UN Ocean Conference sets sail off France on World Oceans Day

NICE, France (AP) — Dozens of research and exploration vessels from around the world set sail just off the French coastal city of Nice on Sunday to kick off the third U.N. Ocean Conference and pay tribute to World Oceans Day.

The event, themed “Ocean Wonders,” saw the vessels sail across Nice's Baie des Anges, or Bay of Angels, to spotlight the beauty and importance of the ocean while urging world leaders not to lose sight of its value as they make decisions about the planet’s future.

Thousands of delegates, including heads of state, scientists, and environmental advocates, are expected in Nice this week to confront growing threats to the ocean, and the need to transform pledges into protection.

The United Nations has called the threats a global emergency facing the world’s oceans as they confront rising temperatures, plastic pollution choking marine life, and relentless overexploitation of fish and other resources.

Just 2.7% of the global ocean is effectively protected from destructive activities like industrial fishing and deep-sea mining — far below the global goal of 30% by 2030.

Participating boats included the Energy Observer, a solar-panel covered catamaran that was the first vessel to circumnavigate the globe using renewable energy alone. It produces hydrogen fuel on board via seawater electrolysis, offering a vision of zero-emissions maritime travel.

Other standout vessels included France’s Alfred Merlin, dedicated to underwater archaeology; the OceanXplorer, a high-tech billionaire-owned research yacht; and the WWF’s Blue Panda, which is working to map and protect the last remaining seagrass meadows in the Mediterranean Sea.

At the heart of the conference is the push to ratify the High Seas Treaty, adopted in 2023. If it takes effect, the treaty would for the first time allow countries to establish marine protected areas in international waters, which cover nearly two-thirds of the ocean and remain largely ungoverned.

“The High Seas Treaty is critical to ensuring we can protect biodiversity in the ocean,” said Rebecca Hubbard, director of the High Seas Alliance. “We’re in the middle of a biodiversity and climate crisis. We absolutely have to protect the ocean to address those crises.”

But even in waters already designated as protected, enforcement often falls short. Many countries, France included, face criticism from environmental groups over weak regulation and continued industrial activity within their marine protected areas.

“The ambition is not there, the speed is not there, and the scale has not been there,” said Sílvia Tavares, project manager at Oceano Azul Foundation. “Moments like UNOC are key to changing that.”

Several countries are expected to announce new marine protected areas, or MPAs, during the conference, along with bans on bottom trawling and other destructive activities within their existing MPA networks.

The “Ocean Wonders” fleet will remain docked in Nice and open to the public until the conference concludes on June 13.

Follow Annika Hammerschlag on Instagram @ahammergram.

The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP’s environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment

People swim as vessels sail during the "Ocean Wonders" themed event in honor of World Oceans Day ahead of the U.N. Ocean Conference on Sunday, June 8, 2025, in Nice, France. (AP Photo/Annika Hammerschlag)

People wacth vessels sail during the "Ocean Wonders" event in honor of World Oceans Day ahead of the U.N. Ocean Conference on Sunday, June 8, 2025, in Nice, France. (AP Photo/Annika Hammerschlag)

People enjoy the beach as vessels sail during the "Ocean Wonders" event in honor of World Oceans Day ahead of the U.N. Ocean Conference on Sunday, June 8, 2025, in Nice, France. (AP Photo/Annika Hammerschlag)

People enjoy the beach as vessels sail during the "Ocean Wonders" event in honor of World Oceans Day ahead of the U.N. Ocean Conference on Sunday, June 8, 2025, in Nice, France. (AP Photo/Annika Hammerschlag)

People cross a street as vessels sail during the "Ocean Wonders" event in honor of World Oceans Day ahead of the U.N. Ocean Conference on Sunday, June 8, 2025, in Nice, France. (AP Photo/Annika Hammerschlag)

People swim as vessels sail during the "Ocean Wonders" event in honor of World Oceans Day ahead of the U.N. Ocean Conference on Sunday, June 8, 2025, in Nice, France. (AP Photo/Annika Hammerschlag)

A family looks out at the boats on the water at Port Lympia where the upcoming U.N. Ocean Conference will take place on Sunday, June 8, 2025, in Nice, France. (AP Photo/Annika Hammerschlag)

People take photos of vessels during the "Ocean Wonders" event in honor of World Oceans Day ahead of the U.N. Ocean Conference on Sunday, June 8, 2025, in Nice, France. (AP Photo/Annika Hammerschlag)

A barracuda, center, swims in the protected area of France's Porquerolles National Park ahead of the U.N. Ocean Conference on Friday, June 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Annika Hammerschlag)

Anemone and peacock's tail are visible in the protected area of France's Port-Cros National Park ahead of the U.N. Ocean Conference, Saturday, June 7, 2025, (AP Photo/Annika Hammerschlag)

A police officer checks a woman ahead of the UN Ocean Conference, Saturday, June 7, 2025 in Nice, French Riviera. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)

A police officer watches riders by a map of the UN Ocean Conference, Saturday, June 7, 2025 in Nice, French Riviera. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)

Salema porgy swim near seagrass in the protected area of France's Porquerolles National Park ahead of the U.N. Ocean Conference on Friday, June 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Annika Hammerschlag)

People walk on the sea promenade ahead of the UN Ocean Conference, Saturday, June 7, 2025 in Nice, French Riviera. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)

BRUSSELS (AP) — Italy on Friday gave crucial support to plans by the European Union to seal a huge free trade deal with five South American nations neighboring Venezuela that has been negotiated for over 25 years.

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was long seen as the key vote in the campaign by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to rally support for the trade deal with the Mercosur nations of Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay.

Von der Leyen could now potentially sign the deal next week during a meeting in Paraguay. European Parliament will vote on it before it enters into force.

Italy confirmed its support for the deal on Friday, with Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani hailing it as "good news for Italy.”

“This agreement is destined to boost our exports, with the goal of reaching 700 billion euros in exports," Tajani wrote in a post on X. He acknowledged the deal required a long negotiation, but added that Italy had secured protections for its farmers, "especially regarding production standards.”

Meloni said at a press conference on Friday she never had “any ideological objections” to the Mercosur agreement.

"We have always said we will be in favor of it when there are sufficient guarantees for our farmers,” she said. “The agreement’s potential is good, but not at the expense of the excellence of our products.”

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in a statement Friday that the agreement "is a milestone in European trade policy and an important signal of our strategic sovereignty and ability to act.”

He stressed that “with this agreement, we are strengthening our economy and trade relations with our partners in South America -- which is good for Germany and for Europe."

The deal would create one of the world's largest free trade zones, covering some 780 million people from Uruguay to Romania and a quarter of the globe’s gross domestic product.

It also gives Brussels a diplomatic win at a time of economic upheaval, providing a stark counterpoint to the gunboat diplomacy of Washington and the coercive export controls of Beijing.

“Given Trump’s policies of isolating the U.S. from the rest of the world, it is an imperative for the EU to lead trade integration policies at the global level and to look for partners elsewhere,” said Antonio Fatas, a macroeconomist at the French business school INSEAD.

In the wake of Trumps’ tariff wars, Brussels has sought to curtail its dependency on the U.S. market with trade deals forged across the world. The EU has struck deals with Japan and Indonesia, and are working on one with India.

A delay in December to the signing of the deal had infuriated Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and led experts to worry a last-minute stumble would wreck the EU's credibility.

“For Europeans, the finalization of free-trade agreements with new partners stands among the best responses to US tariffs, growing protectionism and trade tensions with China,” said Agathe Demarais, a senior fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. She said the current EU reliance on China for some critical raw materials could be broken by tapping into Mercosur's deposits.

Opposition to the deal was led by France and Poland, with riled-up farmers flooding streets and blocking roads with tractors from Brussels to Athens. Austria, Hungary and Ireland also voted against it.

Ireland's Prime Minister Micheal Martin said on Thursday in Shanghai during a state visit to China that “we don't have confidence that (Irish farmers) wouldn't be undercut by that,” according to Irish public broadcaster RTE.

Both Martin and French President Emmanuel Macron said that internal negotiations sparked by the political furor surrounding the deal had led to reforms that better protect European farmers. But they acknowledged such reforms were not enough to overcome domestic political pressure.

Posting on X on Thursday, Macron said three of France's key demands were now being met: New safeguards to an “emergency brake” of imports if they are found to undercut EU prices by 5% or more; the mirroring of EU food safety regulations in the Mercosur bloc; and an increase of inspections of agrifood imports at EU ports and beyond.

Still, Macron said the potential economic gains of the Mercosur deal are limited and do not justify the risks it poses to EU agriculture. His office stated that the deal would only add 77 billion euros ($89.7 billion) by 2040 — half a percent of the EU's GDP.

Green members of European Parliament had vowed to take the Commission to court over the deal. They said the agreement would accelerate deforestation in the Amazon and weaken the EU's climate targets.

Frances Verkamp, trade campaigner at Friends of the Earth Europe, described the deal as “toxic." She said Brussels is "playing a game of imperial dominance in global trade with China and the US that wins nothing for workers or consumers — and even less for nature and climate.”

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Zampano reported from Rome. Sylvie Corbet contributed from Paris.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni arrives at her annual start-of-the-year press conference in the press room at the Lower Chamber, in Rome, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)