1. EEA Marine Messages and Marine Assessment
Trine Christiansen
European Environment Agency (EEA)
WG-GES, Brussels
March 17, 2014

2. Marine Messages
EEA has produced a Marine Messages brief. It provides a synthesis of the challenges facing the achivement of healthy European Seas
It provides 10 key messages on marine topics such as MSFD and the ecosystem-based approach, climate change, healthy, clean and productive seas etc.
It operates in the policy-science interface of the European marine domain and is supported by facts and findings from the Initial Assessments reported by Member States, EEA indicators, RSC assesments and scientific litterature
It was produced for the HOPE Conference and was released on the 20th February 2014
Marine Messages is a interim milestone for a EEA report on the European marine environment due in November 2014

3. EEA Marine Assessment
EEA will produce an assessment on the state of European marine environment to be published in November 2014
The assessment will provide a synthesis on the policy-science interface of the European marine and maritime domains
The report will be supported by
facts and findings from the electronically reported Initial Assessments;
case studies from the national reports produced by Member States (EEA might ask permisson from Member States to use specific reported material);
EEA indicators;
RSC assessments, ICES advice and scientific litterature.
The report is expected to be circulated for an EIONET consultation in June

4. EEA Marine Assessment
The assessment was originally intended to include a strong MSFD baseline component on the state of European Seas, but lack of coherence across the reported information has made this difficult.
EEA activities in WG-DIKE and TG-Data are intended to support the development of a baseline component for 2018;
Collaboration with RSC, to provide regional indicators of GES (will also support activities of WG-GES);
Collaboration with MS and RSC to establish reference layers relevant for MSFD (e.g. Marine regions Map);
Establishing WISE-Marine as a platform for exchanging information regarding the state of the marine environment;