Mediterranean Information Office for Environment, Culture and Sustainable Development

EU Legislative Interests

Contribution to the formulation of the Pact for the Mediterranean. More specifically, MIO‑ECSDE played a high‑level advocacy and policy advisory role in the development of the New Pact for the Mediterranean by presenting detailed recommendations during the region‑wide consultation process, which included a stakeholder survey and meetings in the Mediterranean. Contribution to the formulation of the European Oceans Pact. Monitoring the "Clean Industrial Deal" in relation to the EU Green Deal (especially linked to Biodiversity Strategy 2030, Fit-for-55 Package and the REPowerEU Plan). The EU Zero Pollution Action Plan (MIO-ECSDE is co-authoring a holistic, stakeholder led zero pollution framework, ultimately reflecting the EU’s very ambitious policy and legislative framework governing the environmental protection of European seas with focus on the zero environmental pollution agenda). The EU Marine Framework Strategy Directive (MSFD) and Ocean Literacy. Monitoring developments under the EU Plastics Strategy and the Circular Economy Action Plan (and all of the specific policies). MIO-ECSDE closely followed the progress of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) and continued to be a member of the Working Group on Good Environmental Status (WG GES) and the Marine Strategic Coordination Group (MSCG). Furthermore, MIO-ECSDE has been actively contributing to the work of the EU/MSFD Good Environmental Status (GES) Technical Subgroup on Marine Litter. More specifically: - In February 2025, MIO-ECSDE participated in the online meeting of the MSFD Technical Group on Marine Litter and made several interventions related to setting threshold values for seafloor macrolitter. Throughout 2025, MIO-ECSDE has continued to engage in several online meetings of the group on this issue. - In May 2025, the in-person meeting of the MSFD Technical Group on Marine Litter was held in Brussels where the progress and next steps related to a key task that MIO-ECSDE has been co-leading, namely the update of the Joint List of Macrolitter Categories, was presented. - Since September 2024, MIO-ECSDE has participated in 7 ‘formal’ e-meetings (as well as several working meetings) focused on the update of the Joint List of Macrolitter Categories. The process is co-led by MIO-ECSDE with the involvement of 23 TGML members. The Joint List update process was completed within 2025. Other policy areas followed are: the EU’s International Ocean Governance Agenda; the EU Restoration Law; the EU Neighbourhood Policy and the EU Neighbourhood Instrument (ENI); the renewed EU Agenda for the Mediterranean combined with the 2030GreenerMed Agenda of the UfM (the EU is Co-President); Education for Environment and Sustainability; Access to environmental information, participation, justice (Aarhus Convention); the EU Strategy for the Adriatic & Ionian Region. On the occasion of the new College of Commissioners, we reached out in January 2025 to the ones assigned with portfolios related to MIO-ECSDE’s policy areas of work, in order to establish direct contacts and introduce the Federation’s activities: Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport: An online call took place on 6/3/2025 with Ms Desislava Dimitrova, Member of the Cabinet working in the areas related to culture. Commissioner for the Mediterranean: An in-person meeting took place in Brussels, with Mr. Ivo Belet and Vesna Loncaric of Commissioner Šuica’s Cabinet, on 27/5/2025 with emphasis on the drafting progress of the new Pact for the Mediterranean. Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans: An online call took place with Commissioner Cadis himself, and staff members, on 21/2/25. Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism: A call took place on 20/2/2025, with Mr. Filippo Terruso, Member of the Cabinet responsible for Tourism and the Euro-Med dialogue.

Communication Activities

In 2025, MIO-ECSDE actively participated in a large number of high visibility European and Mediterranean events and also launched and/or joined key related initiatives and campaigns: - In February 2025, MIO-ECSDE, participated in the OSPAR workshop on how fishing gear marking systems can prevent marine litter. The workshop was organized in the framework of OSPAR’s second Regional Action Plan for Marine Litter, specifically focusing on Action B.4.1: to “Prevent, locate, retrieve, and handle abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG). - In May 2025, MIO-ECSDE together with some 65 NGOs co-signed a joint open letter to President von der Leyen and the College of Commissioners urging the European Commission to present an ambitious Ocean Pact at UNOC3. The letter warns that the current draft Pact falls far short of what is needed to confront the scale and urgency of ocean degradation, and calls on the EU to demonstrate credible leadership in global ocean governance. The signatories of the letter are all supporters of the “Blue Manifesto” (co-signed by MIO-ECSDE in August 2024). - In May 2025, MIO-ECSDE together with 210 civil society organisations co-signed a joint statement, to call upon all EU Member States, Members of the European Parliament and the European Commission to urgently adopt a strong Nature Restoration Law. Read more here. In October 2025, MIO-ECSDE with the support of the EU-funded WES-BCA and GEF-funded MedProgramme projects, organized the Mediterranean Stakeholder Forum on Environment and Climate Action - “Making the behavioural shift happen: NGOs/CSOs, Parliamentarians, Journalists, Women and Youth organisations and other actors meet in Cairo”. The dates of the Forum were 21-23 October 2025, in Cairo, Egypt, with more than 170 stakeholders from more than 20 countries. A set of recommendations/messages was formulated and agreed so that a common Mediterranean vision and narrative on climate action informs key policy processes. Some MIO-ECSDE publications/e-applications: ▶ Devriese, L. I., Verleye, T. J., Vlachogianni, T., Maes, T., Boteler, B., Del Savio, L., Booth, A. M., Kopke, K., 2025. Setting the course: Aligning European Union marine pollution policy ambitions with environmental realities. Frontiers in Marine Science, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2025.1586918 ▶ van Leeuwen, J., Kopke, K., Devriese, L., Del Savio, L., Booth, A. M., Boteler, B., Berglihn, E., Cowan, E., Maes, T., Vlachogianni, T., 2025. Bridging currents: An interdisciplinary source-to-sea approach is essential to align regional and national priorities with the future Global Plastics Treaty ambitions. Cambridge Prisms: Plastics. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/plc.2025.10018 ▶ TINK@School Learning Resources, including (a) Methodology Toolkit (b) Learning Activities (c) Facilitator’s Guide. Available in Dutch, English, Greek, Icelandic and Italian here. ▶ Traditional Educational Material (TEM) on climate change, with theory and 25 learning activities, in English, French, Greek and Italian https://medies.net/parcce-traditional-educational-material/ ▶ An online self-paced course on the Traditional Education Material (TEM) on climate change https://parcce.envirolearning.net/ ▶ First e-course of FOLOU: first in a series of free online courses titled “Understanding Food Loss” (https://mio-ecsde.org/folou-launches-its-series-of-online-courses-on-food-loss/) ▶ MIO-ECSDE developed the Biodiversity Preservation case study guide within the SHARED GREEN DEAL project (https://mio-ecsde.org/project/case-study-guides-on-shared-actions-for-the-green-deal/). ▶ MIO-ECSDE's report, “Exploring the Study Circle Approach in Fostering Change in Biodiversity Values Among Adults”, examines community-led learning through Study Circles (https://mio-ecsde.org/project/exploring-the-study-circle-approach-in-fostering-change-in-biodiversity-values-among-adults/).

Interests Represented

Does not represent commercial interests

Member Of

UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) UNEP/MAP Partner Mediterranean Commission for Sustainable Development (MCSD) Accountable Now (https://accountablenow.org/about-accountable-now/members/) Global Water Partnership - Mediterranean (GWP-Med) Global Network of Water Museums (WAMU-NET)

Organisation Members

http://mio-ecsde.org/members/ • AlbaForest, • Environmental Center for Administration and Technology (ECAT), • Environmental Center for Development, Education and Networking (EDEN Centre), • Protection and Preservation of the Natural Environment in Albania (PPNEA), • Association de Volontariat TOUIZA (TOUIZA), • Association Ecologique de Boumerdes (AEB), • Association Memoire de SETIF (SETIF), • European Environmental Bureau (EEB), • Eko Kvarner, • EMEF, • The Croatian MAB Committee, • Federation of Environmental Organisations in Cyprus (FEOC NGOs), • Friends of Akamas (FoA), • Terra Cypria, • Arab Media Forum for Environment and Development (AMFED), • Arab Network for Environment and Development (RAED), • Arab Office for Youth and Environment (AOYE), • Arab Society for Fungal Conservation (ASFC), • Balady Association, Port Said Branch, • Nature Friends Association (NFA), • Association MerTerre, • Association U- MARINU, • Centre International de Droit Compare de l'Environnement (CIDCE), • Ecomed 21, • France Nature Environment (FNE), • France Nature Environnement Provence Alpes Côte d'Azur (FNE PACA), • Languedoc Roussillon Nature Environnement (LRNE), • Société de Protection de la Nature de AGDE (SPN AGDE), • BIOSFERA - Association for Sustainable Development, • Athens Environmental Foundation (AEF), • Athens Network of Collaborating Experts (ANCE), • ELLINIKI ETAIRIA - Society for the Environment and Cultural Heritage (ELET), • Hellenic Association of Educators for Environmental Education (HAEEE), • Hellenic Institute of Environment, Water Reuse and Preservation (HIEWRP), • Hellenic Ornithological Society (HOS), • Hellenic Society for the Protection of Nature (HSPN), • Interdisciplinary Institute for Environmental Research (INIER), • Mediterranean Association to Save the Sea Turtles – GREECE (MEDASSET), • Mediterranean Scientific Association of Environmental Protection (MESAEP), • Mediterranean SOS Network - Mediterranean (Med SOS), • Nature Watch Crete (NWC), • SOLON for Synthesis and Ecological Civilization in the 21st century (SOLON), • World Wide Fund for Nature - Hellas (WWF-HELLAS), • ECOCITY, • EcoOcean, • EcoPeace Middle East, • Israel Society for Ecology and Environmental Quality Sciences (ISEES), • Sustainable Development for the Negev (SDN), • The Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI), • ARMADILLA, • Centro Regionale d’ Intervento per la Cooperazione (CRIC), • Coordinamento delle Organizzazioni non governative per la Cooperazione Internazionale allo Sviluppo (COCIS), • Forum for the Venice Lagoon, • Casa dei Diritti Sociali FOCUS, • Istituto per l’Ambiente e l’Educazione Scholé Futuro (Scholé), • Italia Nostra, • LEGAMBIENTE, • MAREVIVO Associazione Ambientalista, • Aqaba International Laboratories (AIL), • Jordan Environment Society (JES), • Jordanian Society for Desertification Control and Badia Development (JSDC), • Jordanian Society for Organic Farming (JSOF), • Jordanian Society of Friends of Heritage (JSFH), • Land and Human to Advocate Progress (LHAP), • AMWAJ of the Environment (AMWAJ), • Association Liban Nature Environnement (LINE), • Association Libanaise pour la Maîtrise de l’Energie et de l’Environnement (ALMEE), • Baldati, • Development for People and Nature Association (DPNA), • Human Environmental Association for Development (HEAD), • Lebanese Environmental Forum (LEF), • Makhzoumi Foundation (MF), • Operation Big Blue Association (OBBA), • The Union of Northern Associations for Sustainable Development (UNASD), • Window to Environment Association (WEA), • Beam of the Environment Association (BEA), • IndyACT, • Cedars for Care, • Vamos Todos, • International Energy Foundation (IEF), • Nature Trust Malta (NTM), • Association pour le Développement Durable (ADD), • Club des Amis de la Nature et la Protection de l'environnement (CANPE), • NGO Greens of Montenegro, • Alliance Maghreb Machrek pour l'Eau (ALMAE), • Association Femmes et Jeunesse dans l’Environnement Maghrebin (AFJEM), • Club Marocain pour l'Environnement et le Developpement (CMED), • Fondation Mohammed VI pour la Protection de l’Environnement (FM6E), • Maison de l'Environnement - Association Atlas Sais, • National Drought Observatory of Morocco/Observatoire National de la Secheresse (ONAS), • Société Protectrice des Animaux et de la Nature (SPANA), • Swat Youth Front (SYF), • Palestine Wildlife Society (PWLS), • Palestinian Hydrology Group for Water and Environmental Resources Development (PHG), • Bethlehem Development Foundation (BDF), • Amigos da terra, • ETNIA, • Liga para a Proteccao da Natureza (LPN), • Society for Bird Research and Nature Protection (DPPVN), • Amigos del Mediterraneo, • Asociación hippocampus, • Asociacion Malaguena para la Protection de la Vida Silvestre (SILVEMA), • Centro Mediterraneo EUCC- EUCC Mediterranean Centre, • Eco-union, • Fundacion Iberoamerica-Europa, • Itaca Asociacion defensa Naturaleza y Medio Ambiente (ITACA), • Mare Terra Fundacio Mediterrania, • Global Footprint Network (GFN), • Syrian Coast Society for Environmental Protection (SCSEP), • Stichting Connecting Natural Values & People Foundation (CNVP), • Agence de la Democratie Locale de Kairouan Tunisie (LDACT), • Alliance Femme et Environnement (AFE), • APENA • Association de Developpement et de Protection de l’Environnement- La Marsa, • Association de l'Environnement de Kelibia (AEK), • Association de Sauvegarde de la Medina de Kelibia (ASMK), • Association des Amis du Belvedere (AAB), • Association des Habitants d’El Mourouj II, • Association for Sustainable Development (ADD), • Association for the Protection of Nature and Environment - Kairouan (APNEK), • Association des Amis des Oiseaux (AAO), • Association Nationale du Développement Durable et de la Conservation de la Vie Sauvage (ANDDCVS), • APENB • Association pour la Protection de l’Environnement et le Développement Durable de Bizerte (APEDDUB), • Association pour la Sauvegarde de la Médina de Gafsa (ASM Gafsa), • Association Tunisienne pour la Protection de la Nature et de l’Environnement (ATPNE), • ATMT Environnement, • Centre de Recherches, d’Etudes, de Documentation et d’Information sur la Femme (CREDIF), • Conservation de la Nature - Developpement - Tenmya 21, • Femmes pour le Developpement Durable / Women for Sustainable Development, • Youth and Science Club of Hammam-Lif, • Green Steps for Environmental Literacy (GSEL), • Legacy, • The Turkish Foundation for Combating Soil Erosion, for Reforestation (TEMA), • Turkish Association for the Conservation of Nature (TTKD), • Turkish Marine Environment Protection Association – (TURMEPA)