With the slogan: "Time to act: for a fair, green and digital recovery", the Programme for the first half of 2021 details the main priorities and lines of action of the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU) and was adopted by the Council of Ministers on 17 December 2020.

The Presidency attaches great importance to the development of the blue (ocean) economy, including renewable energy, blue biotechnology, sustainable aquaculture, coastal and nautical maritime tourism, green shipping and maritime surveillance technologies for the protection of the marine environment. In this context, a Ministerial Conference on Integrated Maritime Policy is to be held in Lisbon in June. The Presidency will also place emphasis on the preservation and sustainable use of the resources of the oceans and seas, in line with the European Ecological Pact, and will encourage greater participation by civil society.

Emphasis will also be placed on the strategic creation of a European Data Incoming Platform, based on undersea cables, particularly for links between Europe, Africa and South America, as well as on undersea cables to the Azores and Madeira. The aim is to contribute to the European Commission's strategy to build and assert European digital autonomy based on data protection and privacy. The Presidency will inaugurate the Ellalink cable in June in Sines, which will link Europe, Africa and South America.

Find out more by consulting the full Programme available at https://www.2021portugal.eu/en/