EU drafts first island and coastal strategies to cut isolation costs

Paphos,UPDATED: Jun 26, 2026 17:44 IST

The European Union’s executive arm is preparing two first-ever strategies aimed at helping islands and coastal communities across the bloc flourish, with a focus on better transport links, ending energy isolation and building more homes, EU officials said on Friday.

The plans are meant to replace piecemeal efforts with a broader approach to the challenges faced by these regions. More than 17 million people live on over 4,000 islands across the EU, including the island member states of Ireland, Malta and Cyprus. Another 95 million people live along the coasts of 22 member states.

"Islands have been overlooked in the past, but now that comes to an end," European Parliament Vice President Younous Omarjee told a conference on strengthening EU islands and coastal communities.

Raffaele Fitto, European Commission executive vice president for cohesion and reforms, said the strategies were designed to address the particular difficulties faced by islands and coastal communities in a comprehensive way. Because of their distance from mainland markets and their reliance on air and sea links, transport, housing and public services cost much more on islands than on the mainland.

"This is what we call the cost of insularity - a cost that millions of EU citizens and businesses pay every day, simply because of where they live and work," Fitto said.

He said the islands strategy rests on four pillars: improving transport links and digital infrastructure, tackling climate change and energy needs, addressing shrinking populations and housing shortages, and strengthening security and crisis preparedness. "From the Baltic to the Mediterranean, islands are on the front line of geopolitical challenges," Fitto said.

There are no details yet on which specific projects will receive funding. Fitto said member states would send proposals after the bloc’s new budget is unveiled, and added that desalination plants and housing would be among the priorities.

Fisheries Oceans Commissioner Costas Kadis said coastal communities contribute about 265 billion euros (USD 302 billion) annually to the bloc’s budget, but are also under pressure from climate change, demographic decline, a lack of affordable housing and difficult access to services. He said the strategy for coastal communities would aim to reduce reliance on a single source of income by diversifying economic activity and creating new jobs.

Among the proposals, Kadis said, is a blue carbon credit programme to fund carbon-absorbing coastal wetlands, marshes and mangroves. Other proposals include the OceanEye project to make the EU a leader in ocean observation and research, as well as promoting dual-use technologies and vessels that can be used for both fishing and tourism.

The coastal strategy also seeks to make these communities more resilient to climate change and extreme weather through investments in collaboration with the European Investment Bank. Together, the two strategies aim to address the higher costs, economic pressures and climate risks faced by the EU’s islands and coastal regions.

With PTI Inputs

- Ends