremerhaven | Education and training | Cross-basin | 30000 | Link |
| Technical University of Denmark (DTU Aqua) | 28/06/25 | Summer School | HorizonEU AtlantECO, HorizonEU BIOcean5D | Education and training | Atlantic/Arctic coast | 40000 | Link |
| GRAVTIY WAVE | 12/06/25 | From ocean plastic to recycled materials | Upscaling, deployment and replication of solutions | Mediterranean Sea | 100000 | Link |
Mission Charter dashboard
The Mission Charter dashboard below is a visualisation tool on existing Mission Charter actions.
It serves the following purposes:
- Provide publicly accessible data on the scope of Mission Charter actions
- Produce visualisation on Mission Charter actions
- Enable interactive access for users to identify relevant actions