The European Court of Auditors (ECA) has announced in a new report that the marine protected areas of the European Union are not effectively protected, and the Union is unlikely to meet its marine protection goals by 2030. Despite ambitious commitments to biodiversity and an expanding network of protected areas, many of these sites lack adequate protection measures and planning to adapt to climate change.
Current Status of Marine Protection in the European Union
Currently, about 14 percent of the EU's seas are designated as protected areas, with less than 1 percent of these areas under strict protection. The European Court of Auditors has warned that the Union is unlikely to achieve its goal of protecting 30 percent of marine waters by 2030, which includes strict protection of 10 percent of all waters. The report also indicates that the existing network does not function as a coherent ecological system, and key habitats in deep and remote waters are still inadequately protected.
Existing Challenges in Protection and Cooperation Among Member States
One reality is that designating an area as a marine protected area does not automatically lead to effective protection. The European Union lacks a coordinated system of protection categories and activities related to its protection goals. For example, while fishing activities and other harmful activities to the seabed pose a significant threat to marine biodiversity, fishing restrictions are only applied to a small portion of protected areas. The European Court of Auditors emphasizes that stronger cooperation at both the Union and national levels is essential to translate the designation of "marine protected area" into tangible and actionable measures. This could also help address financial challenges, as effective protection requires significant and predictable resources at a time when funding is still scattered among national budgets and various EU instruments.
The European Court of Auditors also points to weaknesses in stakeholder participation, emphasizing that this can undermine social sustainability, transparency, and public support for marine protection measures, especially when coastal communities face significant socio-economic impacts. Although member states are increasingly consulting stakeholders in more comprehensive ways, those affected should be given more opportunities to participate in decision-making. Measures should also be identified to mitigate the negative socio-economic impacts of protection measures.
The seas of the European Union cover about 5 million square kilometers, an area larger than its land. Approximately 40 percent of the EU population lives within 50 kilometers of the coast. The Union has four marine regions: the Northeast Atlantic, the Mediterranean Sea, the Baltic Sea, and the Black Sea. These waters include 3,648 Natura 2000 sites covering about 526,000 square kilometers, as well as 6,610 national marine protected areas covering 244,000 square kilometers. More than half of these areas overlap with Natura 2000 sites.
Special Report No. 25/2026 titled "Marine Protected Areas - Designating an Area Alone is Insufficient for Meaningful Protection" is available on the European Court of Auditors' website.
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