North Sea countries commit to jointly building and securing offshore wind farms
Several North Sea countries, including Belgium, will commit to jointly developing offshore wind capacity in the North Sea at the North Sea Summit in Hamburg, Germany, on Monday. They will also improve the security of the infrastructure, now that the threat of sabotage is increasing, reported financial news agency Bloomberg.
The ministers of nine countries meeting next week for the third North Sea Summit in Hamburg will sign a declaration committing themselves to setting up 100 gigawatts of collaborative projects around offshore wind capacity. That shows a draft declaration that Bloomberg was able to examine.
With the security of such infrastructure increasingly under threat, the countries also want to exchange security-related data. They also want to arm themselves against cyber and physical threats, for example by subjecting wind turbine components to stress tests.
Host country Germany invited the heads of state and ministers of Belgium, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Norway. Prime minister Bart De Wever and North Sea minister Annelies Verlinden will be present on behalf of Belgium. NATO and the European Commission are also participating in the summit. Although it does not border the North Sea, Iceland is attending as well.
While US president Donald Trump opposes wind farms for ideological reasons – as he reiterated this week during his speech in Davos, Switzerland – Europe is confirming its commitment to offshore wind energy with this declaration. According to the Global Wind Energy Council's 2025 report, there is currently 83 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity worldwide. At the same time, the need for better protection of infrastructure has grown since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
During the previous North Sea Summit, which took place in Ostend in 2024, nine European countries agreed to create 120 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity by 2030 and at least 300 gigawatts by 2050. The aim now is to create 100 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity through international projects.
With the Princess Elisabeth Zone, Belgium will have a new area in the North Sea where wind farms will be built in the coming years. However, the tendering procedure for the first plot is currently on hold. The federal government wants to relaunch it by the end of March at the latest.
#FlandersNewsService | Illustration © PHOTO IMAGEBROKER
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