On March 18, 2024, EBI organised the "EU Dialogue on End-of-life Recreational Craft" in Brussels, Belgium, in collaboration with the Belgian EU Presidency and the European Commission (EC). The event was attended by notable figures including Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport Georges Gilkinet and Delilah Al Khudhairy, Director for Maritime Policy and Blue Economy at the EC, and was opened together with EBI President Robert Marx. The gathering gathered around 75 attendees, featuring 20 policy-makers and representatives from industry like EBI, Finnboat, HISWA-RECRON, NAUTIBEL, BVWW, TransEurope Marinas, Confindustria Nautica and APER.

The day's agenda included informative breakout sessions, addressing pivotal topics such as materials, financing, and European/national collaboration. These sessions highlighted pressing challenges and innovative solutions, stressing the urgency for a unified approach to boat registration, streamlined logistics in vessel collection systems, and the integration of eco-design principles. Panel discussions reinforced the necessity of industry standards, increased investment in research and development, and strengthened collaboration between industry stakeholders and policymakers.

The joint takeaways from the dialogue underscored a collective commitment to implementing work already done such as the European roadmap for circularity in the treatment of end-of-life boats, advocating for industry-wide standards, and fostering closer collaboration between industry and policymakers.

EBI agreed to working with the European Commission as a facilitator to sustain positive momentum to transform it into further action, leading a European network to address the End-of-Life recreational crafts challenge.

Read the full report upon request to the Secretariat. An official report by the Belgian EU Presidency will also be released in the next weeks and shared with members.