Keynote Speech by Commissioner Kadis at the Cyprus Forum Brussels 2026

Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends and partners,

Todays Cyprus Forum Brussels 2026 takes place at a particularly important moment, with the Cypriot Presidency of the Council now underway. It places Cyprus at the centre of high-level discussions on some of the most pressing strategic questions facing our Union, with a clear vision: an autonomous Europe, open to the world.

Against this backdrop, it is a particular pleasure to address you under the compelling theme “Seas of Opportunity”; a theme that invites us to look beyond individual sectors and to consider the broader maritime dimension of Europes future.

The Europe is fundamentally a maritime Union, with 66,000 km of coastline and the largest Exclusive Economic Zone in the world. Our seas connect our economies to global markets. They host vital transport and energy infrastructure. They sustain coastal and island communities, with around 40 % of our population living within 50 km of the sea. And they play a growing role in our security and resilience. In an open world marked by increasing competition and disruption, the way Europe engages with its seas has become a defining element of its strategic autonomy.

Strategic autonomy does not mean isolation. It means the capacity to act, to remain resilient in the face of shocks, and to pursue cooperation from a position of strength. That capacity depends, to a significant extent, on how coherently we govern, protect and develop our maritime space.

Europes blue economy already demonstrates the scale of this opportunity. It supports around five million jobs and generates more than €250 billion in gross value added each year. It encompasses long-established sectors such as maritime transport, ports, fisheries, aquaculture and tourism, alongside rapidly expanding areas including offshore renewable energy, ocean observation, blue biotechnology and bioeconomy, and advanced maritime industries. Together, they contribute directly to Europes competitiveness, its energy transition and its global connectivity.

Yet opportunity alone is not enough. Fragmented governance, competing uses of the sea and mounting environmental pressures risk undermining this potential. In a context where oceans are simultaneously an economic engine, a climate regulator and a geopolitical space, Europe needs greater coherence in its action.

This is where the European Ocean Pact, one of the key deliverables under my mandate, plays a crucial role. Adopted last June and presented by President von der Leyen at the UN Ocean Conference in Nice, it is not an end in itself. It is an enabling framework.

By bringing together Europes ocean-related policies under a single strategic reference framework, the Pact ensures that trade, transport, energy, industry, security and environmental objectives reinforce rather than contradict one another.

It supports more integrated maritime spatial planning, offering certainty for investment while safeguarding ecological limits. And it strengthens the link between ocean health and Europes long-term economic resilience.

This integrated approach matters across the full range of maritime activities.

• For trade and transport, resilient ports and maritime routes are essential to Europes position in global value chains.
• For energy, offshore renewables are among the fastest-growing sectors in the Union, reducing dependencies and supporting decarbonisation.
• For security, the maritime domain is increasingly central to surveillance, infrastructure protection and stability in Europes neighbourhood.

Fisheries and aquaculture are an integral part of this broader picture. They contribute to food security, employment and cultural heritage, particularly in coastal and island regions. They also highlight Europes continued exposure to external dependencies, with around 70 % of seafood consumed in the EU imported from third countries. Strengthening sustainable domestic production, is therefore not merely an economic choice; it is a strategic imperative for Europes resilience.

Seen through this wider lens, fisheries are not a standalone policy area. Their future is linked to healthy ecosystems, fair international competition, innovation, skills development and effective governance of shared marine resources. The Ocean Pact helps to situate them within this broader maritime system.

At the same time, Europes ambitions cannot stop at its borders. Our strategic autonomy depends on a rules-based international order, including at sea. The Union therefore continues to invest in international ocean governance – from supporting the implementation of the High Seas Treaty, to combating plastic pollution, to promoting science-based and precautionary approaches to emerging activities. Cooperation, not disengagement, remains our guiding principle.

Innovation and investment are equally central themes. New technologies – including artificial intelligence, ocean robotics and real-time monitoring – are transforming the way we understand and manage the seas. Funding initiatives such as BlueInvest are helping to translate scientific excellence into marketable solutions, mobilising capital and supporting European start-ups and scale-ups in strategic maritime sectors.

But none of this is abstract.

At the heart of Europes maritime future are its people, especially those living in coastal and island communities. These communities face particular challenges: from climate impacts to economic diversification, but they are also laboratories of innovation and resilience. Supporting their prosperity, skills and adaptability is essential to Europes cohesion and competitiveness and this will be the focus of the upcoming island and coastal communities strategies to be adopted within the Cyprus presidency.

Ladies and gentlemen,

“Seas of Opportunity” is not a rhetorical flourish. It is a strategic choice.

A choice to see the ocean not as a collection of separate interests, but as a shared space requiring coordinated action. A choice to strengthen Europes autonomy while remaining open to the world.

And a choice to recognise that economic strength, environmental responsibility and geopolitical credibility go hand in hand.

With the European Ocean Pact as an enabling framework, Europe is better equipped to make that choice, and to turn its maritime potential into a lasting strategic advantage.

Let us seize this moment to reaffirm Europes commitment to a competitive, resilient and autonomous future, which is open to the world. A future where the sea is not purely a resource, but a partner in progress. If we act with coherence, ambition and confidence, our seas will not only reflect Europes history, but they will also help shape its future.