MSFD reports and assessments

The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) requires EU Member States to take measures to achieve and maintain the Good Environmental Status (GES) of the marine environment, defined as:

The concept of GES is articulated along 11 descriptors, which establish qualitative objectives for the maintenance of specific ecosystem structures and functions including:

• Biological Diversity (D1)
• Non-indigenous species (D2)
• Commercially-exploited fish and shellfish (D3)
• Food webs (D4)
• Seafloor integrity (D6)
• Hydrographical conditions (D7)
• Eutrophication (D5)
• Contaminants (D8)
• Contaminants in fish and other seafood (D9)
• Marine litter (D10)
• Energy including underwater noise (D11)

For each Descriptor, the European Commission has further specified the criteria and standards to use to determine the GES, as well as the methods for their monitoring and assessment (Decision 2017/848).

To achieve this objective, the MSFD requires Member States to develop marine strategies, which “shall apply an ecosystem-based approach to the management of human activities, ensuring that the collective pressure of such activities is kept within levels compatible with the achievement of good environmental status and that the capacity of marine ecosystems to respond to human-induced changes is not compromised, while enabling the sustainable use of marine goods and services by present and future generations” (MSFD, Art. 1).

These strategies shall be developed along the following steps:

1. An initial assessment of: (a) the physical and chemical features, the habitat types, the biological features and the hydro-morphology, and the current environmental status of marine waters; (b) the predominant pressures and impacts from human activities; and (c) a socio-economic analysis of the uses of the sea and the costs of degradation (MSFD, Art.8).
2. Determination of a set of characteristics for GES, based on the 11 qualitative Descriptors, following the criteria and methodological standards included in Decision 2017/848 (MSFD, Art. 9).
3. Establishment of a comprehensive set of environmental targets to achieve GES, and indicators to monitor progress towards these targets (MSFD, Art. 10).
4. Set up of coordinated monitoring programmes to collect the data needed to assess the environmental status of the marine waters, evaluate progress towards achieving the environmental targets, and assess the effects of the measures. These monitoring programmes shall be compatible with existing monitoring required by other EU legislation (e.g., the Habitats and Birds Directives), and shall be coherent and coordinated across member States sharing a marine region or subregion (MSFD, Art. 11).
5. Implement programmes of measures which aim to achieve and maintain GES. These regulate human uses and activities in order to reduce or eliminate the pressures they generate that are preventing the achievement of GES. They can promote good practices in the management and operation of these different economic sectors. Exceptions can be reported Article 14 allows for exceptions when GES cannot be achieved on time through measures taken by that Member State or, due to natural conditions (MSFD, Art. 13).

To ensure flexibility and learning, the MSFD requires Member States to implement this cycle in an iterative way every 6 years. This allows to evaluate the achievement of GES based on the results of monitoring, which will be the basis for a new initial assessment and the setting of new GES and environmental targets. The first cycle covered the period 2012-2017, while the second cycle covered the period 2018-2023. The third cycle of implementation of the MSFD starts in 2024.

Moreover, to facilitate the coordination among all Member States and ensure the participation of all relevant stakeholders, the European Commission has established an informal programme of coordination, the Common Implementation Strategy (CIS).

MSFD timeline

The MSFD is the most important legal instrument for the implementation of an ecosystem approach to the protection and management of the marine environment in Europe. It applies for the first time in Europe an integrated approach aiming to achieve the Good Environmental Status of EU marine regions and sub-regions, through an iterative policy cycle based on adaptation and learning.

Starting from 2000, the European Union has gradually introduced the principles of the Ecosystem Approach into legal instruments and policies. The first step was the approval of the Water Framework Directive (WFD), which required for the first time in Europe an integrated ecosystem approach to the management of water systems, including transitional and coastal waters. This process culminated in 2008, with the approval of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), which extended this approach to the achievement of the Good Environmental Status (GES) of European marine waters.

Following the principles of the Ecosystem Approach, the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) requires management to be performed at an ecosystem scale. In fact, Member States are required to formulate marine strategies for all the marine waters where they have and/or exercise jurisdictional rights and to all coastal waters (as defined by the WFD) including their seabed and subsoil (MSFD, Art. 3). These strategies must be coherent and coordinated across the marine region or subregion concerned. To this respect, the MSFD identifies the following marine regions taking into account their hydrological, oceanographic and biogeographic features (MSFD, Art. 4):

(a) The Baltic Sea;

(b) The North-East Atlantic Ocean;

(c) The Mediterranean Sea; and

(d) The Black Sea.

This coordination shall be extended to include all the member States in the catchment area of a marine region or subregion, including landlocked countries, using the cooperation structures already established following the WFD.

Moreover, Member States shall also consider the transboundary effects on the quality of the marine environment of third countries in the same marine region or subregion (MSFD, Art. 2), by making every effort to coordinate their actions with such countries through existing Regional Sea Conventions (MSFD, Art. 6):

(a) HELCOM, for the Baltic Sea;

(b) OSPAR, for the North-East Atlantic Ocean;

(c) The UNEP/MAP Barcelona Convention, for the Mediterranean Sea; and

(d) The Bucharest Convention, for the Black Sea.

EU Member States have the obligation to inform the European Commission on the implementation of the different phases of the MSFD cycle - the initial assessment, the GES definition, the definition of environmental targets, the definition of monitoring programmes and the programmes of measures. On the basis of the information received, the European Commission evaluates the implementation of the MSFD at national level (compliance assessment), and its level of coherence within the different marine regions or subregions and across the Union. This assessment serves also for the preparation of reports to the European Parliament, Council of Ministers, and the public, and to show the progress towards achieving GES across Europe’s seas.

Main articles to be reported under the MSFD and interconnections

The contents and formats to be used for the reporting of the different Articles are agreed between the European Commission and the EU Member States in the context of the MSFD Common Implementation Strategy. While the discussions are held within the Working Group on Data, Information and Knowledge Exchange (WG DIKE), the adoption of the reporting guidelines is done by the Marine Strategy Coordination Group (MSCG).

The European Environment Agency maintains the electronic platform used for the Reporting (ReportNet) and hosts the central database where the reported data are stored.