Economy - published on 28 January 2021
Source: European Commission Spokesperson’s Service
Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevičius, is participating today at the
BlueInvest Day 2021 conference co-organised jointly by the European Commission and the European Investment Fund where participants from 67 countries, including all EU Member States, are
registered to attend. BlueInvest Day 2021brings together innovators, entrepreneurs, investors in the blue economy, high-level representatives from government and the public sector, with the
objective of generating concrete opportunities for maritime-related businesses. Commissioner Sinkevičius said: “With BlueInvest, the Commission and the European Investment Fund
have a powerful instrument in place to promote the blue economy as a cornerstone of the European Green Deal. We encourage innovative small and medium companies and start-ups to take advantage of
the funds and help us realise a sustainable, carbon-neutral future for europe.” The BlueInvest
pilot initiative managed by the European Investment Fund (EIF) and enabled by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, provides financing to underlying equity funds that support the innovative
blue economy. These investments will support start-ups developing innovative products, materials, and services that can contribute to enhance ocean conservation and the sustainability of the blue
economy and will mobilise around €300 million in equity funding in total. The blue economy can play an important role in the transformation to a carbon-neutral economy by 2050, an ambition
announced in the European
Green Deal. The programme is backed by the
European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the financial pillar of the Investment Plan for Europe. Two new and established funds are confirmed to receive funding today by the BlueInvest
initiative at the BlueInvest Day. Three additional investments into specialised blue economy funds, and backed by BlueInvest and InnovFin Equity under Horizon 2020 Programme
finance, have also already been approved and are expected to materialise during the course of 2021. Since
its launch last year, EIF has deployed €45 million of the €75 million BlueInvest pilot initiative. The Commission will present its Blue Economy Strategy later this year, which will outline
measures for an economy using the potential of the ocean. More information is in the press
release.
