Call for Evidence for an impact assessment for the Marine Strategy Framework Directive

The Commission has launched a public consultation and Call for Evidence on the upcoming revision of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. Following the publication of an evaluation earlier this year, the Commission is now seeking to gather views and expertise from a wide range of stakeholders and the broader public on the revision of the Directive.

Political context

The 2008 Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) aims to achieve good environmental status (GES) in all EU marine waters, meaning that seas and the ocean are clean, healthy, and productive, by applying an ecosystem based approach. Under the Directive, EU countries must develop marine strategies to ensure their seas are used sustainably. The recent evaluation of the Directive recognises its role in establishing a coherent and integrated framework for marine protection, including the ‘source to sea’ approach as advocated in the recent Water Resilience Strategy and Ocean Pact, where the revision of the MSFD features among the flagship actions.

Problem the initiative aims to tackle

The evaluation concluded that the Directive had not achieved its main objective of GES in all EU marine waters by 2020. The multiple pressures on marine waters are being exacerbated by the triple planetary crisis. Much is still unknown about marine ecosystems, including their state and the impact of human activities on them. And yet, the livelihood and well-being of many EU citizens and the blue economy sector depends on healthy and clean seas. The evaluation identified the following shortcomings in the Directive’s regulatory framework, implementation and governance, resulting in insufficient measures to achieve the objective of the Directive as well as inefficiencies and unnecessary administrative burden for Member State authorities.

1. Implementation is insufficient and it is difficult to enforce the law.
2. Regional cooperation mostly occurs through non-EU bodies – regional sea conventions – and varies across marine regions.
3. Coherence with broader maritime policy, in particular maritime spatial planning and fisheries, has not been optimal.
4. Data collected, while substantial, is not always of sufficient quality and/or harmonised, and the reporting burden is high, with limited links to reporting on other legislation .

The feedback period is open until 9 March 2026. Read more here.