EU Commission: investment fund for “the economic growth of European SMEs that develop innovative, sustainable goods and services” gets the go-ahead 

(Brussels) Today is “BlueInvest Day” 2020 in Brussels, a networking event for companies and agencies dealing in “blue economy”, that is, all those businesses that have to do with oceans, seas and shores. In this context, the European Commission and the European Investment Fund launched the BlueInvest Fund: 75 million euros of investments for companies with innovative goods and services that can help the blue economy accomplish the priorities of the European Green Deal. “This industry will play a key role in the conversion to zero-emission economy by 2050”, the EU Commission explains in a notice. “Oceans are the first on the list to be affected by climate change, but they also contain lots of solutions to address the climate emergency in every single maritime industry, from fishing and aquaculture to offshore wind, wave and tidal power, blue biotechnology and many other innovation-related industries”, Virginijus Sinkevičius, commissioner in charge of environment, oceans and fishing, commented. Such fund, the commissioner went on, “is a tool to unleash the potential that blue economy has in contributing to the Green Deal as well as in ensuring the economic growth of the European SMEs that develop innovative, sustainable goods and services”.
Marco Calvarese