Report on the first phase of implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive: the European Commission’s assessment and guidance

Just over five years after the entry into force of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), this report marks the end of the first, ambition-setting phase of its implementation. An unprecedented data-collection and analysis exercise has been undertaken, during which Member States have provided an assessment of the state of their seas (the initial assessment), have defined what they consider to be "good environmental status" (GES) of their marine waters and have established a series of targets to bridge the gap between the current situation, and where they want to be in 2020, the date by which GES must be achieved.

The exercise has provided an opportunity for a broad public debate on the protection of the marine environment, has brought together a vast amount of knowledge about our seas and oceans and triggered further regional collaboration, in particular through Regional Sea Conventions (RSCs). At the same time, the Commission's assessment of Member States’ reports gives rise to concern: Member States’ definition of good environmental status and the path they set out to achieve it shows overall limited ambition, often fails to take into account existing obligations and standards and lacks coherence across the Union, even between neighbouring countries within the same marine region.

By December 2013, all but a few of the Member States concerned had reported to the European Commission. The present report reflects the fact that data is only partially available for some Member States, and that one Member State has not reported at all. The European Commission has launched infringement procedures whenever relevant. In parallel to legal action, it will consider how to communicate its assessment and guidance to the Member States not included in this report, after they have reported fully.

Based on this analysis, the present report presents guidance in the form of recommendations to be implemented at the EU, regional, and national levels. Rather than advising to re-start the reporting exercise where shortcomings have been identified, the Commission outlines in this report and in the attached Staff Working Document, a pro-active, future-oriented approach. The aim is to provide concrete guidance on how to address the challenges identified, making the process of further implementation less costly and more efficient.

The Staff Working Document accompanying this report contains a more detailed analysis of Member States' reporting on the Directive’s set of 11 qualitative descriptors of the marine environment (e.g. biodiversity, non-indigenous species, fish, health of food webs, contaminants, litter, underwater noise), together with more detailed recommendations and specific country-based assessments and recommendations. Later in 2014, the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) will develop in-depth assessments of more technical aspects of the Member States’ reporting. The European Environmental Agency (EEA) will also draw conclusions on the overall state of the marine environment in Europe.

EUR-Lex: SWD(2014)49: Annex http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=SWD:2014:049:FIN

ESO: Turning the tide on Europe's oceans and seas http://www.europeansources.info/record/press-release-turning-the-tide-on-europes-oceans-and-seas/

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