As part of a wider EU Marine Strategy, a proposal for a directive to protect the marine environment has been prepared by DG Environment and was discussed by the Commission in June.
The proposed directive follows a Communication from the Commission in 2002, “Towards a strategy to protect and conserve the marine environment” (COM 2002/539), and a series of stakeholder consultations. It would require each Member State to establish a national marine strategy to restore and protect the marine environment by 2016. The draft directive contains a list of criteria to assess good environmental status, for instance decreasing pollutants and maintaining or restoring habitats and ecosystems, and an aim to reach this overarching goal by 2021. This can be compared with other EU commitments, such as the WSSD target to restore fish stocks by 2015 agreed in Johannesburg in 2002.
The Marine Strategy is one of seven environmental strategies that were due to be presented to the European Parliament and the Council within three years of the adoption of the Sixth Environmental Action Programme – by 22 July 2005 at the latest. While it was understood to be one of two strategies close to finalisation, the process was put on hold by José Manuel Barroso, President of European Commission, two weeks ago. It is rumoured that fears that the new rules could be too costly for industry lies behind the delay. The decision may also have been influenced by the referendums in France and the Netherlands, as well as by pressure from certain Member States, the UK and the Netherlands in particular, to drop some of the legally binding elements of the proposed Marine Strategy. EU Environment Commissioner, Stavros Dimas, promised in a speech as late as June 13 that the Marine Strategy would be adopted by the Commission in July. From an environmental perspective, the delay is worrying, as no official reason has been given nor any promises about when the process will resume. There seems to be a real risk that the proposed Directive might be withdrawn altogether.
A joint NGO letter was sent to the EU Commissioners in July, expressing concerns about the future of the Marine Strategy and the implications for marine resource management and conservation. At a European Commisson meeting on 20 July, many Commissioners gave support to the environmental strategies. Even so, a new date for Commission approval has not yet been set.
Parallel to the process of the Marine Strategy, a new Interdisciplinary Maritime Task Force led by Maritime Affairs Commissioner Borg, has recently been set up within the Commission. Since then, work on a new Maritime Strategy, focusing on the management of economic interests in the seas, such as shipping, fishing and various extractive enterprises, has begun. The Commission has indicated that the Marine Strategy will be the environmental pillar of the Maritime Strategy, but the relation between the two strategies, one in its final stages and one in its initial, is still somewhat unclear. The Barroso Commission has focused on the “full potential for economic growth” in its Strategic Objectives for the Commission 2005-h2009 and in the Communication “Towards a future Maritime Policy for the Union: A European vision for the oceans and seas”. A Green Paper on a future EU Maritime Policy is expected in the first half of 2006.
Several environmental NGOs have suggested that the new Maritime Strategy should focus on spatial planning of utilisation of coastal and marine resources, as well as restoration. As many marine resources are fully or over-exploited already, such actions might provide the most potential for economic growth. Restoration efforts are particularly important in heavily developed areas such as the Mediterranean. The Maritime Strategy also has the potential to promote the development of more environmentally sound technologies, which would give the EU a competitive edge at as well as reduce negative impacts on the marine environment.