birdlife.org
Press release: New assessment finds Europe not on track to achieve a healthy ocean by 2030
Brussels, 29th September 2026 – European ocean health is off track. A major progress report published today by the Blue NGO coalition, namely BirdLife Europe & Central Asia, Bloom, Blue Marine Foundation, ClientEarth, Environmental Justice Foundation, Oceana, Seas At Risk, Surfrider Foundation Europe and WWF EU, reveals that Europe is failing to protect its own waters. Evaluating progress in 2025 and 2026 against the Blue Manifesto (backed by 150+ civil society groups), the new traffic light assessment warns against the widening gap between the EU’s global commitments, its ambition at EU level and its actual domestic actions since 2024. Key Scorecard Findings Progress varies considerably between topics. The EU scores relatively strongly on international ocean leadership (7.5/10), reflecting important achievements, such as the landmark ratification of the BBNJ Agreement, and keeping a strong stance against deep-sea mining, despite increasingly difficult circumstances for multilateral cooperation. This contrasts sharply with the EU’s failures to meaningfully act domestically, which puts its overall credibility on the global stage at risk. Recent moves, including the Environmental Omnibus and the stress-testing of the Birds and Habitats Directives, risk further weakening the environmental protections that Europe’s seas depend upon. The EU continues to struggle to address some...
