The German government will host the third North Sea Summit (Nordsee-Gipfel) on January 26, 2026, at Hamburg City Hall. At the summit, important decisions will be made on closer cooperation in the expansion of offshore wind energy. Joint expansion is key to strengthening Europe’s energy security and competitiveness, restoring investment and planning security for the offshore wind industry, and reducing electricity prices. At the invitation of Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Federal Minister Katherina Reiche, heads of state and government as well as energy ministers from ten countries will come together.

The North Sea Summit was first held in 2022 in the port city of Esbjerg on the initiative of Denmark. The aim of the summit was to strengthen cooperation between the North Sea countries in the expansion of offshore wind energy in order to reduce their joint dependence on fossil fuel imports from Russia in view of the war of aggression against Ukraine. In 2023, the second North Sea Summit took place in Ostend, Belgium, with Norway, France, Luxembourg, the United Kingdom, and Ireland participating alongside the Esbjerg states (Germany, Denmark, Belgium, and the Netherlands). At this summit, the participating countries decided to develop the North Sea into a “green power plant for Europe” and to jointly install up to 300 gigawatts of capacity in the North Sea by 2050.

The third North Sea Summit in Hamburg is now intended to advance the implementation of this common goal and has the motto “From National to Regional.”

Important topics for this are

  • the creation of suitable investment conditions for offshore wind energy,
  • the cross-border planning and financing of offshore wind farms and the associated power grids
  • as well as the protection of critical infrastructure.

The goal is to increase synergy effects in land use, strengthen European electricity trading, and ensure better utilization of the grid infrastructure. This is to be achieved through the planning and implementation of offshore wind farms with electricity connections to more than one country, as well as the connection of offshore wind farms from the exclusive economic zones (EEZ) of other countries—so-called cooperation projects.

Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy, Katherina Reiche: “Only through offshore cooperation projects can we exploit the full energy potential of the North Sea in an economically efficient manner. In this way, we are making a significant contribution to a stable and affordable energy supply in Europe, thereby securing Europe’s position as a business location.”

The third North Sea Summit will bring together heads of state and government as well as energy ministers from Belgium, Denmark, Germany, France, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, and the United Kingdom. The European Commission and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) are also invited. The meeting will be attended by representatives of the press and media, as well as key players from the electricity grid and wind energy sectors, major electricity consumers, non-governmental organizations, trade unions, and financial institutions.

The summit will result in intergovernmental summit declarations at various levels and agreements with North Sea states on cooperation projects. An agreement with industry is also expected.

Source: BWE