How can Mediterranean ports become cleaner, healthier and more resilient environments? This question was at the heart of the TREASURE Final Conference held on 29-30 September 2026 in Toulon, France which brought together port authorities, researchers, public institutions, environmental experts and technology providers from across the Mediterranean to showcase the achievements of the EU-funded TREASURE (Testing Novel Environmental Quality Measures in and around Euro-MED Ports) project. The project's overarching objective was to improve environmental quality in and around Mediterranean ports by mitigating and reducing sediment and water pollution through innovative, integrated and transnational cooperation approaches.
Representatives from the pilot ports of Durrës (Albania), Livorno (Italy), La Valletta (Malta), Piraeus (Greece) and Valencia (Spain) presented concrete experiences from the testing phase, demonstrating how collaboration among local authorities, researchers, businesses and citizens can accelerate environmental improvements in port areas. The project successfully combined three key dimensions: strengthening multi-stakeholder governance through territorial laboratories, developing a common framework for environmental assessment and hazard management, and testing innovative remediation techniques for polluted sediments and waters.
The event also provided a valuable platform for discussing how the project's results could move beyond the pilot phase and contribute to broader policy and operational changes across Mediterranean ports. Participants stressed the importance of evidence-based environmental management, stronger cooperation between public and private actors, and the continued uptake of innovative technologies capable of addressing complex pollution challenges.
The CEI was responsible for promoting TREASURE achievements, engaging stakeholders in partner territories and sharing knowledge outside project boundaries.
The CEI wrapped up its role in the TREASURE project by building a knowledge transfer strategy and partnerships with other networks. At the project's conference, it held a final workshop on improving environmental quality in Mediterranean ports, presenting solutions tested over three years and discussing how to deploy and replicate them across the region. Participants then visited the ENVISAN sediment remediation platform, which is unique in the Mediterranean, to see advanced treatment methods in practice.
Although TREASURE is ending, its partnerships and cooperation mechanisms will continue. The CEI plans to keep promoting the transfer and use of the results among its Member States and stakeholders, drawing on its networks across Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe and on current and future EU-funded projects.
Fore more info: sinkovic@cei.int
