Linking Land, Sea and Cooperation across Europe’s Macro-regions

On 8–9 July 2026, Egija Stapkēviča and Tīna Šipkēvica from VASAB Secretariat, together with VASAB Committee Polish Chairmanship representative Kinga Stańczuk-Olejnik, participated in the Macro-regional and Sea Basin Strategies Days 2026 in Brussels, also representing Policy Area Spatial Planning of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region.

Co-organised by the European Commission’s Directorates-General for Regional and Urban Policy and for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, the event brought together representatives of European macro-regional and sea basin strategies to exchange experience and explore opportunities for closer cooperation. Event’s programme focused particularly on thematic synergies, stakeholder involvement and the role of the strategies in addressing shared European challenges. The plenary discussions emphasised the need to reduce fragmentation between sectors, build on existing synergies and strengthen the role of macro-regional and sea basin strategies as coordination platforms connecting policies, funding, planning instruments and implementation networks. Particular attention was given to translating EU priorities into territorially coherent and practical approaches suited to the specific conditions of Europe’s diverse regions and sea basins.

The parallel sessions demonstrated that Europe’s macro-regions and sea basins face closely interconnected territorial challenges, ranging from geopolitical instability, hybrid threats and risks to critical maritime infrastructure to biodiversity loss, demographic change, skills shortages and the need to support EU candidate countries through stronger institutions and regional cooperation. For the Baltic Sea Region, the discussions underline that land-based, maritime and coastal spatial planning must increasingly integrate security, resilience and civil preparedness, including the safety of navigation, coastal-community preparedness and the protection of infrastructure and economic activities from maritime incidents, pollution and other cross-border risks. The session on sturgeon conservation offered a particularly clear example of why land-sea interactions matter: migratory species cross rivers, national borders and entire sea basins, requiring coordinated decisions across water management, biodiversity protection, navigation, hydropower and fisheries. Spatial planning can provide a common framework for reconciling these competing needs – linking land and marine territories, embedding climate resilience, and strengthening multi-level cooperation among planners, sectoral authorities, coastal communities and neighbouring macro-regions.

For VASAB, the event provided an important opportunity to strengthen links between the Baltic Sea Region and other European cooperation frameworks. Challenges such as climate adaptation, security, sustainable mobility, the green and digital transitions, and balanced territorial development extend beyond national and macro-regional borders. Dialogue among representatives of the Baltic Sea, Alpine, Danube, Adriatic-Ionian, Black Sea and other European regions can therefore help identify transferable approaches, potential project partnerships and shared policy priorities. The plenary discussions identified several fields with strong potential for further cooperation, including maritime spatial planning, green ports and transport, maritime renewable energy, sustainable aquaculture, bioeconomy, coastal tourism, blue skills and ocean literacy, and ecosystem preservation.