On behalf of the Hellenic Republic, the General Secretariat for Research and Technology of the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs has sent a formal letter of request to the Italian government in the person of the Minister of Education, University and Research, Professor Giannini, for the setting-up of the European Multidisciplinary Seafloor and water-column Observatory as a European Research Infrastructure Consortium (EMSO-ERIC). Following Italy’s role as hosting country, Greece is the first member of the consortium to formally commit to the formation of the ERIC.