1. WG GES: Decision review progress
13th meeting of WG GES, April 2015, Brussels
WG GES: Decision review progress
European Commission
DG Environment
Marine Environment and Water Industry Unit

2. GES Decision review – progress
JRC and ICES leading technical reviews of Decision per Descriptor – started in spring 2014, supported by expert networks and/or expert workshops
Draft 'manuals' presented to WG GES (October 2014) – review of current use of Decision, initial proposals for revision of Decision and criteria (variable level of maturity)
MS comments on draft templates to end November 2014
JRC and ICES considered comments and identified outstanding issues
Identification of cross-cutting issues that were discussed during a dedicated workshop beginning of 2015
February-March 2015: consultation on revised manuals per descriptor and some meetings of expert working groups to address outstanding technical issues identified
25 March-7 April 2015: all draft documents were uploaded to circabc

3. Cross-cutting issues workshop 21-22/01/2015, Copenhagen
Session themes
Integrating descriptors and other cross-cutting issues
Consistency with existing legislation and RSC methodologies
Scales and aggregation
Issues discussed in three sessions by 2 or 3 subgroups
Each subgroup discussed same issues
Aim was to draw (broad) conclusions to give direction to next phase of technical review
Also identify further issues needing more detailed work
Workshop was NOT about making decisions, but opportunity to discuss and give direction, based on current state of Decision technical review and practical experience of implementation to date

4. Follow up of cc workshop: issues to further develop
Cross-cutting paper
Integrated assessment of state-based descriptors
Relationship to pressure-based assessments
For D1: link to HBD assessments
Scales of assessment
Aggregation rules at descriptor level
GES Descriptor manuals
Boundaries (quantitative where possible, also others)
Reference conditions: difficult issue, indicator specific
Proposal on available lists (EU and RSCs) and their potential use in assessments
Simplification and streamlining: defining overlaps in criteria and indicators across descriptors and proposing methodological standards for streamlining descriptors
Aggregation rules below descriptor level (e.g. weighting, OOAO)
Recommendations on: i) input for possible revision of Commission Decision, ii) input for Work Programme
Common Understanding document
Issue of terminology

5. JRC workshops/correspondence
ICES workshops D3, D4, D6
Focused workshops on specific challenges that arose during the 2014 scientific review of the MSFD descriptors:
D3 - 10–12 February
D6 - 16–19 February
D4 - 24–25 February
All at ICES HQ, Copenhagen
JRC workshops/correspondence
D8/9 - working meeting of MSFD Expert Network on Contaminants: February 2015, Ispra, Italy
D10 - phone/Skype meetings, ad-hoc meeting of MSFD TG Marine litter
Other descriptors: exchange via

6. GES Decision review – next steps
The process for the review/revision of the Commission Decision on GES should now become a converging process, to progressively close open issues.
Those issues which cannot be solved in the short term could be proposed for the CIS work programme
The MSFD regulatory Committee on the 5th of May will take stock of review process and agree forward process for each descriptor, based on outcomes of WG GES in April.
After the Regulatory Committee meeting, Commission will have internal discussions on the way forward, will seek the political mandate and will look at coherence with other policies.
Commission will report back on the above issues to the MSFD Committee in November 2015.
The aim is to finalise this revision by vote in the MSFD Committee before summer All the relevant documents (technical reports, guidance) have to be finalised by then.

7. GES Decision review – Review products
Sign off
Proposal for a revised Commission Decision
MSFD Committee
Proposal for a revised MSFD Annex III
Commission guidance on the application of the Decision and Annex III and on cross- cutting issues
Commission via a CSWP
Revised common understanding (guidance) on MSFD Articles 8, 9 and 10
MSCG
Technical reports on the review process, describing the work done per descriptor and technical and scientific reasoning for the proposals