1. A Sea for Life MSFD Article 20 Assessment
European Commission, DG Environment, Marine Unit
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2. Article 20
Commission reports
2. By 15 July 2012 at the latest, the Commission shall publish a report assessing the contribution of this Directive to the implementation of existing obligations, commitments and initiatives of the Member States or the Community at Community or international level in the sphere of environmental protection in marine waters.
That report shall be submitted to the European Parliament and to the Council.

3. Work done so far
“Study on the contribution of the MSFD to existing international obligations”
Selection of relevant international instruments, RSCs, some sectoral instruments
A list of 800 international obligations was identified
Different instruments are organised under priority thematic commitments / overarching principles

4. A. General environmental commitments
Precautionary and polluters pay principles
Ecosystems-based approach and sustainable development
Integration of environmental concerns on sectoral policies
B. Themes specific to the marine environment:
Integrated cross-sectoral management of the marine waters
Prevention of pollution of the marine environment
Biodiversity and MPAs
Living marine resources management
Climate change
C. Other themes/Sub-themes
Knowledge based-management
Assessment and Monitoring
Reporting obligation
Regional and International cooperation
Education, public participation
Green economy and resource efficiency

5. Preliminary conclusions
MSFD contributes to the implementation of a number of international commitments in the area of protection of the marine environment, often in a complementary manner to other pieces of EU legislation
The reporting requirements under the MSFD provide a useful contribution to a number of reporting obligations for the EU and its Member States at the international level
MSFD foresees the possibility to respond to upcoming international initiatives and obligations and can thus be adapted to take account of such international or regional developments

6. Way forward The study with the annexes will be made available soon
Commission is currently preparing its report
The report is expected to be adopted and published early autumn
The report will be sent to European Parliament and the Council