On Tuesday 15 November, the European Commission adopted a Communication which identifies 23 actions to “unlock the potential of the EU algae sector”.
According to the Commission, there is a need to improve the cultivation and production of regenerative algae throughout the EU and to develop markets for food and non-food applications of algae.
A continuous supply of algal biomass and strategic autonomy from imports must also be guaranteed.
The 23 actions concern the following areas: - improving the governance framework and legislation (amending the EU Fertilisers Regulation 2019/1009 to include seaweed-based materials); - improving the business environment (promoting the replacement of fish feed with algae feed, replacing the use of nutrients and CO2 from different sources for microalgae cultivation and organic certification, promoting the extraction of nutrients from algae biomass); - closing knowledge gaps; - increasing social awareness of algae.
The Commission will coordinate the implementation of the actions with Member States, industry (EU4Algae) and other stakeholders. It will prepare a report assessing the progress made in implementing the Communication by the end of 2027.
Link to the communication: https://aeur.eu/f/42c (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)