On 25 and 26 June 2026, the Executive-Secretariat participated in the 50th anniversary celebrations of the RAMOGE Agreement as an official observer, representing the ASAP project, of which the CEI-ES is Lead Partner.
Authorities and experts from France, Italy and the Principality of Monaco gathered to mark five decades of cross-border cooperation in preventing and responding to accidental marine pollution in the Mediterranean, an celebration that also drew several ASAP project partners from Croatia, Slovenia and Italy, in recognition of the project's growing role in protecting the Adriatic Sea.
By promoting dialogue, knowledge exchange and operational cooperation among Adriatic stakeholders, the CEI-ES continues to support a more resilient and coordinated regional framework for protecting the Adriatic and Mediterranean marine environment.
The two days unfolded around a public session and an exercise at sea. On 25 June, prosecutors from France, Italy and Monaco met at the Palace of Justice of Monaco for "United Prosecutors for the Mediterranean", a session devoted to the judicial cooperation needed to tackle marine pollution. The following day, the focus turned to the water: from aboard the Castalia vessel Nos Taurus, the ASAP delegation watched the Italian, French and Monegasque authorities coordinate vessels, aircraft and specialised response equipment in a large-scale anti-pollution exercise, a rare close-up look at one of the most established response mechanisms in the Mediterranean.
The event was organised by the RAMOGE Secretariat alongside the national authorities including the Italian Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security and ISPRA, an associated partner of the ASAP project.
Signed in 1976 at the initiative of Prince Rainier III, the RAMOGE Agreement has grown over five decades into a recognised model for international cooperation, built on regular joint exercises, scientific collaboration and operational preparedness between its three member countries.
The lessons gathered in Monaco will feed into ASAP's ongoing work on common operational procedures and cross-border cooperation, and into its next joint exercise, scheduled for 23 and 24 September 2026.
Co-financed by the Interreg IPA ADRION Programme, the project brings together institutions, research organisations and maritime authorities from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Italy, Montenegro and Slovenia to strengthen preparedness and coordinated response to accidental marine pollution in the Adriatic Sea.
For more info: marconato@cei.int
