24/10/2005
- Brussels, Belgium - The environmental groups BirdLife
International, Greenpeace, IFAW, Oceana, Seas At Risk, WWF,
the Fisheries Secretariat and the European Environmental
Bureau (EEB) criticised the European Commission’s proposal
for a Marine Framework Directive as desperately inadequate.
The groups regret that it contains no binding commitment
to protect Europe’s seas.
With chronic overfishing rampant in EU waters (38 of 43
stocks - such as cod, anchovy, spurdog and sandeel - assessed
overfished), as well as hundreds of thousands of tonnes
of oil discharged every year into European waters, the protection
of marine habitats and biodiversity is essential for the
future of the marine ecosystems and the fisheries sector.
Today’s proposal was expected to fill a gap in the EU environmental
policy, which remains land-focused. It was intended to promote
the protection and recovery of marine ecosystems, the alleviation
of pollution impacts, and the sustainable use of marine
resources. But the Commission’s text falls short. It is
now the responsibility of the European Parliament and Council
to set legally binding objectives within this Directive,
including a clear definition of what constitutes a healthy
sea. NOTES:
• The European Marine Strategy, is one of seven thematic
strategies resulting from the Community’s Sixth Environmental
Action Programme. It is composed of three documents: a
communication representing the European Marine Strategy,
a legislative proposal for a Marine Framework Directive,
and a Commission (regulatory) impact assessment.
• A number of relevant commitments have already been made
by the Community, including the commitment to halt biodiversity
loss by 2010 (EU’s Sustainable Development Strategy),
provisions to protect marine habitats and species under
the EC Habitats and Birds Directives, and targets to achieve
good ecological status, not least in coastal waters, under
the EC Water Framework Directive. |
