MMinE-SwEEPER at Dialogue Event on Munition Legacies

MMinE-SwEEPER participated in the Dialogue Event: Munition Legacies at Sea and the European Perspective on 17 February, organised by the Permanent Representation of Germany to the EU. Project coordinator Jens Greinert gave a keynote speech, highlighting the need for EU support in knowledge transfer and data exchange, and called for the organisation of a European stakeholders' and funders' forum in 2028 to strengthen future clearance operations.

On 17 February, MMinE-SwEEPER took part in the Dialogue Event: Munition Legacies at Sea and the European Perspective, hosted by the Permanent Representation of Germany to the EU in collaboration with the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection, as well as the Ministry of the Environment of Schleswig-Holstein. The event brought together policymakers, researchers, and civil society representatives to discuss the associated risks, European and national initiatives in this field, and the way forward. Project coordinator Jens Greinert delivered a keynote speech emphasising the importance of EU support for knowledge transfer from regional to global levels. He highlighted the strong connections being established between MMinE-SwEEPER and several other research projects in this area.

In line with this, Greinert called for enhanced discussions and agreements on data exchange at the EU level, taking security aspects into account. He also stressed the need for underwater munitions to be appropriately considered in the upcoming revision of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. Furthermore, he urged the EU to provide stronger business incentives for clearance operations and proposed the establishment of a European stakeholders' and funders' forum in 2028, when many of the current research projects will have concluded.

Following the keynote and subsequent presentations, a thought-provoking panel discussion took place, featuring Tobias Goldschmidt, Schleswig-Holstein’s Minister for the Environment; Sebastian Unger, Federal Government Commissioner for the Ocean; Christos Economou, Deputy Director for Maritime Policy and Blue Economy at DG MARE, European Commission; Rüdiger Strempel, Executive Secretary of HELCOM; and Tobias Troll, Marine Policy Director at Seas at Risk. The discussion covered a broad range of topics, highlighting the need to secure long-term funding and explore the possibility of an EU-wide recovery programme under the European Oceans Pact.

At the event, MMinE-SwEEPER was able to connect with a wide range of stakeholders, including representatives from the REMARCO and IRAV projects.

Figure 1: In his keynote, Jens Greinert emphasised the need to consider marine munitions in the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive revision.

Figure 2. The event ended with a panel discussing the potential for more action on munitions clearance at a European scale and how the upcoming European Oceans Pact could support this.