Securing Infrastructure and the Green Transition in the North Sea Symposium, 23-24 May 2024

The 2022 attack on the Nord Stream pipelines put the vulnerability of maritime infrastructure in global focus. The October 2023 Balticconnector pipeline incident has given this agenda further impetus.

The event was organized by the University of Copenhagen–University of Edinburgh Strategic Partnership, and SafeSeas – the research network and brought together representatives from North Sea countries from academia, policy, and industry. In 7 topical sessions attendees presented and discussed opportunities for a common agenda for policy, industry and research to advance solutions for critical maritime infrastructure protection in the “new powerhouse” of Europe. The symposium addressed identified gaps in private and public legal regimes, issues of maritime domain awareness and civil-military cooperation, and tensions at the intersection of markets’ interest in economic use of the sea and public concerns regarding military operations at sea and environmental protection.

The future of green transition, freedom of navigation and safety of sea lines of communication today are at stake in the North Sea. The symposium lied down a solid foundation to bring forward a comprehensive agenda to address these key priorities to ensure the prosperity for Europe and its partners.

RITUAL DETERRENCE is funded by the European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grant (ERC-2021-COG) awarded to Dr Maria Mälksoo, University of Copenhagen, under the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation programme (project no 101043468) for 2022-2027.
Views and opinions expressed are however those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Council. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

RITUAL DETERRENCE is funded by the European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grant (ERC-2021-COG) awarded to Dr Maria Mälksoo, University of Copenhagen, under the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation programme (project no 101043468) for 2022-2027.
Views and opinions expressed are however those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Council. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.