Member Organisations and Representatives

The Member Organisations are legally bound through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that remains in force for four years.  

Representatives of the Member Organisations (Steering Committee) constitute EurOcean’s main decision-making body and establish, among other things, (i) strategic and policy guidelines and (ii) operational guidelines, including approval of the Yearly Work Programme. The EurOcean Executive-Director is also an ex-officio member of the Steering Committee.

The Steering Committee normally meets once a year in a plenary meeting to define common priorities, agree on the Yearly Work Programme, including the main products, and to share knowledge.

Executive Committee

EurOcean’s activities are overseen by the Executive Committee (ExCom), which has a President and two Vice-Presidents and, as an ex-officio member, EurOcean’s Executive-Director.

ExCom members are elected by the EurOcean Members (Steering Committee) for a two-year term, renewable once if re-elected.

The ExCom meets twice annually to follow up on implementation of the Work Programme approved by the Steering Committee in the annual plenary meeting.

EurOcean Foundation Board

EurOcean is legally set up as a foundation, which was established under Dutch law in 2007. Since 2009, the EurOcean Foundation has been legally registered in Portugal.

The Board of Directors meets once a year to review and endorse all the legal and financial recommendations made in the annual Steering Committee meeting. The Foundation’s Board is currently composed of five members and also includes the Executive-Director as an ex-officio member.

EurOcean Office

The strategic and operational decisions and activities agreed by the Steering Committee and the Executive Committee are implemented by the Office. Located at the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (FCT) premises in Lisbon, Portugal since 2002 (as Co-Founding Member and hosting organisation), the EurOcean Office currently has six staff.