On March 19, 2025, almost a year after the 9th OurOcean conference she successfully led in Athens, the Greek Prime Minister’s Special Envoy for the Ocean, Member of the Hellenic Parliament, and Chair of the Special Permanent Committee on Environmental Protection, Dr. Dionysia Avgerinopoulou, organised a parliamentary session dedicated to the future Intergovernmental Organization (IGO) Mercator Ocean, with the support of Mercator Ocean’s representative in Athens, Cécile Thomas-Courcoux. Greece may decide to join Mercator Ocean as a founding Member State when it makes its evolution to an IGO.
The session took place in the Greek Parliament’s Subcommittee on Water Resource Management. featured a panel of Greek Ministries who presented their activities related to the future IGO Mercator Ocean. Key speakers included Mr. Dionysis Stamenitis, Deputy Minister of Rural Development and Food; Mr. Manolis Koutoulakis, General Secretary of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy; and Mrs. Eftychia Kalogianni, Head of the Office of the Secretary General, Ministry of Digital Governance.
The panel was favourable towards establishing a Mercator Ocean IGO. They highlighted advantages of the Digital Twin of the Ocean for Greek leadership in international maritime transport as well as the green transition. They praised Dr. Avgerinopoulou for organizing the high-level briefing and highlighted the importance of reliable, verified, and up-to-date Ocean data for various sectors. Key sectors for Greece include marine environment protection, water management, maritime transport, and digital and space policy.
Representatives from France and Norway also attended the session. These countries have both supported the Mercator Ocean IGO transition since the One Ocean Summit in Brest in February 2022. The French ambassador to Greece, Mrs. Laurence Auer, and Mr. Eivind Lorentzen, Senior Ocean Policy Advisor in the Norwegian Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Fisheries, presented evidence behind their support.
Pierre Bahurel, Director General of Mercator Ocean, intervened as the Secretary of the Board of the National Delegates committed to the intergovernmental transition of Mercator Ocean. He recalled the longstanding and solid collaboration with Greek partners in the Copernicus Marine Service and emphasized the value of Greek Membership in the future Mercator Ocean IGO. He said that Greece are national champions in Ocean modelling and key experts on Digital innovation and AI, and that Greece would have much to gain as a Member State. He also highlighted the strategic importance of the Digital Twin of the Ocean and its advantages for EU Member States and international organizations engaged in blue policies. He also highlighted the longstanding collaboration with Greek partners in the Copernicus Marine Service and the potential benefits for Greece as a Member State.
Other distinguished speakers included:
- Tatjana Hema, Coordinator of the UNEP Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP), which is hosted by Greece. She stressed the importance of reliable ocean data for UNEP’s monitoring and assessment of the Mediterranean Sea. UNEP MAP, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, is committed to Maritime Spatial Planning;
- Gerasimos Korres, Associate Researcher of the Institute of Oceanography of HCMR, who presented the Poseidon System (HCMR’s monitoring, forecasting and information system for the Greek Seas) and supported Greek membership of the IGO Mercator Ocean;
- Michael Skullos, Professor Emeritus of Oceanography at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, who argued that Greece could play an influential role in creating a virtuous dynamic on science and policy by joining the future IGO;
- Dimitrios Zissis, Director of the Intelligent Transport Systems Research Laboratory at the University of the Aegean. He highlighted the economic and digital benefits of joining the Digital Twin of the Ocean and said that Greek membership of the future IGO is a strategic necessity.
Next Steps
Mercator Ocean’s transition to an Intergovernmental Organization will be one of the key deliverables at the upcoming third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3), in Nice, France, from June 9 to 13, 2025. In preparation for this significant event, Mercator Ocean has been entrusted with coordinating the European Digital Ocean Pavilion. It will offer an immersive, interactive, and multidimensional gateway into the Digital Twin of the Ocean, showcasing Europe’s leadership in Ocean governance and its commitment to a sustainable blue future.
By giving voice to many Greek decision-makers and scientists, this parliamentary session may be a key milestone in Greece’s decision-making process on becoming a founding member state of the Mercator Ocean IGO. Mercator Ocean extends its thanks to Dr. Avgerinopoulou for the opportunity to present. Thanks also to the French and Norwegian representatives for their contributions.
To see the recorded session on the Hellenic Parliament TV : link here
