The CEI has recently contributed to advancing maritime environmental governance in the Adriatic through a regional workshop held in Kotor, Montenegro on 25 June 2025. The event - gathering policymakers, researchers and local stakeholders to promote sustainable maritime development and enhance regional cooperation on environmental challenges - was organised in the framework of two complementary CEI-supported initiatives:
- TRUE BLUE – CEI Support to Training and Research to Unlock and Enhance the Potential of a Sustainable Blue Economy for Regional Cooperation and EU Integration, funded under the CEI Fund at the EBRD through its Know-how Exchange Programme (KEP), entirely financed by the Italian Government;
- ASAP – Adriatic Sensitive Areas Protection Mechanism, managed by the CEI- Executive Secretariat (CEI-ES) co-funded by the European Union under the Interreg IPA ADRION Programme.
Ambassador Andreina Marsella of the Italian Embassy in Podgorica reaffirmed Italy’s strong commitment to the European integration of the Western Balkans, emphasising the value of regional dialogue and joint responsibility in safeguarding the marine environment. Vana Đurašević, CEI Deputy National Coordinator fand representative of Montenegro’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, highlighted the importance of cooperation in fostering stability, connectivity and EU-oriented progress.
The session under the TRUE BLUE initiative was organised by the National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics (OGS) , and featured a dynamic roundtable on maritime activities and environmental sustainability. Contributors included experts from the University of Montenegro, the CEI-ES, the University of Ljubljana, and the Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries in Split.
The session under the ASAP project paid particular attention to the third national focus group held, building on previous sessions in Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The event was jointly organised by OGS and the Faculty of Maritime Studies and Transport at the University of Ljubljana, in cooperation with local partners - the NGO Our Action and the Montenegrin Administration for Maritime Safety and Port Management. Key stakeholders assessed coastal vulnerability to oil spills and evaluated existing response capacities.The insights gathered will feed directly into the development of the ASAP mechanism, designed to enhance regional coordination and improve response times in the event of marine pollution incidents.
The workshop reaffirmed the CEI's dedication to knowledge exchange, regional dialogue, and capacity-building across Southeast Europe. Both TRUE BLUE and ASAP demonstrate the strategic importance of leveraging local expertise and institutional cooperation to advance a more resilient and sustainable Adriatic.
For more info: marconato@cei.int
