European Commission launches OceanEye

The European Commission in a press release^[1] announced the launch of ”OceanEye”, an EU-initiated Ocean observation project. Speaking at the European Ocean Days^[2], a recent conference organised by the European Commission, President Ursula von der Leyen described the project as “major initiative to strengthen the EU’s leadership in ocean observation and unlock the full potential of our ocean.” Furthermore,  the initiative should “advance scientific knowledge, boost the blue economy’s competitiveness, enhance maritime security, and (…) protect the ocean’s health.”

The initiative builds on the European Digital Twin of the Ocean^[3],  a virtual replica of the ocean, which  integrates data from satellites, sensors, and computer models and thus constitutes a knowledge base of the ocean for scientists, businesses and policy makers. Another pillar of the new ocean observation project is the  Copernicus’ marine programme^[4], which provides free and open marine data and services.

The European Commission also sees this initiative as the basis for an International Alliance to reinforce and expand ocean monitoring and observation, which will support the Global Ocean Observing System^[5], sponsored by UNESCO, the UN Environment Programme, the World Meteorological Organisation and the International Science Council. UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission^[6] will also be a central cooperation partner.

OceanEye will be adopted by the Commission later in 2026 and the objective is to have a fully operational European Ocean Observation System by 2030.A pledging event to gather contributions for the International Alliance will be organised in September. The European Commission also pledged to contribute EUR 50 million from its Horizon Europe^[7] funding programme to the International Alliance for 2026-2027.

The initiative shows the European Commission’s intention to strengthen Europe’s ocean observation technology infrastructure, while supporting international efforts in ocean observation and protection.

[1] https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_26_507

[2] https://maritime-forum.ec.europa.eu/theme/governance/european-ocean-days_en

[3] https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/funding/funding-opportunities/funding-programmes-and-open-calls/horizon-europe/eu-missions-horizon-europe/restore-our-ocean-and-waters/european-digital-twin-ocean_en

[4] https://marine.copernicus.eu/

[5] https://goosocean.org/

[6] https://www.ioc.unesco.org/en

[7] https://commission.europa.eu/funding-tenders/find-funding/eu-funding-programmes/horizon-europe_en