on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union in the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic on the integration of Macaronesia in the OSPAR maritime area

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

1.Subject matter of the proposal

This proposal concerns the position to be taken on the Union's behalf in connection with the envisaged adoption of an amendment to the Convention for the protection of the marine environment of the North-East Atlantic (the ‘OSPAR Convention’).

2.Context of the proposal

2.1.The OSPAR Convention

The OSPAR Convention aims to protect the North-East Atlantic maritime area against the adverse effects of human activities in order to safeguard human health and to conserve marine ecosystems and, when practicable, restore marine areas, which have been adversely affected. It has 16 Contracting Parties: Belgium, Denmark, the EU, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, Luxembourg and Switzerland. The Convention was open for signature at the Ministerial Meeting of the Oslo and Paris Commissions in Paris on 22 September 1992 and entered into force on 25 March 1998.

2.2.The OSPAR Commission

The OSPAR Commission (established according to Article 10 of the Convention) is made up of representatives of each of the Contracting Parties; it meets at regular intervals and at any time, due to special circumstances. Its duties include supervising the implementation of the Convention and reviewing the condition of the maritime area, the effectiveness of the measures being adopted, the priorities and the need for any additional or different measures.

According to Article 20 of the Convention, each Contracting Party has one vote in the Commission. The EU is entitled to a number of votes equal to the number of its Member States, which are Contracting Parties to the Convention. The EU shall not exercise its right to vote when its Member States exercise theirs and conversely.

According to Article 15(3) of the Convention, the Commission shall adopt amendments of the Convention by unanimous vote of the Contracting Parties.

2.3.The envisaged act of the OSPAR Commission

During the ministerial segment of an annual meeting the OSPAR Commission is to adopt an amendment of Article 1(a) of the Convention adjusting the limits of the OSPAR maritime area to include waters under Portuguese and Spanish jurisdiction and international waters in between (‘the envisaged act’).

The purpose of the envisaged act is to add the waters surrounding Macaronesia (Madeira and Canaries Islands) to OSPAR’s maritime area, so as to ensure a greater coherence of OSPAR with the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive and therefore to improve coordination for the protection and conservation of the rich biodiversity and vulnerable ecosystems present in the Macaronesia area.

The amendment to the Convention will enter into force for those Contracting Parties which have ratified, accepted or approved it on the thirtieth day after receipt by the Depositary Government of notifications by at least seven Contracting Parties, in accordance with the provisions of Article 15 of the OSPAR Convention. Thereafter the amendment shall enter into force for any other Contracting Party on the thirtieth day after the deposit of respective ratification, acceptance or approval.

Until the amendment to the OSPAR Convention enters into force, Portugal and Spain, as well as any other Contracting Party, may provisionally apply it, following the relevant provisions of the Vienna Convention on the law of the treaties of 23 May 1969, in particular article 25 on “Provisional application".

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

The Macaronesia sub-region is part of the North-East Atlantic region according to Article 4 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) and is the largest marine sub-region of the European seas. It holds a rich diversity of habitats and species, including some, which are also in the OSPAR list of “Threatened and/or Declining Species & Habitats”. Currently, the OSPAR maritime area only partly covers the waters of the Macaronesia sub-region as delimited and agreed at the EU level.

Portugal and Spain, the only EU and OSPAR countries which have territorial waters in Macaronesia, produced a joint proposal for amending the OSPAR Convention to align the OSPAR maritime area with the MSFD delimitations. Such alignment will facilitate the MSFD implementation for the two countries through enhanced collaboration at OSPAR level and will strengthen, through the mobilisation of OSPAR, the protection of the vulnerable species and habitats of this region and of its unique marine and coastal biodiversity.

A Union position is necessary because a legally binding text, the OSPAR Convention to which the EU is a Party, will need to be amended to achieve this alignment. Since it will facilitate implementation of EU legislation and improve protection of the environment, it is proposed that the Union position is to support this amendment to Article 1(a) of the OSPAR Convention.