During the week of February 2, Edgar Gillet, MAGPIE Project Manager at AIVP, was in Brussels to attend the consortium meeting with the new CINEA project officer (European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency), Thiago Tavares, who is responsible for overseeing the MAGPIE project on behalf of the Commission.
The visit also allowed Edgar to represent AIVP at two events in the European capital.
The first was the conference “Ports at the Heart of European Strategies and Regional Development,” hosted at the European Parliament by Nina Carberry (EPP), Vice-Chair of the SEARICA Intergroup (Seas, Rivers, Islands & Coastal Areas). Several port stakeholders, including the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions and the European Medium-Sized Ports Alliance took this opportunity to share their views on the Commission’s forthcoming strategy for European ports, scheduled for release on March 4, 2026.
The event brought together representative organizations, including port authorities, regional governments, and cities. It highlighted the importance of involving local authorities in decision-making processes related to the energy transition and long-term European strategic investments.
In the afternoon, Edgar attended the Blue Economy Conference at Place Jourdan, part of the Tech for Climate Action Events series. The sessions “Europe’s Ports: Gateways to Green Growth, Innovation and Competitiveness” and “Powering Europe’s Competitiveness and Climate Goals with Sustainable Tourism” featured speakers from EFIP, ESPO, Costa, the World Ocean Council, One Planet Port, AIDA, and DG MOVE. The discussions there outlined various approaches for transforming Europe’s ports and regions into models of sustainability and innovation.
