Europe’s seas and oceans host the largest range of ecosystems in the entire European Union. They are hotspots of global biodiversity and provide our citizens with a steady flow of essential goods (e.g. food) and services (e.g. climate regulation).

Approximately 40% of the EU’s population lives in coastal areas and for them, the seas and oceans are directly linked with culture, identity and sense of belonging. However, decades of overfishing, discharges of nutrients, contaminants and litter and seismic surveys have severely degraded the condition of marine ecosystems. These pressures are driven by an increasing population and a growing economy put in jeopardy the flow, quality and quantity of benefits that future generations might derive from European seas and oceans. Climate change is an additional pressure, with more and more measurable impacts. To date, the EU has established one of the most comprehensive policy frameworks in the world, with a holistic, ecosystem-based approach to protecting the marine environment. The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), as the environmental pillar of the EU’s wider Integrated Maritime Policy (IMP), sets the basis for the achievement or maintenance of the good environmental status (GES) of marine waters by 2020. The MSFD obliges Member States to design their own marine strategies to efficiently and effectively achieve this objective. In that context, the MSFD, and the accompanying Commission Decision (EU) 2017/848, create the proper setting for synergy among the various policies indirectly targeting the marine environment.

Marine ecosystems are defined as encompassing all marine waters, including waters at the land/sea interface with salinity higher than 0.5 ‰. Following the MAES typology, four ecosystems are considered: marine inlets and transitional waters, coastal waters, shelf waters and open ocean (Maes, 2018). For the purpose of this study, the four ecosystems have been merged into a single assessment.

Drivers and pressures:

Human activities are at the base of the several pressures acting on the marine environment, degrading the condition of its ecosystems. The following classes had datasets available for the purpose of this work: climate change, pollution and nutrient enrichment, and exploitation and introduction of invasive alien species. Climate change affects the range and behaviour of marine communities, modifying their traits and composition. Generally, long-term pressure from climate change seems to be consistently increasing in all four European marine regions. Despite the successful implementation of nutrient management strategies and the decreasing trends of nutrient inputs (e.g. in the Baltic Sea, EEA, 2019a,b), nutrient enrichment and pollution of marine ecosystems are still a strong concern in some European marine regions.

Convergence of evidence

Trends of marine pressures were calculated using 12 indicators with available data (Table 3.7.7). The assessment reveals the following differences between marine regions.

· North-East Atlantic Ocean. In the short term, three indicators show negative change resulting in degradation, one shows no change, one shows a positive change resulting in improvement and seven have unresolved trends. In the long term, four indicators show negative change resulting in degradation, one shows a positive change resulting in improvement, and two have unresolved trends.

· Baltic Sea. In the short term, three indicators show negative change resulting in degradation, one shows no change and seven have unresolved trends. In the long term, four indicators show negative change resulting in degradation, one a positive change resulting in improvement, and two with unresolved trends;

 · Black Sea. In the short term, one indicator shows negative change resulting in degradation, four show no change, and seven have unresolved trends. In the long term, three indicators show negative change resulting in degradation, two show no change and two have unresolved trends;

· Mediterranean Sea. In the short term, four indicators show negative change resulting in degradation, one shows a positive change resulting in improvement and seven have unresolved trends. In the long term, four indicators show negative change resulting in degradation, one shows no change and two have unresolved trends.

Trends of marine condition were calculated using 29 indicators with available data (Table 3.7.8). The assessment reveals the following differences between marine regions. 262

· North-East Atlantic Ocean. In the short-term trend, 13 indicators show improvement, three no change, six degradation, and seven indicators show unresolved trend. While in the long-term trend, five indicators indicate improvement, one no change, one degradation, and five show unresolved trend.

· Baltic Sea. In the short-term trend, 11 indicators show improvement, four no change, seven degradation, and seven indicators show unresolved trend. While in the long-term trend, four indicators indicate improvement, one no change, one degradation, and four show unresolved trend.

· Black Sea. In the short-term trend, seven indicators show improvement, nine no change, six degradation, and six indicators show unresolved trend. While in the long-term trend, three indicators indicate improvement, one no change, two degradation, and three show unresolved trend.

 · Mediterranean Sea. In the short-term trend, seven indicators show improvement, five no change, ten degradation, and seven indicators show unresolved trend. While in the long-term trend, three indicators indicate improvement, one no change, two degradation, and four show unresolved trend.

Policy options

The EU has enjoyed to date one of the most comprehensive policy frameworks in the world, with a holistic, ecosystem-based approach for the protection of the marine environment. The MSFD, as the environmental pillar of the wider European integrated maritime policy, sets the basis for achievement or maintenance of good environmental status of waters and obliges Member States to design their own marine strategies to efficiently and effectively achieve that objective. In that context, Commission Decision (EU) 2017/848 refers in its text to the most relevant, previously existing policies already targeting, among others, the marine environment, creating the proper setting for synergy among the various policies objectives. This is the case, for example, of the CFP, the WFD, the BD, HD and MSP.