European Ocean Pact and Neptune mission announced at the 3^rd United Nations Conference on the Oceans

"We have heard the call from France and others for massive investment in ocean research", declares Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, on 09/06, at the opening plenary session of Unoc 3, (3^rd United Nations Conference on the Oceans), held in Nice (France) from 08 to 13/06/2025.

She announces the European Union's first Ocean Pact, with €1 Bn to fund 50 projects worldwide. One of its priorities is to "advance research, knowledge, skills and innovation on the Ocean", to maintain "its role as a world leader in ocean science, technology and data".

The Pact will include the European Ocean Observation Initiative, which will be supported by an R&I strategy. More than €300 M will be invested by the European Commission in research and scientific projects, like new scientific tools such as Ipos (a global demand-driven platform linking Ocean knowledge, policy and society) and the launch of the Neptune international exploration mission scheduled for 2026.

Attending the conference, French President Emmanuel Macron states: "Climate, like biodiversity, is not a matter of…