The European Commission on Wednesday unveiled OceanEye, a new initiative aimed at strengthening Europe’s role in global ocean monitoring, with Fisheries and Oceans Commissioner Costas Kadis saying the announcement comes at a crucial moment as the United States retreats from key international scientific programmes.

Speaking at the launch, Kadis referred to what he described as “extremely worrying signals from across the Atlantic regarding the dismantling of ocean observation systems”, adding that in the current circumstances, “for the EU to become a leader in ocean observation is not an objective in itself, but a necessity”.

According to reports, the US administration is moving to shut down the Ocean Observatories Initiative, a deep-sea monitoring network valued at around €320 million that has served as a major source of global climate data over the past decade.

“The OceanEye initiative could not have been announced at a better time,” Kadis said. “We see that the US administration is no longer placing emphasis on these activities. As a result, there is a gap, and we will try to cover part of that gap through this initiative.”

He added that efforts to build international backing would begin immediately.

“Starting tomorrow, we will begin our efforts to attract support from third countries, like-minded nations, international organisations and philanthropies in order to support the international alliance we are creating,” he said.

“By covering at least part of the gap that will be created by the US approach, I believe the ocean becomes even more valuable in the current geopolitical context.”

Kadis also criticised Washington’s decision to scale back ocean monitoring programmes.

“I read the article yesterday and I truly regret this decision,” he said, noting that the network’s annual budget of €48 million was small compared with the value of the data it generated. He described the move as part of a broader withdrawal by the United States from international scientific cooperation.

Research Commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva said she viewed the development not only as a challenge but also as “a huge opportunity for the European Union to lead”, arguing that Europe “can lead in technology” and help create companies worth trillions of euros.

She also stressed the strategic importance of ocean monitoring.

“The ocean is certainly an environmental and economic asset, but it is also a security asset,” she said.

Zaharieva announced that new technologies developed under the initiative would incorporate “dual-use and security-by-design principles” from the outset, aimed at protecting critical infrastructure from sabotage and foreign interference.

“We want to make our continent the world’s leading power in secure and responsible ocean intelligence solutions,” she said.

She added that the ocean monitoring market is currently valued at between €10 billion and €20 billion, growing by between five and 10 per cent annually, while supporting a broader business ecosystem worth up to €90 billion.

“Every euro invested in ocean monitoring systems generates a return of between five and six euros in economic and social benefits,” she said.

OceanEye forms part of the EU’s 2025 Oceans Pact and is structured around four pillars. These include stronger governance through a future Oceans Act expected by the end of 2026, global leadership through an international alliance supporting the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS), the development of a fully operational digital twin of the ocean by 2030, and initiatives to strengthen public engagement and skills through a New European Bauhaus laboratory for ocean, coastal and island communities.

The Commission has committed €92 million through Horizon Europe to support the initiative, including €50 million for GOOS, €12 million for data systems and €30 million for innovation through the European Innovation Council. Member states, partner countries and private organisations are also being invited to contribute additional funding and monitoring infrastructure.