The European Commission announced on Wednesday a sweeping €92 million maritime initiative aimed at positioning the European Union as the global superpower in ocean patrolling and intelligence, citing "malicious actors" increasingly exploiting grey-zone tactics.
The ocean covers 70% of the planet's surface, but only 5% of it has been explored. The Commission's goal for the ocean observation plan announced by Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans Costa Kadis and Research Commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva is to capture 35% of the global ocean observing market and technology infrastructure by 2035, backed by €92 million in EU funds.
