4 May, 2022
The European Commission has published a report on the implementation of the Maritime Spatial Planning Directive, which sets the obligation for the 22 coastal Member States to establish maritime spatial plans by 31 March 2021 at the latest. While the majority of the coastal Member States now have a maritime spatial plan in place, eight countries did not make sufficient progress. The report furthermore concludes that Maritime Spatial Planning is an effective and strategic tool to coordinate the different activities at sea and prevent conflicts over the use of maritime space. The EU remains global leader in this area.
The report recalls the objectives of the Directive and describes the support that the Commission has provided to Member States in implementing the Directive, notably through the European MSP Platform (https://maritime-spatial-planning.ec.europa.eu), a dedicated Member States’ expert group, and support to cross-border cooperation on MSP in all European sea basins through the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) and other EU funds.
The transposition obligations of the Directive are twofold: (1) its transposition into national law and designation of competent authorities by 18 September 2016; (2) the establishment of maritime spatial plans at the latest by 31 March 2021.
All concerned Member States transposed the Directive. The report describes the varying transposition approaches taken by Member States and concludes that the Commission found the transposition into national law to be complete, albeit with some delays.
The report takes stock of the plans established by Member States and of the implementation of the directive’s minimum requirements for maritime spatial plans: their overall objectives and ecosystem-based approach, land-sea interactions, the identification of the spatial and temporal distribution of activities and uses. The report also evokes the respective national MSP processes: stakeholder involvement and public participation, use of best available data and data sharing, and reflects on cooperation among Member States and at sea basin level, including with third countries. In addition, it points to challenges in implementation.
The report concludes that Maritime Spatial Planning is an effective and strategic tool to coordinate the different activities at sea and prevent conflicts over the use of maritime space.
In line with the requirements in the Directive, the report has been sent to the European Parliament and the Council.
Originally published by the European Commission: https://ec.europa.eu/oceans-and-fisheries/news/european-commission-report-implementation-maritime-spatial-planning-directive-good-progress-more-2022-05-03_en
The report is accessible here.