European MSP Week – Helsinki
Join us to advance Maritime Spatial Planning together!
A week-long series of events on Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) will take place in Helsinki, Finland, from 13 to 17 October 2025. This MSP-focused week brings together key events and expert groups to foster exchange, build synergies, and accelerate progress on MSP across Europe and beyond.
The different meetings and conferences organised during the week provide a unique opportunity to explore progress in MSP implementation, particularly in relation to data, tools, governance and digital innovation. Throughout the week, you’ll find opportunities to connect with professionals from science, policy, and practice, explore innovations in data and digital tools, and contribute to shaping the future of MSP. These activities are aligned with the evolving priorities and shared goals of MSP development in Europe, supporting efforts towards more sustainable, coherent and adaptive planning of our marine spaces.
Below you’ll find an overview of each event, including dates, venues, organizing entities, registration links, and detailed information. Whether you’re already involved or looking to join the MSP community, there’s something for you.
- Informal consultation session of the BSR MSP Data Expert Sub-Group (upon registration) - 13 October, 9:00 - 15:00 CET
Organisers: Host: Ministry of the Environment, Finland
Venue: HELCOM Secretariat, Katajanokanlaituri 6B, Helsinki
Registration: HELCOM Meeting Portal (members) or by contacting the HELCOM Secretariat (florent.nicolas [at] helcom.fi (florent[dot]nicolas[at]helcom[dot]fi))
Full information available here
Data and information are crucial components of MSP, which also create a basis for cross-border consultations and ensure coherence of maritime spatial planning throughout the Baltic Sea. The purpose of the BSR MSP Data Expert Sub-Group is to provide methodological support to the MSP Working Group and facilitate the data exchange throughout the Baltic Sea. The 7th informal consultation session of the Baltic Sea Region Maritime Spatial Planning Data Expert Sub-group will partially be dedicated to the dialogue between experts from the North and Baltic Seas and opened for other regions. Experts involved in GNSBI, NESBp and ReMAP projects’ work will be invited to attend this session with the aim of exploring perspectives of cooperation with the BSR MSP Data ESG.
- ReMAP Hands-on conference - 14&15 October
Organisers: ReMAP Consortium
Venue: Scandic Grand Marina, Helsinki (Finland)
Dates: Tuesday 14 – Wednesday 15 October 2025
Full information: Conference brochure
Join us in Helsinki for the final event of the ReMAP Project, where we’ll explore how to make Maritime Spatial Planning more adaptive, inclusive, and ecosystem-based. Through practical case studies and hands-on sessions, ReMAP will provide participants training for 10 analytical tools and showcase findings developed by the consortium over the past three years. Further than training and “hands-on” sessions, the event offers a space for dialogue among planners, scientists, decision-makers and stakeholders committed to improving MSP across European seas.
- Informal consultation session of the HELCOM-VASAB MSP Working Group (by invitation only) - 15-17 October
Organisers: Host: Ministry of the Environment, Finland
Venue:Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Laivastokatu 22, Helsinki
Registration: this event is by invitation only.
The joint HELCOM and VASAB Working Group on Maritime Spatial Planning was established in 2010 to ensure cooperation among the Baltic Sea Region countries for coherent regional Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) processes in the Baltic Sea. The sea is an important common resource for the countries in the region, represents an important economic potential and at the same time a vulnerable ecosystem. The current environmental status requires intensive efforts towards stabilisation and improvement. Many sea use conflicts call for a wise management and coordinated introduction of continuous Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP). Currently the mandate of the Group is valid until 2030 and the workplan is based on the Regional MSP Roadmap 2021-2030.
- Technical Expert Group on Data for MSP (TEG) Meeting - 16 October
Organisers: TEG on Data for MSP
Venue: to be confirmed
Registrations : registrations for this event are by invitation only for members of the Technical Expert Group (TEG) for MSP data. Organizers may be contacted at info [at] maritime-spatial-planning.ec.europa.eu (info[at]maritime-spatial-planning[dot]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu)
Full information available here
The 15th meeting of the TEG will be held in person, as a back-to-back event with the ReMAP final conference. The meeting will focus on the current developments within the TEG sub-groups, including topics such as digital twins, data spaces, socio-economic assessment, the relationship between MSP and the MSFD, and the maintenance of the European MSP data layer hosted at EMODnet. In addition to reviewing the state of play of ongoing TEG activities, the face-to-face format will provide an opportunity for open discussion on future challenges related to MSP data management and the strategic direction of the group moving forward.
- Workshop on Digital Twins of the Ocean in MSP (by TEG) - 16 October
Organisers: TEG on Data for MSP
Venue: [to be confirmed]
Registration: [more info soon]
Full information is available here
This workshop is organized by the Technical Expert Group (TEG) on Data for Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP), as part of the activity focusing on Digital Twins of the Ocean (DTO) in MSP. The goal of this activity is to explore how DTOs can enhance MSP by addressing data quality and availability gaps, enabling real-time feedback and simulations, exploring what-if scenarios, and fostering innovative solutions to key challenges such as climate change adaptation, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable resource management. The workshop will provide a space to exchange ideas, share experiences, and collect inputs to support the work of the TEG on this topic.
Format: Hybrid - All sessions are open to participants upon registration. In-person attendance will be limited to a maximum number of participants, based on the order of registration. In-person attendees will be invited to take part in follow-up working tables aimed at deepening the discussion and co-developing next steps.