The Delegation to the EU of the Spain Chamber of Commerce hosted the European meeting of the ATLIC project on youth entrepreneurship and the Blue Economy
Brussels, 2 June 2026. – The Spanish Chamber of Commerce’s Delegation to the European Union hosted the “Connecting Europe” event at its headquarters, as part of the first day of the “Shaping the Future with Atlantic Youth” programme under the ATLIC – Atlantic InnoBlue Communities project. The event brought together young entrepreneurs, institutional partners and representatives of European institutions in Brussels to discuss the challenges and opportunities of the Blue Economy in the Atlantic Area.
ATLIC is a project co-funded by the Interreg Atlantic Area Programme (ERDF) whose aim is to build and test a pilot blue innovation community that promotes entrepreneurship and youth employability through co-creation, practical training and transnational cooperation. The consortium comprises ten institutions from four countries: the Santiago de Compostela Chamber of Commerce and Vida Láctea, from Spain; L'École de Design Nantes Atlantique and Blue Lab, from France; the IMI and Donegal Youth Service, from Ireland; and the Santo Tirso Municipal Council, the ACIF Madeira Chamber of Commerce and Industry, INCUBO and the University of the Azores, from Portugal.
The session began with an official opening address by Pilar Ruiz Huélamo, Director of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce’s Delegation to the EU; Vera Araújo, ATLIC project coordinator for Santo Tirso Town Council; and Rosa Mary Cardeso, Secretary General of the Santiago de Compostela Chamber of Commerce.
Next, a debate took place entitled “Europe is not an abstract concept: how to make the most of it to grow your business”, featuring Maria José Tarrero Martos, Counsellor for Labour, Migration and Social Security at the Permanent Representation of Spain to the EU; Florent Orsoni, Director of Research, Foresight and Professional Development at L'École de Design Nantes Atlantique; and Isabel Vieira, Head of European Projects at the ACIF Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Madeira.
The programme included two participatory working sessions. Firstly, the ATLIC Legacy session brought together the young participants in working groups to identify real barriers and propose concrete solutions for the development of young talent in coastal and Atlantic regions, with the following panellists: Luca Marangoni, Deputy Head of Unit for Sustainable Blue Economy at CINEA; Idaira Robayna Alfonso, EEN project advisor at EISMEA; Emmanuelle Saunier, European projects manager at BlueLab; Manuel Montero Ramírez, LIFE project advisor at CINEA; Isild Hoël, project manager at CCI France; and Florence Bernat, head of partnership development and strategic project management at L'École de Design Nantes Atlantique.
Meanwhile, the ATLIC Talent session gave a platform to nine young entrepreneurs who presented their projects related to the Blue Economy to a panel comprising Lorraine Thomson, Chief Executive of Donegal Youth Service; Larisa Panait, Director of Skills and Employment at Eurochambres; Julián García, an aquaculture expert from the European Commission’s DG MARE; Maria José Tarrero Martos; Reka Rozsavolgyi, Team Lead for Interreg Programmes for Maritime and Outermost Regions at the European Commission’s DG REGIO; and Jorge Miranda, Project Coordinator at INCUBO.
The event was closed by María José Tarrero Martos and Julián García.
At the Delegation to the EU of the Spain Chamber of Commerce, we will continue to work to ensure that young Spanish and European entrepreneurs can access and make the most of the European instruments and programmes available.
