The European Commission is gearing up to launch its ambitious EU Ocean Pact, structured around seven pillars, which aim to balance ecological protection with economic growth in marine sectors. A widely leaked draft shows ambition but insufficient follow-through. While its holistic approach is commendable, there are significant gaps between its promises and concrete suggestions for implementation.
Six strategic priorities and seven pillars in the EU Ocean Pact
1. A strengthened governance framework
The European Union is taking decisive steps to solidify its leadership in global ocean governance by accelerating ratification of the High Seas Treaty (BBNJ Agreement) and implementing its provisions through EU law – a critical move that simultaneously advances the agenda of its forthcoming Ocean Pact. This will position the EU to drive stronger international cooperation at the 2025 United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC), with particular focus on cracking down on illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, while establishing robust protections for international waters.
The draft Ocean Pact sets out ambitions for a new EU governance framework for all activities that affect the ocean together with actions to strengthen security, competitiveness, innovation and prosperity – lots of big words. As various EU regulations include targets related to sustainable management and ocean conservation, the Commission promises to both simplify and support implementation of existing legislation, taking a holistic approach. The draft sets out a use of coordinated regional planning to manage the increasing number of maritime activities with direct effects on the ocean. This is ambitious, considering the resistance that met the Marine Action Plan (COM(2023)102), which seeks to implement existing legislation in a more coordinated manner bringing together environmental and fisheries objectives. To track work against targets across sectors, the Commission is proposing a public EU Ocean Health and Blue Economy Dashboard and a regular State of the Ocean report.
It also promises special attention to, among other things, the state of the Baltic Sea with a high-level event already in 2025 to begin to tackle the widespread challenges linked to ecosystem deterioration.
Under the governance pillar, the Commission also calls on the Council to review progress on the Ocean Pact regularly, encourages each presidency to hold Council meetings to discuss ocean policies, and calls on the European Parliament to regularly review progress as well. To that extent, drawing inspiration from the European Board on Agriculture and Food (EBFAF), the Commission will support the creation of an Ocean Board composed of different stakeholder representatives from the blue economy sector, for high-level strategic policy advice. If the Commission follows the same structure as it did with the EBAF expert group that was established on 24 January 2025, then the new Ocean Board should also include non-governmental organisations as “experts”, but as this initiative is yet to be officially announced, it remains to be seen how the Commission executes it.
2. Integrated approach for ocean health and prosperity
Marine biodiversity is at the heart of the Ocean Pact, with the EU committing to protect 30% of its seas by 2030 — a pledge linked to the Global Biodiversity Framework agreed under the Convention on Biological Diversity. The Commission says that this initiative requires accelerating the pace setting up Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) to protect and restore significant ecosystems, including seagrass and seaweed meadows, coral reefs and deep sea areas, while ensuring better funding and enforcement. MPAs are also to be integrated into maritime spatial plans.
To further conservation of marine biodiversity, the Commission will continue its push for implementation of existing EU legislation, such as the Habitats Directive. A strategy to support Member States is to be expected. Key actions include restoring degraded habitats,. however, bottom trawling is still allowed in 59% of EU’s MPAs, undermining conservation efforts, and the leaked draft Ocean Pact does not mention banning this often damaging activity, which may have harmful effects on the habitats and species that MPAs are set to protect.
In the draft, the Commission also states that an ecosystem-based approach must be applied to the management of all human activities affecting marine ecosystems. Like ambitions to protect sensitive species and habitats through MPAs, this approach is already a part of key EU policies, such as the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) (Article 2.3) and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) (Articles 13 & 21), but practical implementation has been slow. For example, the setting of fishing quotas is still very much based on a “single stock approach” and mostly lacks the wider inter-species connections as well as ecosystem considerations, allowing overfishing with detrimental effects on other species and habitats to continue.
Despite progress under the MSFD, an evaluation published in March 2025 (SWD(2025)50) highlighted that further actions are needed to fully achieve the overall objective of Good Environmental Status (GES) across all 11 descriptors of the MSFD, including increasing financial investments to implement the necessary measures. A revision of the MSFD is expected later this year.
Other key initiatives under this pillar are a Blue Carbon Action Plan that will set out to map important areas for carbon sequestration, restoring degraded coastal and marine habitats, and support in setting up “blue carbon certification schemes”, as well as a more coordinated approach to tackling pollution, including from land-based sources. The widespread pollution caused by the maritime transport section, including waste, underwater noise and emissions, is highlighted, whereas similar pollution from the EU fishing sector goes unmentioned.
3. Steering the EU Blue Economy towards greater sustainable competitiveness
According to the draft text and earlier statements by officials, the EU aims “to enhance competitiveness of the EU single market and accelerate strategic transitions, especially decarbonisation”. By “fast-tracking the deployment of clean blue technologies, supporting business models that preserve or restore ocean ecosystems and biodiversity through nature-based solutions and carbon-negative products”, the Commission wants to create the right conditions for growth. With the new Energy Transition Roadmap, the Commission will facilitate the introduction of energy efficiency measures and the utilisation of clean energy sources to create a more sustainable, modern and resilient fisheries and aquaculture sector.
The draft Ocean Pact also heavily promotes industrial aquaculture expansion (+120,000 tonnes/year), through the establishment of an EU Partnership on Aquaculture, to support EU food sovereignty. This is without mentioning that most aquaculture operations rely on wild-caught fish for feed — a major threat to small pelagic fish populations globally – and that many fish farms are heavy polluters, degrading the marine environment. This expansion is closely linked to the ongoing Vision 2040 for fisheries and aquaculture in the EU.
Also concerning, the Pact seems to “recognise” the important source of raw material that the European seas have to offer with sea brines – a potential source for magnesium, lithium, boron and vanadium to name a few. In combination with a “precautionary pause”, but no ban, on deep-sea mining, this leaves the door open to future destructive practices in vulnerable ecosystems.
4. Protecting and empowering coastal communities and islands: a path to resilience and prosperity
The draft Ocean Pact text recognises that climate change disproportionately impacts coastal communities. Coastal marine ecosystems are at the highest risk, facing rising sea levels, coastal erosion, flooding, and the depletion of biodiversity, including fish populations. Thus, initiatives will focus on green job creation, retraining programmes and infrastructure upgrades to help these communities adapt. In 2026, the Commission will propose a new EU Coastal Communities Resilience and Development Strategy to enhance the resilience of coastal communities and address their social and economic development challenges. This pillar is particularly timely, as the UNOC 2025 is expected to highlight social equity as a central theme in global ocean governance.
However, the Ocean Pact’s “just transition” seems to largely ignore one of the key problems: many coastal communities depend on healthy fisheries and are under threat due to overfishing and/or destructive fishing practices. A recent Seas At Risk report also shows that the political economy of the EU fisheries sector drives industrialisation and economic concentration of the sector, often to the detriment of small-scale, low impact fishers and their communities.
5. Maritime security and defence as a fundamental condition
The EU Ocean Pact acknowledges growing geopolitical tensions over ocean resources, as well as vulnerabilities in undersea infrastructure (pipelines, cables) and illegal surveillance. This pillar aligns with broader EU and NATO security strategies, ensuring maritime domains are safeguarded against hybrid threats. While security is essential, environmental groups caution that it must not come at the expense of ecological protections. Security is not only about infrastructure; overexploitation or IUU fishing can also destabilise coastal nations, while militarisation could overshadow environmental protections in contested waters. Maritime security planning – which recent events have shown is crucial for the Union – should also include ensuring ecological resilience.
6. Innovation: the crucial role of ocean research, knowledge and literacy
To ensure policies are science-driven, the Ocean Pact will boost funding for marine research under Horizon Europe, with potential new initiatives like a European Ocean Observatory. Public awareness campaigns will also play a role in fostering ocean literacy among citizens and policymakers. This pillar is critical for building long-term support for ocean conservation, but its success depends on sustained investment and outreach.
While Horizon Europe funding is welcome, boosting science, innovation and awareness need to be combined with a greater uptake and implementation of new knowledge and tools that can help achieve sustainable fisheries management and improved habitat protection.
7. International ocean governance and reinforced ocean diplomacy
The Commission wants to strengthen international ocean governance together with its partners. Some actions that are planned under this final pillar are the ratification and full implementation of international instruments such as the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Fisheries Subsidies Agreement on prohibiting harmful subsidies, swift ratification and implementation of the BBNJ Agreement and an ambitious Plastics Treaty – all crucial to oceans health globally.
Furthermore, the EU will use its diplomatic channels to push for inclusion of ocean issues on the agendas of the G7 and G20. Moreover, the Commission will continue to lead by example through its zero-tolerance approach to Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing through dialogues with third countries to support their monitoring and enforcement mechanisms and promoting the adoption of international standards, as well as through strengthening the implementation of the EU catch certification scheme by use of electronic means (CATCH). From 9 January 2026, all EU importers will need to use CATCH to submit catch certificates for any fishery products entering the EU market.
There are notable contradictions in the draft Ocean Pact. As mentioned above, full EU ratification of the High Seas Treaty would be a great step forward, but in the absence of a global ban on deep-sea mining, vulnerable ecosystems remain at risk. Also, regarding the WTO framework, the EU still subsidises industrial fleets and use of destructive gears through its fuel tax exemptions, undermining its global leadership on wider oceans issues. The current push from the sector and debate in EU institutions about modernisation and engine replacements could also jeopardise this international agenda.
Where does this leave the Ocean Pact – next steps
The Ocean Pact is currently in the final drafting phase, with internal consultations underway. The Pact will be presented in Nice at UNOC on 9-13 June 2025.
Some Members of the European Parliament (MEP) have expressed skepticism about the EU Ocean Pact, demanding concrete action rather than symbolic gestures. In a debate held on Wednesday 2 April, MEPs discussed the upcoming Ocean Pact. During the debate, most political groups did not focus on the intention, but its implementation. According to Christophe Clergeau (S&D), “action has not been taken in response to the grand declarations of the past”. He also stated: “We support you, Commissioner, but we have doubts about the support you enjoy within the Commission.” Isabella Lövin (Greens) asserted that “we cannot achieve our objective without a legally binding governance framework,” while Stéphanie Yon-Courtin (Renew) argued that the agreement shouldn’t be “a message in a bottle”. The idea, according to Emma Fourreau (The Left), “lacks ambition.” Kadis responded that the inclusion of a specific “implementing mechanism” is still being discussed. “I am discussing with our services which mechanisms would be more appropriate to secure the implementation of the pact.” Other MEPs cautioned against overtaxing fishermen though. Gabriel Mato (EPP) expressed that the Commission’s initiative “must not impose more restrictions on fishermen for the sake of environmental protection,” while Veronika Vrecionova (ECR) declared that the EU should “not repeat the same mistakes as in climate policy” and it should make sure that more stringent regulations “apply to imports from third countries”(euractiv). The EPP recently released a position paper on the EU Ocean Pact.
After the leak of the draft, as the EU prepares to present its Ocean Pact, environmental NGOs have urged the European Commission to move beyond half-measures and deliver a binding, ambitious and actionable plan to halt ocean degradation. In an Open Letter to the College of Commissioners, the NGOs behind the Blue Manifesto have pointed out that the draft Ocean Pact lacks the urgency needed to address the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity collapse, and pollution. For more details, see the letter below.
The EU Ocean Pact is a major policy initiative brought forward by the new European Commission and its leader Ursula von der Leyen, making a claim for integration of sector policies to ensure ocean health in EU waters and globally. At UNOC, the EU must prove it is committed to this global leadership role by delivering an Ocean Pact that is bold, enforceable and resourced — one that charts a real course toward a thriving ocean by 2030.
For more information:
- https://www.euractiv.com/section/agriculture-food/news/eu-ocean-pact-meps-want-more-than-a-message-in-a-bottle/
- https://www.clientearth.org/latest/news/european-ocean-pact