On Thursday (6 March), the Commission published evaluations of two directives on the protection of EU seas and oceans and on the quality of bathing waters on land.
The laws, in place since 2008 and 2006, respectively, have been assessed to measure their achievements so far and identify any gaps and any potential for simplification.
The evaluation has found that the Marine Strategy Framework Directive has put in place an ambitious framework to better monitor the state of our seas and protect marine life from pollution and unsustainable practices. It has, however, not fully achieved its good environmental status objectives, which were originally due in 2020, and there is clear scope for the reduction of administrative burden through regulatory simplification and enhanced data management.
The Bathing Water Directive has been effective in protecting bathers in the EU. Based on the latest available data, in 2023, no less than 85% of bathing water sites at sea and on land were rated ‘excellent’ in the EU and minimum water quality standards were met at 96% of sites.
The evaluation concludes, however, that there is scope for enhancing the actual level of both health and environmental protection in better alignment with the EU’s One Health and Clean Competitiveness ambitions while reducing administrative burdens by enhancing coherence with the Water Framework Directive.
The evaluation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive concluded that the Directive has been partially effective in reaching its objectives. It has scored positively on certain obligations, such as setting up an EU-wide framework for the protection of marine biodiversity and the sustainable use of marine resources, improved cooperation across Member States and marine regions.
It has also generated data and knowledge that have led to a better understanding of our seas and oceans and the impacts human activities have on them. This has supported the adoption of specific legislation, such as the Single-Use Plastics directive.
The implementation of the Directive has also led EU countries to agree on specific limits on certain pressures on marine life, including beach litter, underwater noise and damage to the seafloor.
The intended goal of achieving good environmental status by 2020 has not been fully met given that marine biodiversity continues to decline in several areas and the overall levels of pollution (notably from nutrients and chemicals) still cause harm to marine life.
On a positive note, some types of pollution are decreasing (e.g. coastal litter). Besides external factors outside the direct control of the Directive (e.g. political priority-setting, actions taken by non-EU countries), the evaluation concludes that this partially unsatisfactory outcome is also due to regulatory and governance weaknesses inherent to the Directive, insufficient coherence with other frameworks, limited regional cooperation and data issues.
Changes in the marine environment can, however, take decades, and despite these shortcomings, significant benefits are still expected to emerge from relevant actions taken so far.
The Bathing Water Directive has protected bathers across the EU through the identification of bathing sites by the national authorities and the regular monitoring of two health parameters (intestinal enterococci and E. coli). Its value has been recognised beyond the EU by the Foundations for Environmental Education Blue Flag Programme, which applies the same microbiological parameters globally.
The evaluation concludes that there is scope for enhancing the actual level of both health and environmental protection provided, in line with the EU’s zero pollution and biodiversity ambition. The potential for improvement and simplification of monitoring and reporting through digitalisation has been identified as well. Coherence with other legal frameworks, in particular the Water Framework Directive, which covers all the inland, coastal and surface waters falling under the scope of the Bathing Water Directive, could be further enhanced.
Earlier this week, the Commission published a Dashboard of zero pollution performance across regions and cities, which also presents the bathing water quality and the progress made in each region, based on the existing legal requirements.
Background
These evaluations are based on a legal obligation in the Directives and were undertaken in accordance with the Commission’s Better Regulation Guidelines. They were also carried out in the wider policy context of the European Green Deal, with a special focus on the Zero Pollution Action Plan and the EU Biodiversity Strategy.
The follow-up to these evaluations will be discussed in the context of the ongoing work on the Water Resilience Strategy and the European Ocean Pact.
The Marine Strategy Framework Directive stems from 2008. Its objective was to achieve good environmental status for European seas by 2020, meaning that they are clean, healthy, and productive. It does so across eleven descriptors (such as biodiversity, contaminants, and litter).
It requires Member States to develop marine strategies, including taking measures, to achieve this objective. These strategies need to be continuously updated over six-year cycles. It also requires Member States to cooperate with other countries that share the same marine region.
The Bathing Water Directive, adopted in 2006, regulates the management of bathing water quality at around 22,000 bathing sites across the EU. It monitors the quality of bathing water for two microbiological parameters and requires that management measures are taken when needed and that the relevant information is made available to the public.
The Directive applies to all inland, coastal and surface waters covered by the Water Framework Directive and requires the Member States to take specific actions in places where they expect many people to bathe.
More information
Marine Strategy Framework Directive evaluation + annex and executive summary
Bathing Water Directive evaluation and executive summary
Details
- Publication date
- 6 March 2025
- Author
- Directorate-General for Environment
