Download EUROPEAN AIMS AND CROATIAN LEGAL SOLUTIONS FOR THE

EUROPEAN AIMS AND CROATIAN LEGAL SOLUTIONS FOR THE
PROTECTION OF THE ADRIATIC SEA FROM POLLUTION
Biljana Činčurak Erceg
Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, Faculty of Law Osijek, Croatia
[email protected]
ABSTRACT
Within the European Union, there is a significant area of marine waters which are under the
sovereignty and jurisdiction of the Member States. Sea and marine environment are an
invaluable natural resource that must be protected and preserved from the harmful impact of
human activities.
The Member States of the European Union are parties to the most important conventions
aimed to protect the marine environment, and the European Union has adopted a number of
important directives aimed at protecting the environment. The European Union has
recognised the importance of protecting the marine environment and has therefore adopted
Directive 2008/56/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a
framework for community action in the field of marine environmental policy (Marine Strategy
Framework Directive) in 2008, establishing a framework within which Member States take
the measures necessary to achieve or maintain good environmental status in the marine
environment by 2020. As a Member State, the Republic of Croatia should develop a marine
strategy for the Adriatic Sea and for that purpose it has to cooperate with both other Member
States and third countries.
The paper analyses the activities related to the implementation of the Marine Strategy
Framework Directive which Croatia has carried out, legal solutions made for that purpose,
the problems they faced as well as measures to be taken and the plans to be executed. It also
gives a brief overview of the implementation of the Directive in the European Union, the
existing situation and the goals of the neighbouring countries as well as a critical review of
the adopted solutions.
Keywords: Adriatic Sea, Good Environmental Status, Marine Strategy Framework Directive,
Protection of the Marine Environment
1 INTRODUCTION
Sea and marine environment are an invaluable natural resource subject to pollution from
several sources (e.g., land-based activities, vessel pollution, pollution from platforms,
pollution from air, dumping, off-shore activities), hence the marine environment must be
protected and preserved from the harmful impact of human activities. Marine waters under the
sovereignty and jurisdiction of Member States of the European Union (hereinafter referred to
as 'the EU') include waters in the Mediterranean Sea, the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea and the
North-east Atlantic Ocean, including the waters surrounding the Azores, Madeira and the
Canary Islands. Member States have recognised the importance of protecting the marine
environment, and therefore the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union
adopted Directive 2008/56 /EC of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a
framework for community action in the field of marine environmental policy (Marine
Strategy Framework Directive - hereinafter referred to as 'MSFD') in 2008.
The Republic of Croatia has a large part of the Adriatic coast and is responsible for its
protection and preservation. In accordance with existing regulations and commitments, the
Republic of Croatia has undertaken a number of activities in order to achieve the goals
planned. In addition to taking specific measures, in the case of the Adriatic Sea, cooperation
with not only EU Member States but also third countries will be necessary.
2 THE ADRIATIC SEA AS A PART OF THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA REGION – A
GEOGRAPHICAL AND LEGAL OVERVIEW
2.1. Geographical overview
The Adriatic Sea is a part of the Mediterranean Sea positioned between the Italian and Balkan
peninsulas. There are six countries sharing its coast, i.e., Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Croatia, Italy, Montenegro and Slovenia. The length of the Adriatic Sea is 783 km, the
average width is 248.3 km, and its average depth is 173 m. Its surface area amounts to
138,595 km². The length of the entire mainland Adriatic coast is 3,690 km, of which Croatia’s
Adriatic Sea mainland coast is 1,777 km long, Italy’s is 1249 km, Albania’s 396 km,
Montenegro’s 200 km, Slovenia’s 47 km and finally, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s is 21 km.
(http://www.enciklopedija.hr/natuknica.aspx?id=28478) EU Member States’ share of surface
area is 87.7% (State of Europe’s seas, 2015, p. 14).
The Croatian Adriatic Sea coastline (both the mainland and islands) accounts for 75.8% of the
total Adriatic shoreline (Ćorić, Debeljak – Rukavina, 2008, p. 959). Therefore, the Republic
of Croatia plays an important role in the preservation and protection of the Adriatic Sea.
Namely, the Mediterranean Sea is one of the most ecologically endangered seas thanks to its
specific geographical location (according to Art. 122 of the United Nations Convention on the
Law of the Sea (hereinafter referred to as 'UNCLOS'), it belongs to the group of enclosed or
semi-enclosed seas), but also to heavy traffic occurring there, as well as industrial and
municipal waste that reaches the Mediterranean Sea through rivers.
2.2. Legal instruments relevant for the protection of the sea environment
The Republic of Croatia as well as other Member States of the EU are parties to the most
important conventions aiming to protect the marine environment. Legal sources relevant for
the protection of the sea environment can be divided into the following three groups:
international conventions, European legislation and national sources of law.
2.1.1 International conventions
The MSFD recalls that both the EU and Member States should take into account the
obligations under UNCLOS (Preamble, Art. 17), the implementation of the Convention on
Biological Diversity (Preamble, Art. 18) and the fulfilment of duties and obligations under the
Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of the
Mediterranean, as well as its Protocol for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against
Pollution from Land-Based Sources.
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), concluded in 1982, came
into force in 1994 is the most important international treaty regulating the law of the sea in
general, but also the protection and preservation of the marine environment. The Convention
lays down the fundamental obligation of all States to protect and preserve the marine
environment (Art. 192 of UNCLOS) and urges all States to cooperate on a global and regional
basis in formulating rules and standards and otherwise take measures for the same purpose. Its
provisions lay down only general principles and rules, establishing a global framework of
obligations, responsibilities and powers of states in all matters of marine environment
protection. Therefore, UNCLOS needs to be complemented with a further treaty law
structure. “From the EU perspective, UNCLOS served as a catalyst for the member states to
come up with more expansive ocean policies, as the Convention did not explicitly obligate
parties to promote ecosystem-based integrated ocean governance.” (Koivurova, 2009, p. 172)
The Convention on Biological Diversity was concluded in 1992 and it came into force in
1993. Biological diversity means the variability among living organisms from all sources
including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological
complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species and
of ecosystems. The objectives of the Convention, as defined in Art. 1, are the conservation of
biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components and the fair and equitable sharing
of the benefits arising out of the utilisation of genetic resources, including by appropriate
access to genetic resources and by appropriate transfer of relevant technologies, taking into
account all rights over those resources and to technologies, and by appropriate funding.
According to the MSFD, the Adriatic Sea is a subregion of the Mediterranean Sea region,
hence all conventions regulating the Mediterranean Sea region are also relevant. First of all, it
is the Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against Pollution (Barcelona
Convention) which was adopted in 1976 and amended in 1995 when it changed its name into
the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of the
Mediterranean with its 7 protocols. The Barcelona convention is a result of the Mediterranean
Action Plan, a plan adopted as a Regional Seas Programme which is one of UNEP’s most
significant achievements. For the purpose of this paper, it should be pointed out that the
Republic of Croatia assumed the obligations stemming from the Protocol on Integrated
Coastal Zone Management in the Mediterranean on the development of the National Strategy
for Integrated Coastal Zone Management.
In the context of this paper, the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from
Ships (MARPOL) has to be mentioned as well. It was concluded in 1973, and it came into
force in 1983 together with the 1978 Protocol. MARPOL regulates and prevents marine
pollution by ships, and covers accidental and operational oil pollution as well as pollution by
chemicals, goods in packaged form, sewage, garbage and air pollution. “It should be noted
that in accordance with Annexes I and V to the MARPOL Convention, the Mediterranean Sea
area, and thus the Adriatic Sea area as part thereof, are defined as special areas. This includes
more stringent controls, i.e., prohibition of discharge of oil and garbage from ships.” (Ćorić,
Debeljak – Rukavina, 2008, p. 964)
2.1.2 European legislation
The main act regulating marine environmental policy within the EU has already been
mentioned, i.e., the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (see infra Chapter 3). The MSFD is
not an unrelated legislative act as it complements a number of other European, regional and
international instruments. According to Art. 13(2) of the MSFD, it is connected to Council
Directive 91/271/EEC of 21 May 1991 concerning urban waste-water treatment (OJ L 135,
30. 5. 1991, pp. 40–52), Directive 2006/7/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council
of 15 February 2006 concerning the management of bathing water quality and repealing
Directive 76/160/EEC (OJ L 64, 4. 3. 2006, pp. 37–51), as well as, according to Art. 13(4) of
the MSFD, Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural
habitats and of wild fauna and flora (OJ L 206, 22. 7. 1992, pp. 7–50) and Directive
2009/147/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November 2009 on the
conservation of wild birds (OJ L 20, 26. 1. 2010, pp. 7–25). It should be noted that the
achievement of the objectives outlined in the MSFD is also closely related to the fulfilment of
obligations under Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23
October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy (the
Water Framework Directive) since the primary method of marine pollution is pollution from
land-based sources, i.e., rivers.
The Marine Strategy Framework Directive is intended to provide a regulatory platform for
implementing the environmental objectives of the European Integrated Maritime Policy
(IMP). The MSFD it is the “environmental pillar” of the IMP (Juda 2010, p. 44). “The
Directive also highlights the need for cross-cutting coordination of the present effort to
protect the marine environment with a host of other EU-wide policies such as the Common
Fisheries Policy, the Common Agricultural Policy, and the Directive on Water Policy as well
as with relevant requirements of international agreements. In this sense, the MSFD is seen as
a corrective reaction to the failures associated with earlier sectoral policies taken on a
compartmentalized basis that have addressed particular marine uses at all levels of
governance from local to international” (Juda, 2010, p. 38).
2.1.3 Croatian legal sources
There is a great number of Croatian rules and regulations which directly or indirectly regulate
the protection of the marine environment. Most of these rules and regulations are the result of
relevant international conventions adopted under the auspices of the International Maritime
Organisation, as well as the implementation of EU legislation. (Ćorić, Debeljak – Rukavina,
2008, p. 960).
In order to achieve the objectives provided for by the MSFD, the Republic of Croatia has
amended a few important acts such as the Environmental Protection Act (OG, No. 80/2013,
78/2015) and the Maritime Code (OG, No. 181/04, 76/07, 146/08, 61/11, 56/13), that were
harmonised with UNCLOS, and has adopted several new ones, e.g., the Regulation on the
preparation and implementation of documents under the Coastal and Marine Management
Strategy (OG, No. 112/2014), the Decision on the adoption of the Coastal and Marine
Management Strategy Action Programme: Monitoring and observation system for a
continuous assessment of the state of the Adriatic Sea (OG, No. 153/2014), and the Maritime
Development and Integrated Maritime Policy Strategy of the Republic of Croatia for the
period from 2014 to 2020 (OG, No. 93/2014).
The dynamics of human activities at sea and along the coast is continually growing which in
turn increases the pressure on the marine environment. In addition to traditional forms of
pollution, there are also some new forms - marine invasive species spread via ballast water.
Therefore the Republic of Croatia adopted the Ballast Water Control and Management
Ordinance (OG, No. 128/2012), which makes a significant contribution to improving the
protection of the marine environment.
Continuous efforts are put into drafting a proposal for the designation of the Adriatic Sea a
Particularly Sensitive Sea Area, which includes a proposal for additional protective measures
relating to ballast water. “The Republic of Croatia considers this institute of the MARPOL
Convention a priority tool for effective protection of the marine environment of the Adriatic
Sea in all coastal states of the Adriatic.” (Maritime Development and Integrated Maritime
Policy Strategy of the Republic of Croatia for the period from 2014 to 2020, OG, No.
93/2014)
There are significant activities focused on the prevention of the marine environment against
pollution, in particular in the context of safety of navigation, and safety of human life and
property. A major threat to the Adriatic Sea is also possible pollution that could arise as a
result of maritime accidents. In relation to this, Croatia, Italy and Slovenia adopted the Subregional Contingency Plan for the prevention of, preparedness for and response to major
marine pollution incidents in the Adriatic sea and there also exists a national Contingency
Plan for Accidental Marine Pollution (OG, No. 92/2008).
Since the Republic of Croatia is a party to all international conventions mentioned above (see
supra Chapter 2.1.1) and since as an EU Member State it is obliged to respect and implement
EU regulations, we can say that the legislative framework relating to the protection of the
marine environment from pollution is satisfactory.
3 MARINE STRATEGY FRAMEWORK DIRECTIVE
The European Parliament and the Council of the European Union adopted Directive
2008/56/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 2008 establishing a
framework for community action in the field of marine environmental policy (the Marine
Strategy Framework Directive - MSFD). This Directive establishes a framework within which
Member States shall take the necessary measures to achieve or maintain good environmental
status in the marine environment by the year 2020 at the latest (Art.1).
For that purpose, marine strategies shall be developed and implemented in order to:
a) protect and preserve the marine environment, prevent its deterioration or, where
practicable, restore marine ecosystems in areas where they have been adversely affected;
b) prevent and reduce inputs in the marine environment, with a view to phasing out pollution,
so as to ensure that there are no significant impacts on or risks to marine biodiversity, marine
ecosystems, human health or legitimate uses of the sea (Art. 2).
The MSFD prescribes that good environmental status (hereinafter referred to as 'GES')
“means the environmental status of marine waters where these provide ecologically diverse
and dynamic oceans and seas which are clean, healthy and productive within their intrinsic
conditions, and the use of the marine environment is at a level that is sustainable, thus
safeguarding the potential for uses and activities by current and future generations” (Art.
3(5)). In order to reach GES, the MSFD wants to apply an ecosystem-based approach to the
management of human activities.
To help Member States understand what GES means in practice, in Annex I, the MSFD sets
out 11 qualitative descriptors (biological diversity, non-indigenous species, commercial fish
and shellfish, food webs, eutrophication, sea-floor integrity, hydrographical conditions,
contaminants, contaminants in seafood, marine litter, energy including underwater noise)
which describe what the environment will look like when GES has been achieved. Further,
the European Commission adopted 2010/477/EU: Commission Decision of 1 September 2010
on criteria and methodological standards on good environmental status of marine waters
(notified under document C (2010) 5956) Text with EEA relevance, OJ L 232, 2.9.2010, pp.
14–24). It contains a number of criteria and associated indicators for assessing good
environmental status in relation to the 11 descriptors of good environmental status laid down
in Annex I of the MSFD.
The scope of the MSFD are all marine waters, i.e., a) waters, the seabed and subsoil on the
seaward side of the baseline from which the extent of territorial waters is measured extending
to the outmost reach of the area where a Member State has and/or exercises jurisdictional
rights, in accordance with the UNCLOS, and b) coastal waters as defined by Directive
2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a
framework for Community action in the field of water policy, their seabed and their subsoil.
In order to achieve good environmental status by 2020, each Member State is required to
develop a strategy for its marine waters. “Term ‘marine strategy’ is best understood as an
action plan for applying an ecosystem-based approach to the management of human activities
in the marine environment” (Long, 2011, p. 28).
Marine strategies should culminate in the execution of programmes of measures designed to
achieve or maintain good environmental status. Programmes of measures will be preceded by
a preparatory process of the states, which consists of the following: 1. an analysis of the
features or characteristics of, and pressures and impacts on marine waters, identifying the
predominant pressures and impacts on those waters; 2. determination for their marine waters a
set of characteristics for good environmental status; 3. establishment of environmental targets
and monitoring programmes for ongoing assessment; 4. establishment and implementation of
programmes of measures designed to achieve or maintain good environmental status in the
waters concerned (see Articles 8–11 of the MSFD). The programme of the measures should
start by 2016 at the latest.
3. 1 Implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive
First of all, all Member States have transposed the MSFD into their national legislation.
Member States have reported under the MSFD on the state of the environment in their marine
waters, and on what they consider to be GES. In its report “The first phase of implementation
of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (2008/56/EC) The European Commission’s
assessment and guidance (COM/2014/097 final)”, the European Commission stated that
“Member States’ definition of good environmental status and the path they set out to achieve
it shows overall limited ambition, often fails to take into account existing obligations and
standards and lacks coherence across the Union, even between neighbouring countries within
the same marine region.” (Report, 2014, p. 2) Further, most Member States have reported on
most articles and most descriptors but the quality of reporting varies widely from country to
country, and within individual Member States, from one descriptor to another. (Report, 2014,
p. 5) The presence of data gaps in Member States’ reports is also significant. Another problem
is that initial assessment reports often give only a fragmented overview of the state of the
marine environment. Therefore “comparability of the reporting of Member States is low and
makes coordinated action and analysis difficult.” (Report, 2014, p. 7)
The Commission concluded that regional cooperation amongst Member States and other
relevant countries by the Regional Sea Conventions is well developed in all four regions.
“However, the role and the use of the results of this regional cooperation in the MSFD
reporting varied considerably.” (SWD (2014) 49 final, p. 72). Since the implementation of the
MSFD is complex and requires cooperation within and between the marine regions, the
Commission and the EU Member States agreed to establish informal cooperation under a
Common Implementation Strategy (CIS) since 2008.
4 CROATIAN ACTIVITIES REGARDING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE
MARINE STRATEGY FRAMEWORK DIRECTIVE
The implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive in Croatia consists of
harmonisation of national legislation with the provisions of the MSFD (see supra 2.1.3),
preparing a marine strategy for Croatian coastal waters, and the realisation/continuation of
sub-regional cooperation with neighbouring countries surrounding the Adriatic area as well as
regional cooperation in the context of the Barcelona Convention.
As for the development of the Croatian Marine Strategy, it was decided that a unified strategy
for marine environment and coastal zone management should be developed for achieving the
objectives of the MSFD and the Protocol to the Barcelona Convention on Integrated Coastal
Zone Management in the Mediterranean. The Strategy is still pending (the draft strategy of
September 2015 is available at: http://mio-strategija-hr.pap-thecoastcentre.org/docs/strategija_prvi_nacrt.pdf).
As part of the implementation of the MSFD and in accordance with the MSFD, the Republic
of Croatia prepared the documents “Initial assessment of the state and load of the marine
environment of the Croatian part of the Adriatic”, “Good environmental status of the marine
environment and a Set of environmental goals and related indicators” and “An economic and
social analysis of the use and the cost of degradation of the coastal and marine environment”.
The “Action Programme of the Marine Strategy: The monitoring and observation system for
ongoing assessment of the Adriatic Sea” (OG, No. 153/2014) was adopted, and according to
available data, the adoption of the Programme of measures for marine environment and
coastal zone protection and management is in progress (noting that the said Programme of
measures should have been adopted by the end of 2015).
4. 1 Problems that may affect the implementation of the MSFD in Croatia
The Initial assessment of the state and load of the marine environment of the Croatian part of
the Adriatic encompasses several important problems: excessive construction in the coastal
area (probably the most important influence on the biological and landscape diversity of the
Adriatic Sea); pollution of the sea through ballast water (although the Ballast Water Control
and Management Ordinance were adopted, due to lack of funds, they are not applied
regularly, and the number of comprehensive analyses of ballast water in Croatia is rather
low); marine pollution most commonly comes from land-based activities or vessels. On the
other hand, it is pointed out that the quality of sea water at beaches along the Croatian coast is
very high (Initial assessment of the state and load of the marine environment of the Croatian
part of the Adriatic, 2012, p. 341).
There are also some other significant problems like an insufficient number of studies
(systematic investigations of the effect of fisheries on ecosystems have not been made, only
few comprehensive analyses of ballast water have been conducted), for some pollutants there
are no data at all (e.g. the introduction of pathogenic microorganisms in the marine
environment), and there is generally no systematic monitoring of certain pollutants. The
problem of a lack of data has come to the fore in the document “Good environmental status of
the marine environment and a Set of environmental goals and related indicators” since
because of that it was not possible to assess GES for some components.
4. 2 Cooperation with other Member States
In the Preamble, Art. 13, the MSDF states that Member States should cooperate to ensure the
coordinated development of marine strategies for each marine region or subregion. “Since
marine regions or subregions are shared both with other Member States and with third
countries, Member States should make every effort to ensure close coordination with all
Member States and third countries concerned. Where practical and appropriate, existing
institutional structures established in marine regions or subregions, in particular Regional Sea
Conventions, should be used to ensure such coordination.” In our situation, this implies
cooperation with Greece, Italy and Slovenia as other Member States, and Albania, Bosnia and
Herzegovina
and
Montenegro
as
third
countries
(see
map:
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/marine/eu-coast-and-marine-policy/implementation/index_en.htm).
Italy and Slovenia made initial assessments of their marine waters, determined GES and
established a comprehensive set of environmental targets and associated indicators (a
monitoring programme). Greece has not made a monitoring programme. Neither of three
countries has prepared the programme of measures (http://ec.europa.eu/environment/marine/eucoast-and-marine-policy/implementation/ scoreboard_en.htm).
Under Art. 12 of the MSFD, the Commission was assigned to review the progress and provide
to the Member States “guidance on any modifications it considers necessary”, so the
Commission has published the detailed technical assessment reports for each country and
each marine region (see: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/marine/eu-coast-and-marinepolicy/implementation/reports_en.htm). In the Commission Staff Working Document
(SWD(2014) 49 final), which is an Annex to the Commission Report COM(2014) 97 final,
summary findings and recommendations for each Member State are available, with strong and
week points of national assessments (Greece, pp. 129-132, Italy, pp. 136-139, Slovenia, pp.
159-162. Croatia did not provide its national report on time, hence the Commission did not
report about Croatia).
5. THE STATE OF SEAS IN EUROPE
In 2015, the European Environment Agency (EEA) published a report which gives an
assessment of Europe’s seas. According to the State of Europe’s seas report, although
Europe’s seas are productive, they cannot be considered to be healthy, clean and undisturbed
(State of Europe’s seas, 2015, p. 188) and are unlikely to become so in the future (p. 189).
Namely, 80% of the species and habitats assessments under the MSFD are categorised as
'unknown', and only 4% have achieved the 2020 target of 'good' status. (p. 54). Similarly,
most of the assessed commercial stocks (58%) in Europe’s seas are not in good environmental
status, whilst the status of 40% of commercial fish stocks is not assessed due to lack of data.
(p. 54). There is an “evidence of significant marine biodiversity/ecosystem degradation and,
in addition, of a substantial lack of knowledge on the state of marine biodiversity/ecosystems.
This lack of knowledge prevents the effective management of all human activities that can
damage marine ecosystem/biodiversity overall.” (p. 153). Further, the report states that it is
unlikely that many improvements in the condition of marine ecosystems/biodiversity can be
seen by the MSFD 2020 deadline to achieve good environmental status (p. 154).
Several human-induced pressures affect the state of marine ecosystems directly: physical loss
and damage to the seafloor, the capture of fish and shellfish, the introduction of nonindigenous species, pollution that comes from land and the atmosphere, marine litter and
underwater noise. “Analysis performed in the Mediterranean and Black Seas shows that 20%
of both regions and 60–99% of the territorial waters of EU Member States in these regions are
subject to high impact from human activities, while less than 20% are classed as low impact.
Very few areas — less than 1% — remain relatively unaffected by human activities“ (State of
Europe’s seas, 2015, p. 94).
6 CONCLUSION
The European seas are seriously endangered by land-based pollution, oil and hazardous
substance discharges and spills, introduction of alien species, overfishing, port and other
coastal development, eutrophication, etc. In order to protect the marine environment, in 2008,
the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union adopted Directive
2008/56/EC establishing a framework for community action in the field of marine
environmental policy (Marine Strategy Framework Directive - MSFD). The MSFD
establishes a framework within which Member States shall take the necessary measures to
achieve or maintain good environmental status in the marine environment by the year 2020.
The MSFD is the first framework instrument which is aimed particularly at protecting and
preserving the marine environment, preventing its deterioration or, where practicable,
restoring marine ecosystems in areas where they have been adversely affected. In order to
reach GES, the MSFD applies an ecosystem-based approach to the management of human
activities. Additionally, sustainable use of Europe’s seas and avoiding further marine
ecosystem degradation and loss cannot be achieved by marine policy alone.
To be effective, the MSFD is dependent on reliable scientific data and analysis. In its report,
the Commission stated that a number of states have shown gaps while reporting on the state of
the environment in their marine waters, and on what they consider to be GES. Lack of
information prevents effective management (potential pressures on marine ecosystems and
their biodiversity may not be appropriately managed, or may not be managed at all) of all
activities that can harm the marine environment. Insufficient and poor quality data will be a
problem and could also influence the objectives of the MSFD not to be achieved by 2020.
The Republic of Croatia and other EU Member States, which are also Adriatic coastal states,
have so far fulfilled their obligations relatively well (except for delays in making documents),
by which they should achieve the objectives of the MSFD. What they all have in common are
the disadvantages of certain data that will be needed in order to carry out MSDF
implementing activities with the best quality possible. All of them also participate in the
framework of the Barcelona Convention. However, they should participate more actively in
the adoption of measures for the prevention and protection of the marine environment, and
strengthen cooperation with other Adriatic coastal states in the protection of the seas and the
marine environment.
Reports indicate that the current state of Europe’s seas is not good. Since there isn't much
time left by 2020, i.e. by when GES should be achieved, it is impossible not to wonder
whether the European Union has set too high a goal to be achieved by Member States and
whether they will manage (despite the will and a good legislative framework, but also many
problems) to accomplish it.
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