Marine Strategy

The European Commission has proposed an ambitious strategy to protect more effectively the marine environment across Europe.

The Thematic Strategy on the Protection and Conservation of the Marine Environment was adopted by the European Commission on the 24th of October of 2005. Its roots are in the Sixth Environmental Action Programme adopeted by the Council and Parliament for the period of 2002-2012.

The Marine Strategy aims to achieve good environmental status of the EU's marine waters by 2021 and to protect the resource base upon which marine-related economic and social activities depend.

Marine Regions

European Marine Regions have been stablished on the basis of geographical and environmental criteria. Each Member State, in close cooperation with the relevant other Member States and third countries within a Marine Region, will be required to develop Marine Strategies for its marine waters.

The Marine Strategies will contain a detailed assessment of the state of the environment, a definition of "good environmental status" at regional level and the establishment of clear environmental targets and monitoring programmes.

Each Member State will draw up a programme of cost-effective measures. Impact assessments, including detailed cost-benefit analysis of the measures proposed, will be required prior to the introduction of any new measure.

Relation with the coastal zone

Relation with ICZM

Relation with other EU policies

• The Marine Strategy will constitute the environmental pillar of the future maritime policy the European Commission is working on (see Green Paper for a EU Maritime Policy), designed to achieve the full economic potential of oceans and seas in harmony with the marine environment, which is one of the European Commission's strategic objectives for 2005-2009.

• The Marine Strategy is consistent with the Water Framework Directive from 2000 which requires that surface freshwater and ground water bodies (lakes, streams, rivers, estuaries, coastal waters…) achieve a good ecological status by 2015 and that the first review of the River Basin Management Plan should take place in 2021.