“Good on paper”: WWF highlights gaps in EU’s marine policy following European Commission’s assessment

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has criticized the European Commission’s (EC) latest assessment of the EU’s primary marine ecosystem legislation as “passive and ineffective” in protecting seas from over-exploitation, pollution, and climate change. 

The reaction comes as the EC published evaluations of two directives on preserving the region’s seas and oceans, including the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) and the Bathing Water Directive.

The analysis finds that the MSFD has not fully achieved its objectives for good environmental status, which underpin marine species’ long-term viability, vital for the EU’s food security and socio-economic stability.

The report also identifies a clear scope for reducing administrative load through simplifying regulations and improved data management.

Member states fall short

Despite its shortcomings, the EC notes that the regulation has helped EU countries reach a consensus on specific limits on certain pressures on marine life, including underwater noise, food webs, and damage to sea floor.

The executive branch of the EU also highlights achievements under the directive, such as setting up a region-wide framework for protecting and conserving marine resources.

However, WWF believes that the latest assessment reinforces that the member states’ measures were not enough to address the fallout of human activity at sea.

“While the MSFD looks good on paper, the assessment published today reveals that member states are not following through,” says Helena Rodrigues, oceans policy officer at WWF European Policy Office.

“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.”

Declining biodiversity and lack of coherence

According to the EC update, the EU’s goal of achieving good environmental status by 2020 has not been met yet due to declining biodiversity in several areas and rising pollution from nutrients and chemicals.

Moreover, the evaluation report notes that there is room to boost the level of health and environmental protection in better alignment with the EU’s One Health and Clean Competitiveness while ensuring synergy with the Water Framework Directive.

The Directorate-General for Environment, which develops and delivers environmental policy, acknowledges “partially unsatisfactory” results.

“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,” the department notes in a statement.

The Directorate-General acknowledges that changes in the marine environment can take decades, and while challenges remain, it expects “significant” benefits to emerge from the actions taken so far.

“The Oceans Pact and Water Resilience Strategy must be based on data and science, not political convenience,” Rodrigues stresses.

The two initiatives are the EU’s forthcoming initiatives aiming to bring coherence across ocean policies and water management.

“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,” Rodrigues concludes.