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‘Lacklustre’ EU Ocean Pact Fails to Deliver Urgent Marine Protection, NGOs Warn

The European Commission’s newly announced Ocean Pact has come under fire from leading environmental groups who say it falls far short of what’s needed to protect Europe’s increasingly fragile marine ecosystems. Billed as a unified framework to promote healthy oceans, sustainable coastal economies, and maritime security, the Pact was presented Thursday ahead of the UN Ocean Conference (UNOC) in Nice, where the EU plans to showcase it as a model of global leadership.

"We are setting a course for the future of our seas," Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said, describing the initiative as one that will serve both the planet and coastal communities. Fisheries Commissioner Costas Kadis added the Pact wasn't just a "message in a bottle," but a roadmap for action.

A big vision with few hard commitments

The Pact sets out priorities such as restoring ocean health, strengthening ocean diplomacy, revising key maritime directives, and proposing a new European Ocean Law by 2027. It also promises greater enforcement of existing laws and increased investment in the blue economy.

But leading NGOs say the proposal lacks the concrete measures and binding targets urgently needed to reverse marine decline.

In a joint statement, BirdLife Europe, ClientEarth, Oceana, WWF European Policy Office, Seas At Risk, and Surfrider Foundation Europe welcomed the attention but called the plan "tentative" and "insufficient."

"This was a chance for the EU to lead by example at a critical global moment," said Vera Coelho, Deputy Vice-President of Oceana in Europe. "Instead, it repeats the same piecemeal approach that has failed to stop destructive practices like bottom trawling in so-called protected areas."

Implementation gaps and political inaction

NGOs say the biggest failure of the Pact is not in its ambition, but in its lack of enforcement mechanisms.

Juliet Stote, marine law advisor at ClientEarth, said, "We don't need more promises on paper. We need enforcement at sea. EU ocean laws are routinely breached — from overfishing to industrial fishing in marine reserves. The Pact gives no clear plan to change this."

Rather than outlining a strategy to enforce existing commitments under EU law, critics say the Commission has opened the door to revising legislation like the Common Fisheries Policy, which could further weaken environmental safeguards.

"This is not a problem of legal frameworks," Coelho added. "It's a crisis of political will."

Call for stronger measures at UN summit

With the EU preparing to present the Pact at next week's UN Ocean Conference, environmental groups are urging Brussels to raise its game. They want the Pact to include binding targets, strict timelines, and transparent enforcement mechanisms — not just promises.

"The future of Europe's seas — and the communities that depend on them — can't be left to voluntary pledges and business-as-usual," the NGOs said in a joint statement.

As the planet's oceans face mounting pressures from overfishing, pollution, and climate change, the message from civil society is clear: rhetoric alone won't restore marine life.