EUROPEAN COMMISSION
PRESS RELEASE
Brussels, 16 November 2012
Environment: EU aiming to be at the forefront of efforts
to reduce marine litter
Marine litter is a serious threat to the coastal and marine environment around the globe.
Marine habitats are contaminated with man-made garbage and other waste, posing
growing environmental, economic, health and aesthetic problems. The European
Commission is raising awareness about this global problem, in line with commitments
made in Rio this summer to reduce the incidence and impacts of such pollution on marine
ecosystems.
Environment Commissioner Janez Potočnik said: "At the Rio +20 Earth Summit, World
Leaders committed to achieving a significant reduction in marine litter by 2025. The
European Commission intends to be at the forefront of this effort, working closely with
Member States, Regional Sea Conventions and stakeholders to identify and develop
concerted initiatives to tackle the problem."
To raise awareness and stimulate reflection, the Commission is publishing an overview of
the relevant EU legislation, policies, and strategies that touch on this problem, with an
indication of on-going and future initiatives in this area. The overview can be consulted
here: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/marine/good-environmental-status/descriptor-10/index_en.htm
Marine litter is a composed of up to 80 % of plastic, and originates from a diverse range of
sources. Plastics tend to persist in the marine environment, possibly for hundreds of
years. The document concludes that policies on water, resource efficiency and waste,
marine and nature protection policies as well as ship and port infrastructure-related
legislation all have a role to play in tackling the problem, but they need to be better
implemented.
Past efforts have been hampered by a lack of solid information about the exact scale and
nature of the problem. But this should now be partially resolved, as better knowledge
becomes available. By 15 October 2012, as part of the implementation of the Marine
Strategy Framework Directive, Member States had to submit an initial assessment of the
state of their marine waters, their definition of 'Good Environmental Status' and the
targets they have set to achieve it. The Commission is now analysing the reports of the
Member States and intends to publish its assessment in 2013.
Not all Member States have been able to report on time. An up-to-date overview of the
Member States' reports can be consulted here:
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/marine/eu-coast-and-marine-policy/implementation/scoreboard_en.htm
IP/12/1221
Next Steps
The Marine Litter paper, together with several on-going pilot projects and the information
gathered from Member States on the state of their seas under the Marine Strategy
Framework Directive, will be an important input as the Commission considers a possible
EU-wide reduction target as a contribution to the commitment made in Rio+20.
The Commission will now consult with Member States and other countries, Regional Sea
Conventions, stakeholders and other interested parties on how to best take forward
actions on marine litter. This consultation will culminate in an International Conference on
Prevention and Management of Marine Litter in European Seas, co-organised by the
German Federal Environment Ministry and the European Commission in Berlin in April
2013. Germany's Environment Minister Altmaier and Commissioner Potočnik will be among
the participants of this event that will focus Regional Action Plans for Europe's Seas and
aims to come forward with a practical toolbox for action.
Background
The environmental impacts of marine litter can be felt mostly on marine fauna, but are
also are an extra stress on already fragile marine ecosystems, and can affect human
health. Marine litter also hampers tourism, and the removal of litter on shore cost several
million Euros a year to coastal areas in Europe.
The Marine Strategy Framework Directive requires Member States to achieve "good
environmental status" of their marine waters by 2020. In order to do so, a first step in the
implementation is the preparation of an initial assessment (Article 8) which identifies the
main threats to the European Seas. In addition, Member States have to translate their
definition of 'Good Environmental Status' (GES, Article 9) into concrete criteria against
which the monitoring data can be assessed. Finally, Member States have to set national
environmental targets (Article 10) which set out their ambition level. Marine litter is one of
eleven qualitative descriptors Member States must consider when determining GES. All
this work has to be done in cooperation between those countries which shared the four
European Seas, the North-East Atlantic, the Baltic, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.
For more information:
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/marine/
Contacts :
Joe Hennon (+32 2 295 35 93)
Monica Westeren (+32 2 299 18 30)
2