Today, the Commission introduced a pivotal proposal to integrate the “Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction” (BBNJ) Agreement into EU law. This landmark Agreement aims to protect our oceans, combat environmental degradation, address climate change, and curb biodiversity loss. By embedding it into EU legislation, Member States will be better equipped to implement its goals effectively.
Signed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in September 2023, the BBNJ Agreement, also known as the Treaty of the High Seas, is designed to meet ambitious targets, including the protection of at least 30% of oceans by 2030 and the fair sharing of genetic resources and digital sequence information.
While EU law aligns with many aspects of the BBNJ, the proposed directive focuses on essential provisions to minimise regulatory burdens by establishing vast marine protected areas to conserve marine life, requiring thorough Environmental Impact Assessments before approving activities in international waters to ensure transparency and fairness for all stakeholders and supporting EU researchers in sharing marine genetic resources to promote equitable distribution of benefits.
This directive aims to enhance good governance and ocean sustainability while simplifying administrative processes within the EU.
The European Parliament and the Council will now discuss the proposal. The BBNJ Agreement will take effect 120 days after 60 countries have ratified it. The EU is committed to ratifying the Agreement before the UN Ocean Conference in Nice in June 2025, with the directive needing to be in place beforehand.
