On 31 March, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), held a public hearing under its Permanent Group on Sustainable Food Systems. The event aimed to reflect on progress made since the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) and prepare for the upcoming UNFSS+4 Stocktaking Moment in Addis Ababa this July. This public hearing provided an important platform to assess progress towards achieving the 2030 Agenda’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with the European Commission’s Vision for Agriculture and Food by 2040 and the development of a European Oceans Pact setting the broader context.
Ilias Grampas, Deputy Director of EBCD, delivered a compelling intervention highlighting the need to integrate sustainable fisheries and aquaculture into food systems transformation. Ilias Grampas noted that while the EU’s Vision for Agriculture and Food by 2040 addresses farming comprehensively, it inadequately acknowledges the role of fisheries and aquaculture — the “blue dimension.” He emphasised the importance of promoting an EU action plan for ‘blue food’ as part of the broader food framework, linked to the EESC’s recent Opinion on a European Oceans Pact. As the world prepares for the Addis Ababa Stocktaking Moment, he outlined six priority areas for EU leadership: integrating aquatic foods into strategies, promoting seafood consumption, enhancing finance mechanisms, fostering knowledge sharing, ensuring policy coherence, and promoting public-private partnerships. Ilias Grampas’ intervention underscored the pivotal role fisheries and aquaculture play in achieving global food security and sustainability.
