EMFAF – Projects to Support Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) – 2026

Objectives

• To facilitate sea basin cooperation on Maritime Spatial Planning in the EU
• To develop innovative responses to tackle specific challenges that EU Member States might encounter when putting into effect, monitoring and/or revising their Maritime Spatial Plans

Priorities

• Priority 1: MSP as enabler and Climate change smart MSP
• Priority 2: applying the Ecosystems Based Approach (EBA) in MSP
• Priority 3: developing strategies and approaches to monitor, review/revise maritime spatial plans to make them future proof
• Priority 4: analysing and addressing socio-economic implications of spatial allocation
• Priority 5: addressing gaps and challenges in the data collection, integration, use, re-use, access
• Priority 6: promoting ocean literacy through MSP

Eligibility

• Be legal entities
• Be public authorities or bodies
• Be established in one of the eligible countries, i.e.:
  • EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories (OCTs)
  • Participation of legal entities established in non-EU countries participating in the relevant sea basin strategies and/or regional cooperation frameworks is possible only when it is necessary for the achievement of the objectives of the action. Individual proposals from non-EU countries are not eligible.
• Beneficiaries and affiliated entities must register in the Participant Register before submitting the proposal.
• A consortium composed of at least 2 applicants (beneficiaries; not affiliated entities), which complies with the following conditions must be constituted:
  • Minimum 2 entities from 2 different eligible countries
  • Applicants must be public authorities or bodies in charge of maritime spatial planning (MSP) of those coastal Member States which are responsible for MSP in the selected area and/or regional organisation that has competences in MSP or activities concerned by MSP (nature protection, development of offshore renewables, fisheries). Other public authorities or bodies shall be considered eligible applicants provided that they are endorsed by the public authorities or bodies in charge of MSP at national level in the related coastal Member States.
• The coordinator must be established in an EU Member State.

Additional information

• Initial duration of the action: between 24 and 36 months

Extensions are possible, if duly justified and through an amendment.

• Contact: cinea-emfaf-calls@ec.europa.eu

Useful

• Guidelines: Click here
• Other call documents: Click here
• Executive Agency website: Click here
• More information: Click here

• Total budget of the call: 1.7 million euros
• Amount of the grant: between 700.000 and 1.000.000 euros per project

The grant awarded may be lower than the amount requested.

• Funding rate: 80% of the total eligible costs