The Marine Directive

The aim of the European Union's ambitious Marine Strategy Framework Directive is to protect more effectively the marine environment across Europe.

The Marine Directive was adopted on 17 June 2008.

The Commission also produced a set of detailed criteria and methodological standards to help Member States implement the Marine Directive. These were revised in 2017 leading to the new Commission Decision on Good Environmental Status.

Annex III of the Directive was also amended in 2017 to better link ecosystem components, anthropogenic pressures and impacts on the marine environment with the MSFD's 11 descriptors and with the new Decision on Good Environmental Status.

For more information, go to the MSFD website (only in French & Dutch) and to the datasets on our GeoNetwork.