The Ministerial conference on cooperation on blue economy in the Western Mediterranean took place in Algiers on Monday 4 December. The ministers from the countries participating in the WestMED initiative (Algeria, France, Italy, Libya, Malta, Mauritania, Morocco, Portugal, Spain and Tunisia) adopted a declaration in which they commit to strengthen maritime regional cooperation. The idea is to generate growth, create jobs and provide a better environment for Mediterranean populations, at the social level while preserving its ecosystem. This conference, attended by Michael Köhler on behalf of the European Commission, was preceded by a stakeholder conference with the aim “to facilitate the exchange of project ideas and promote concrete project development among stakeholders in the region operating in the maritime sector”, involving businesses, researchers, institutes, national and local authorities. The ideas discussed will benefit from the support of the Assistance Mechanism, set up in 2018 by the European Commission.