1. Marine Strategy Framework Directive State of play and follow up
Art. 12 assessment
MSCG
Claire Dupont
9 February 2015, Brussels

2. MSFD implementation cycle –
where are we now? -

3. Format of Commission assessment and guidance
Commission report – Recommendations on Article 11
General recommendations and guidance
Indicative timeline: end of 2015
Technical background reports - Article 11 assessment
(Milieu Consortium)
Country assessment reports: Analysis per country
Regional assessment reports: Analysis per marine sub/region

4. Who is assessed? Assessment is currently underway
23 Member States are being assessed
9 country assessments already made (drafts under revision)
14 assessments remain
Reporting status:
16 Member States have reported*
7 Member States have still not reported (or reported but file is not yet complete and submitted)
* Reporting status on

5. Approach for assessment reports
Builds upon the Article reports and describes progress made since 2012
Assessment is made against Member State GES definition and Targets
Provides context by discussing programmes with a “reference list” based on EU and regional requirements
Provides overview on aspects such as:
Public consultations
Links with monitoring under Regional Sea Conventions
Policy linkages (WFD, BD, HD, CFP, etc.)

6. Assessment of the MS reports – preliminary observations
Very few Member States have updated their GES or targets in 2014
Most Member States have reported with a 2018 outlook: stating intentions to update GES, targets, further develop criteria and indicators and revisit monitoring programmes (or develop monitoring programmes by wherever missing)
Majority link to existing monitoring programmes under other EU and regional commitments
Many links with RSC’s observed – regional approaches in place
Coverage of Descriptors
Good coverage of D3, D5, D8, D9 in most Member States
Partial coverage (gaps) for D2, D7 is some Member States
Gaps for D10 and D11 in most Member States
Biodiversity descriptor coverage is mixed

7. Assessment of the MS reports – preliminary observations
Information on measures and activities is not yet widely available – most refer to upcoming PoM report and how information will be provided there
Gaps and justifications are often identified by the Member States
In some MS: Justifications and plans are clear
In some other MS: no clear plans to address them OR limited amount of justifications provided

8. Assessment of the MS reports – preliminary observations
Reporting style
Almost all Member States reported through reporting sheets (xml) and text based reports
Few have only reported in text based reports format or only in xml format
RSC factsheets are provided by some
Decentralised reporting implemented by some with external links provided

9. Types of elements monitored
(illustrative graph – a sample from Batch 1 of Art.11 assessment)

10. Spatial scale of the monitoring
(illustrative graph – a sample from Batch 1 of Art.11 assessment)

11. Contact details: Claire Dupont Principal Legal & Policy Advisor
Milieu Ltd - Law & Policy Consulting