Today, the European Commission published a report on the implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), the EU’s main legislation for the marine environment. The document confirms the stark reality exposed by WWF: Europe’s passive approach to marine policy is not effective in protecting our seas from over-exploitation, pollution, and climate change, leaving our oceans increasingly vulnerable.
“While the MSFD looks good on paper, the assessment published today reveals that Member States are not following through. The MSFD has been successful in setting a shared foundation to define what a healthy marine environment looks like, but today’s report shows that the absence of legally binding targets allows Member States to choose their own approach to ocean protection – too often, with disappointing results,” said Helena Rodrigues, Oceans Policy Officer at WWF European Policy Office.
The MSFD, in force since 2008, set 2020 as the deadline for achieving Good Environmental Status (GES) of EU seas. That deadline is now long past without GES having been achieved. Last month, the Commission published a first assessment of the Member States Programmes of Measures, which showed the Member States’ measures were not sufficient to address human pressures at sea. The implementation report published today reinforces these findings, highlighting persistent gaps in Member States’ definition and monitoring of GES, insufficient national measures to achieve it, and a lack of policy coherence with other EU measures – ultimately undermining the MSFD’s effectiveness in tackling pollution, over-exploitation, and biodiversity loss in Europe’s seas.
Both reports come out at a critical moment in the EU policymaking process, with the European Commission drafting both the Oceans Pact and the EU Water Resilience Strategy.
“The Oceans Pact and Water Resilience Strategy must be based on data and science, not political convenience,” said Helena Rodrigues. “When all the science and assessments point in the same direction, we can’t continue to ignore it. The EU needs stronger enforcement, policy coherence, and binding targets, with clear monitoring mechanisms. Climate change is accelerating risks to our seas and coastal communities – over 80 million Europeans live in low-lying coastal zones and floodplains. Continuing to ignore the data and the link between climate and ocean health puts their future at risk,” added Rodrigues.
Despite the scientific consensus on the impact of climate change on marine biodiversity and the ocean’s capacity to act as a carbon sink, the MSFD still does not sufficiently address the impacts of climate change on marine ecosystems.
The conclusions of the implementation report are no surprise. WWF’s 2022-2024 assessments found that most Member States fail to integrate key MSFD requirements into their maritime spatial plans and to align the implementation timelines to ensure key findings from the MSFD monitoring are fed into the planning process.
Today’s report confirms what WWF has long warned: Europe needs to be more proactive in guaranteeing the health of our oceans. The EU must seize the Oceans Pact and Water Resilience Strategy to strengthen enforcement, close policy gaps, and deliver real protection for its seas and the livelihoods that depend on it. The Blue Manifesto, launched in 2024 by 140 civil society organisations, offers clear guidelines to achieve this, outlining the urgent actions needed to restore ocean health.
