Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION 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 at the ministerial meeting of June 2025
Date: 2025-04-02
Institutions: Directorate-General for Environment, European Commission
Subjects: Atlantic Ocean, environmental protection, international convention, marine environment, maritime area, noise protection, territorial waters, waste, waste management, water management

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 2.4.2025  COM(2025) 145 final 2025/0076 (NLE)  Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION 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 at the ministerial meeting of June 2025  
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

SUBJECT MATTER OF THE PROPOSAL 

This  proposal  concerns  the  position  to  be  taken  on  the  Union's  behalf  in  the  ministerial 
segment  of  the  OSPAR  Commission  meeting  of  June  2025  of  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  to  safeguard  human  health,  conserve  marine  ecosystems 
and,  when  practicable,  restore  marine  areas  which  have  been  adversely  affected.  It  has  16 
Contracting Parties: Belgium, Denmark, the EU1, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, 
Luxembourg,  the  Netherlands,  Norway,  Portugal,  Spain,  Sweden  and  the  United  Kingdom, 
and  Switzerland.  The  Convention  was  open  for  signature  at  the  Ministerial  Meeting  of  the 
Oslo and Paris Commissions 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  deemed  necessary  because  of  special  circumstances.  Its  duties  include  supervising  the 
implementation of the Convention and reviewing the OSPAR priorities, the condition of the 
maritime  area,  the  effectiveness  of  the  measures  being  adopted,  and  the  need  for  any 
additional or different measures. 

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

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

2.3. 

The envisaged act of the OSPAR Commission  

During the ministerial segment of its annual meeting the OSPAR Commission is set to adopt a 
decision amending Article 1(a) of the Convention to adjust the limits of the OSPAR maritime 
area to include waters under Portuguese and Spanish jurisdiction and international waters in 
between2. 

The aim of this first envisaged act is to add the waters surrounding Macaronesia (Madeira and 
the Canaries Islands) to OSPAR’s maritime area and to ensure a greater coherence of OSPAR 
with  the  EU  Marine  Strategy  Framework  Directive3  (MSFD)  thereby  improving  the 

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Council Decision 98/249/EC of 7 October 1997 on the conclusion of the Convention for the protection 
of the marine environment of the north-east Atlantic (OJ L 104, 3.4.1998, p. 1) 
The  proposal  totals  an  area  of  2  573  750  km2,  of  which  875  947  km2  are  within  Portuguese  and 
Spanish EEZ and territorial waters and 1 697 803 km2 are High Seas (944 425 km2 of which are within 
Portuguese and Spanish Extended Continental Shelves and 753 378 km2 are Area) 
Directive  2008/56/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  17  June  2008 establishing  a 
framework  for  community  action  in  the  field  of  marine  environmental  policy  (Marine  Strategy 
Framework Directive) (OJ L 164, 25.6.2008, p. 19). 

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coordination  of  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 that 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 their respective 
ratification, acceptance or approval. 

Until  the  amendment  to  the  OSPAR  Convention  enters  into  force,  Spain,  Portugal  and  any 
other Contracting Party, may provisionally apply it, in line with the relevant provisions of the 
Vienna Convention on the Law of the Treaties of 23 May 1969, in and particularly Article 25 
on “provisional application". 

The second envisaged act  is  an OSPAR decision on preventing and eliminating the use and 
banning placing on the market of certain products (non-coated expanded polystyrene –(EPS)-, 
non-coated extruded polystyrene –(XPS)-, and any other form of non-coated foamed plastic in 
pontoons and buoys) to  prevent  the release of EPS, XPS and other forms of foamed plastic 
reaching the marine environment.  
The  Single  Use  Plastics  Directive  (SUPD)4  only  covers  restrictions  on  single-use  products 
(food containers, beverage containers and cups for beverages) made of EPS. It does not cover 
fisheries related components made of EPS/XPS. However, already during the negotiations on 
the  SUPD,  potential  new  measures  covering  fishing-related  items  made  of  EPS/XPS  were 
considered  but  the  data  available  at  that  time  were  not  deemed  sufficient.  OSPAR  has  now 
provided  the  necessary  data  and  information  in  a  background  document5  to  support  the 
proposed decision.  

The third envisaged act is an OSPAR measure on managing discharge water from exhaust gas 
cleaning systems (EGCS) installed on board ships that operate in closed and open modes.  

The  OSPAR  Contracting  Parties  are  particularly  concerned  about  EGCS  discharge  water  in 
areas  where  environmental  objectives  for  hazardous  substances  are  not  met.  A  currently 
unpublished background document provides clear scientific and technical evidence on this. It 
suggests  a  prohibition  of  discharge  for  all  ships  equipped  with  EGCS  and  sailing  within 
internal  waters  and  territorial  seas  as  a  first  stage  measure.  Most  of  the  Contracting  Parties 
support the EGCS discharge water restriction. However, a minority (in particular Norway and 
UK)  would  insist  to  wait  for  global  measures  to  be  developed  in  the  future  under  the 
International  Maritime  Organisation  (IMO),  because  the  IMO  is  the  most  appropriate 
organisation for developing rules for international shipping. Globally, more than 40 countries 
(including  OSPAR  Contracting  Parties)  have  individually  adopted  various  local  restrictions 
on  EGCS  discharge  waters  and  an  OSPAR  measure  would  promote  harmonisation  whilst 
providing  legal  certainty  to  the  stakeholders  at  a  regional  scale.  Moreover,  the  OSPAR 
secretariat received a confirmation from the IMO Secretariat that establishing such a regional 
rule is in line with IMO procedures.  

In  November  2024,  the  OSPAR  Heads  of  Delegation  took  note  of  the  lack  of  consensus 
among Parties on the level of ambition of a possible OSPAR measure. They agreed that work 
would continue on developing a draft decision (the only legally binding OSPAR instrument), 
which would be presented as an option at the ministerial meeting. 

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Directive  (EU)  2019/904  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  5  June  2019  on  the 
reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment 
https://www.ospar.org/documents?v=60598 

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Two options have been formulated for the consideration of the OSPAR Environmental Impact 
of Human Activities Committee (“EIHA”) meeting that is to be held on 7-11 April 2025: 

a  proposal  for  an  OSPAR  decision  prohibiting  discharges  from  ships  equipped  with 

(i). 
open and closed loop EGCSs in territorial seas;  

a  proposal  for  an  OSPAR  decision  prohibiting  discharges  from  ships  equipped  with 
(ii). 
open and closed loop EGCSs in internal waters and port areas, coupled with a proposal for an 
OSPAR recommendation to be applied in territorial seas. 

The Commission considers that there is an urgent need to adopt EGCS discharge restrictions 
to protect the marine environment from the discharges’ toxicity, preferably at global level. At 
IMO  level  however,  because  of  current  industry’s  focus  to  keep  the  current  regulatory 
framework (i.e. Regulation 4 of Annex VI to the International Convention for the Prevention 
of  Pollution  from  Ships)  allowing  their  use  and  only  revise  the  existing  non-  binding 
guidelines with  low ambition,  there is  no perspective of an adequate regulatory approach in 
the  short  to  medium  term;  this  legitimates  discharge  restrictions  at  the  national  or  regional 
levels in various parts of the world, like, in the case of proposals at hand, in the North-East 
Atlantic (see above).  

The  Commission  has  therefore  consistently  supported  an  ambitious  measure  in  OSPAR,  in 
line with abovementioned option (i); at the same time, given the abovementioned context, the 
Commission  believes  the  EU  should  show  flexibility  and  that  option  (ii)  could  be  an 
acceptable compromise; if some Contracting Parties do not accept even this level of ambition, 
the  issue  should  be  referred  to  the  Ministers,  as  decided  also  by  the  OSPAR  HODs  last 
November. 

The  fourth  envisaged  act  is  an  OSPAR  Recommendation  on  best  practices  for  the 
management  of  marine  litter,  and  the  fifth  envisaged  act  is  a  Regional  Action  Plan  for 
coordinated measures to prevent and reduce underwater noise. 

The  proposed  Recommendation  on  the  application  of  best  environmental  practice  to  reduce 
marine  litter  aims  to  establish  a  mechanism  for  reporting  on  how  Contracting  Parties  are 
applying and disseminating best practice (developed as OSPAR “Other Agreements”) against 
marine litter, on their impact and on the need to review or withdraw outdated practices.  The 
OSPAR regional Action Plan on underwater noise identifies the most important actions to be 
implemented on a regional scale to  reduce anthropogenic underwater noise to levels that do 
not adversely affect the marine environment; one of its aims is to facilitate implementation of 
EU  requirements  related  to  underwater  noise  by  the  OSPAR  Parties  which  are  also  EU 
Member States.  

3. 

POSITION TO BE TAKEN ON THE UNION'S BEHALF 

Article 6(1) of the MSFD requires the Member  States to  use “existing  regional institutional 
cooperation structures, including those under Regional Sea Conventions, covering that marine 
region  or  subregion”  to  coordinate  their  marine  strategies.  According  to  Article  4  of  the 
MSFD, the Macaronesia sub-region is part of the North-East Atlantic region. It is the largest 
marine  sub-region  of  the  European  seas  and  holds  a  rich  diversity  of  habitats  and  species, 
including some that are included in the OSPAR list of “threatened and/or declining species & 
habitats”.  At  present,  the  OSPAR  maritime  area  only  partly  covers  the  waters  of  the 
Macaronesia sub-region that has been delimited and agreed at EU level.  

Spain and Portugal, which are the only EU and OSPAR countries that have territorial waters 
in Macaronesia, have produced a joint proposal for amending the OSPAR Convention to align 
the  OSPAR  maritime  area  with  the  MSFD  delimitations.  Such  alignment  will  facilitate  the 

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MSFD  implementation  for  these  two  countries  through  enhanced  cooperation  at  OSPAR 
level.  This  will  also  strengthen  the  protection  of  the  vulnerable  species  and  habitats  of  this 
region and of its unique marine and coastal biodiversity. 

The proposed OSPAR Decision on the restriction of certain EPS/XPS products is adequately 
supported by evidence and in line with EU legislation and policies concerning the reduction 
of plastic pollution of the seas, such as the SUPD and the MSFD; it is therefore proposed that 
the EU supports the adoption of this Decision. 

It is necessary that action aiming at the reduction of discharges from EGCS on board ships is 
taken  in  the  North-east  Atlantic;  this  is  in  line  with  EU  legislation  such  as  the  MSFD,  
Directive (EU) 2016/802 relating to a reduction in the sulphur content of certain liquid fuels, 
the  Ship  Source  Pollution  Directive  (2005/35/EC)  and  positions  in  the  IMO  and  in  other 
international  fora,  including  Regional  Seas  Conventions  around  Europe;  it  will  facilitate 
Member States’ efforts for reaching  good environmental  status (GES) under MSFD and the 
Water Framework Directive6, in particular with regard to contaminants. 

Facilitating the application of best practice guidance developed under Regional Action Plans 
on  Marine  Litter  and  adopted  by  OSPAR  will  contribute  to  the  reduction  of  litter  in  the 
marine environment, it is therefore proposed that the EU supports the adoption of the related 
abovementioned recommendation. 

Regionally coordinated measures in OSPAR can reduce underwater noise and protect marine 
life and biodiversity, as well as contribute to more efficient implementation of EU legislation, 
notably the MSFD; it is therefore proposed that the EU supports the adoption of the OSPAR 
regional Action Plan on underwater noise. 

The  envisaged  amendment  to  the  OSPAR  Convention  and  the  envisaged  decision  on 
preventing and eliminating the use and banning the placing on the market of certain products 
are legally binding on contracting parties in the context of OSPAR; the envisaged decision on 
managing  discharge water from  exhaust  gas  cleaning  systems  (EGCS), the recommendation 
for the management of marine litter and the Regional Action Plan for coordinated measures to 
prevent and reduce underwater noise will create legal effects under international law. In view 
of  the  OSPAR  Commission  meeting  from  23-27  June  2025,  a  Union  position  on  those 
envisaged measures, that are planned to be adopted, is necessary.  Since they will facilitate the 
implementation of EU policies and legislation and prevent damage to and improve protection 
of  the  marine  environment  and  biodiversity,  it  is  proposed  that  the  Union  supports  their 
adoption. 

4. 

LEGAL BASIS 

4.1. 

Procedural legal basis 

4.1.1.  Principles 

Article 218(9) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) provides for 
decisions establishing ‘the positions to be adopted on the Union’s behalf in a body set up by 
an  agreement,  when  that  body  is  called  upon  to  adopt  acts  having  legal  effects,  with  the 
exception of acts supplementing or amending the institutional framework of the agreement.’ 

The concept of ‘acts having legal effects’ includes acts that have legal effects by virtue of the 
rules of international law governing the body in question. It also includes instruments that do 

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Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a 
framework for Community action in the field of water policy 

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not  have  a  binding  effect  under  international  law,  but  that  are  ‘capable  of  decisively 
influencing the content of the legislation adopted by the EU legislature’7. 

4.1.2.  Application to the present case 

The OSPAR Commission is a body set up by an agreement, namely the OSPAR Convention.  

The acts which the OSPAR Commission is called upon to adopt constitutes acts having legal 
effects within the meaning of Article 218(9) TFEU because: 

• 

• 

all  OSPAR  decisions  are  legally  binding  for  the  Contracting  Parties,  according  to 
paragraph 2 of Article 13 of the OSPAR Convention; 

The  Recommendation  on  the  application  of  best  environmental  practice  to  reduce 
marine  litter  and  the  Regional  Action  Plan  on  Underwater  Noise  generate  legal 
effects  under  international  law,  in  that  they  create  good  faith  obligations  on  the 
contracting parties to implement them. 

As  regards  the  Recommendation,  this  follows  from  the  fact  that  Article  13  of  the  OSPAR 
Convention explicitly tasks the OSPAR Commission with the adoption of recommendations, 
and that Article 23 of the OSPAR Convention obliges the contracting parties to report on their 
compliance with OSPAR recommendations and to promote their implementation.  

Moreover,  the  Regional  Action  Plan  for  coordinated  measures  to  prevent  and  reduce 
underwater  noise  will  also  create  legal  effects  within  the  meaning  of  Article  218(9)  TFEU 
because this  instrument  sets  out  a series of  concrete objectives/measures to  be implemented 
by,  among  others,  contracting  parties,  to  reduce  levels  of  underwater  noise  and  so  it  is 
creating good faith obligation under international law for the contracting parties to implement 
these non-legally binding measures.  

The  envisaged  acts  do  not  supplement  or  amend  the  institutional  framework  of  the  OSPAR 
Convention. Therefore, the procedural legal basis for the proposed decision is Article 218(9) 
TFEU. 

4.2. 

Substantive legal basis 

4.2.1.  Principles 

The  substantive  legal  basis  for  a  decision  under  Article  218(9)  TFEU  depends  primarily  on 
the objective and content of the envisaged act in respect of which a position is taken on  the 
Union's  behalf.  If the  envisaged act  pursues two  aims or has two components  and if one of 
those  aims  or  components  is  identifiable  as  the  main  one,  whereas  the  other  is  merely 
incidental, the decision under Article 218(9) TFEU must be founded on a single substantive 
legal basis, namely that required by the main or predominant aim or component. 

4.2.2.  Application to the present case 

The main objective and content of the envisaged act relate to protection of the environment. 
Therefore, the substantive legal basis of the proposed decision is Article 192(1) TFEU. 

4.3. 

Conclusion 

The legal basis of the proposed decision should be Article 192(1), in conjunction with Article 
218(9) TFEU. 

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Judgment  of 
ECLI:EU:C:2014:2258, paragraphs 61 to 64.  

the  Court  of  Justice  of  7  October  2014,  Germany  v  Council,  C-399/12, 

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5. 

PUBLICATION OF THE ENVISAGED ACT 

As one of acts to be adopted by the OSPAR Commission will amend the OSPAR Convention, 
to  which  the  Union  is  a  Party,  it  is  appropriate  to  publish  it  in  the  Official  Journal  of  the 
European Union after its adoption.  

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2025/0076 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

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 at the ministerial 
meeting of June 2025 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  particular 
Article 192(1) in conjunction with Article 218(9) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

The OSPAR Convention (‘the Convention’) was concluded by the Union by Council 
Decision 98/249/EC of 7 October 19978 and entered into force on 25 March 1998. 

Pursuant  to  Article  10(3)  of  the  Convention,  the  Commission  established  by  Article 
10(1)  of  the  Convention  (“the  OSPAR  Commission”)  may  adopt  Decisions  in 
accordance with Article 13 of the Convention. 

The  OSPAR  Commission,  during  its  28th  regular  session/meeting  starting  on  23th 
June  2025,  is  to  adopt  (i)  Decisions  for  adjusting  the  limits  of  the  OSPAR  maritime 
area  to  include  waters  under  Portuguese  and  Spanish  jurisdiction  and  international 
waters in between,  for the restriction of certain products in order to prevent the release 
of  plastic  in  the  marine  environment,  and  on  management  of  discharge  water  from 
(ii)  a 
(EGCS) 
Exhaust  Gas  Cleaning  Systems 
Recommendation  on  best  practices  for  the  management  of  marine  litter;  and  (iii)  a 
Regional  Action  Plan  for  coordinated  measures  to  prevent  and  reduce  underwater 
noise. 

installed  on  board  ships; 

It  is  appropriate  to  establish  the  position  to  be  taken  on  the  Union's  behalf  in  the 
OSPAR Commission, as the envisaged measures to be taken by the latter will create 
legal effects within the meaning of Article 218(9) of the Treaty on the Functioning of 
the European Union. 

The  Union  position  should  be  to  vote  in  favour  of  the  abovementioned  OSPAR 
measures because they will facilitate the implementation of EU policies and legislation 
and  prevent  damage  to  and  improve  protection  of  the  marine  environment  and 
biodiversity. 

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Council Decision 98/249/EC of 7 October 1997 on the conclusion of the Convention for the protection 
of the marine environment of the north-east Atlantic (OJ L 104, 3.4.1998, p. 1) 

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HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: 

Article 1 

The  position  to  be  taken  on  the  Union's  behalf  in  the  [28th]  meeting  of  the  OSPAR 
Commission  starting  on  23th  June  2025  shall  be  to  support  the  adoption  of  the  following 
measures: 

(a) 

the Decisions on the adjustment of the limits of the OSPAR maritime area to 
include  waters  under  Portuguese  and  Spanish  jurisdiction  and  international 
waters in between; on  the restriction of certain products in order to prevent the 
release of plastic in the marine environment; on the management of discharge 
water from Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems (EGCS) installed on board ships;  

(b) 

the Recommendation on best practices for the management of marine litter;   

(c) 

the  Regional  Action  Plan  for  coordinated  measures  to  prevent  and  reduce 
underwater noise. 

Article 2 

Refinement  of  the  position  referred  to  in  Article  1  may  be  agreed  to,  in  the  light  of 
developments at the OSPAR Heads of Delegation meeting on 14-16 May 2025 or at the 28th 
meeting of the OSPAR Commission on 23-26 June 2025, by the representatives of the Union, 
in  consultation  with  Member  States  during  on-the-spot  coordination  meetings,  without  a 
further decision of the Council. 

Done at Brussels, 

For the Council 
The President  

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