In Antalya, Turkey, the contracting parties of the UN’s Barcelona Convention on the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea Against Pollution, including the EU and the Mediterranean countries, signed a declaration endorsing a new strategy for 2022 to 2027 to achieve a healthy, clean, sustainable and climate resilient Mediterranean Sea. All signatories agreed to support the designation of a sulphur emissions control area in the whole region, meaning that ships navigating through the Mediterranean can only use fuels containing low sulphur. This aims to bring benefits to water and air quality as well as human health.

Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevičius, commented positively the adoption of the new environmental strategy by highlighting that it shows the commitment of the EU to work with non-EU partners to achieve high standards of environmental protection in line with the European Green Deal, while protecting the health of millions of Mediterranean citizens and their marine environment from pollution.

Regional cooperation for the protection of the marine environment is a key element of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, the EU’s main tool for marine environmental protection. The Marine Strategy Framework Directive requires EU Member States to set up marine strategies in respect of the marine region of the Member States’ marine waters to achieve “Good Environmental Status”. This translates into extensive cooperation on a number of issues like biodiversity, eutrophication, contaminants, litter and underwater noise with the Regional Sea Conventions, such as the Barcelona Convention. The Marine Strategy Framework Directive will be reviewed by mid-2023 and, where necessary, amendments to the Directive will be proposed.