on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union in the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of the Mediterranean (the ‘Barcelona Convention’) on the Adoption of a Decision to adopt the amendments to the Regional Plan on Marine Litter Management in the Mediterranean in the framework of Article 15 of the Protocol for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against Pollution from Land-Based Sources (the ‘LBS Protocol’)

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

1.Subject matter of the proposal

This proposal concerns the position to be taken on the Union's behalf at the 22nd Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of the Mediterranean (the ‘Barcelona Convention’) and its Protocols on a decision to adopt amendments to the Regional Plan on Marine Litter Management in the Mediterranean in the framework of Article 15 of the Protocol for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against Pollution from Land-Based Sources (the ‘LBS Protocol’).

2.Context of the proposal

2.1.The Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of the Mediterranean and its Protocols

The Barcelona Convention and its seven Protocols adopted in the framework of the Mediterranean Action Plan constitute the principal regional legally binding Multilateral Environmental Agreement for the Mediterranean Sea.

The Protocol for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against Pollution from Land-Based Sources (the ‘LBS Protocol’) is one of the seven Protocols of the Barcelona Convention. It aims to take all appropriate measures to prevent, abate and eliminate to the fullest extent possible pollution of the Mediterranean Sea by dumping of waste or other matter.

The European Union is a party to the LBS Protocol (amended).

2.2.The Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention and its Protocols

The Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention and its Protocols brings together Ministers and senior officials representing all Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention and its Protocols. The Contracting Parties will meet between 7 and 10 December 2021 in Antalya, Turkey.

According to Article 25 of the Barcelona Convention, the European Union (the ‘EU’) shall exercise its right to vote with a number of votes equal to the number of its Member States which are Contracting Parties to this Convention and to one or more of its Protocols. The EU shall not exercise its right to vote when its Member States exercise theirs and conversely.

According to Article 15, paragraph 1, of the LBS Protocol, decisions on the adoption of action plans, programme and measures shall be made by a two-thirds majority of the Contracting Parties present and voting.

2.3.The envisaged act of the 22nd Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention and its Protocols

At the next Ministerial meeting, the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention and its Protocols are to adopt a Decision adopting amendments to the Regional Plan on Marine Litter Management in the Mediterranean in the framework of Article 15 of the LBS Protocol (‘the envisaged act’).

The Regional Plans will be binding on the Union in accordance with Article 15, paragraph 3 of the LBS Protocol.

3.Position to be taken on the Union's behalf

Acting on the reduction of Marine Litter is an essential element of Union legislation for the protection of marine environment, its biodiversity and its ecosystems.

In line with SGD 14 and the Naples Declaration, the envisaged act will provide new definitions and will expand the scope of measures in four key areas (economic instruments, circular economy of plastics, and land-based and sea-based sources of marine litter). As of 2025, the act also requires the adoption of prevention measures to achieve a circular economy for plastics, in particular by phasing out the consumption and production of certain single use plastic items, and by restricting the use of certain chemical additives of concern in plastic production (in line with the Stockholm Convention).

A Union position is necessary because of the legally binding effects of the envisaged proposal.