EU Member States are due to submit their draft National Restoration Plans to the European Commission by 1 September . This will be the first major test of whether Europe will match its landmark Nature Restoration Regulation with the level of ambition needed to reverse biodiversity loss and strengthen the resilience of ecosystems. As the deadline arrives, marine NGOs warn that the plans seen so far fall far short of what is needed to deliver meaningful restoration. To be effective, these plans must be inclusive, science-based, and politically empowered, clearly defining where restoration will occur, the measures to be taken, who is responsible, and how activities will be financed. In some countries, such as Spain, the process has also suffered from a lack of transparency, with governments refusing to make draft plans public. 

The plans will set out the restoration measures Member States must implement through 2030 and beyond, to restore ecosystems across Europe. They stem from the Nature Restoration Law, adopted in 2024 after difficult negotiations, and represent Europe’s biggest legislative opportunity in a generation to reverse biodiversity loss. The regulation also recognizes the vital role restoration plays in tackling climate change and building resilience—an urgent priority as wildfires, droughts, and heatwaves intensify across the continent. But this opportunity will only translate into real change if Member States now put forward National Restoration Plans that are sufficiently ambitious to deliver it.

Following this deadline, the European Commission will have six months to review the drafts and issue feedback to Member States, who must incorporate these edits when finalizing their plans by September 2027. Seas At Risk and its members are closely analysing the drafts to ensure they deliver bold, long-overdue ocean protection.

  • “We cannot afford to waste this opportunity to bring life back to Europe’s seas. For our ocean, restoration means removing destructive pressures like bottom trawling so marine ecosystems can recover. We call on the Commission to ensure Member States deliver brave, effective plans – not minimal compliance,” said Andrea Ripol, Senior Marine Policy Officer from Seas At Risk.
  • “After reviewing the Irish draft plan, we believe it lacks the ambition and vision required. Marine habitat coverage was incorrectly calculated, no Favourable Reference Area establishment targets were included, and there were no documented plans to initiate Joint Recommendations to protect offshore ecosystems such as reefs,” said Grace Carr, Marine Advocacy Officer at Irish Wildlife Trust. “We strongly urge Ireland to strengthen its proposal in line with NGO recommendations. Holding the EU Presidency gives Ireland a unique mandate: it must set the benchmark with its own plan, lead regional cooperation across marine basins, and hold other Member States accountable to deliver ambitious, timely plans,” she concluded.
  • “Our careful reading of Germany‘s National Restoration Plan draft revealed that it diligently describes the existing measures and programmes, but does not outline any significant additional actions. Without ambitious improvements, the current draft plan will fall short of its goals. Considering the marine ecosystems, Germany fails to address how it will reduce existing pressures such as bottom trawling, a precondition for allowing nature to recover,” explained Lioba Schwarzer, Team Lead Marine Conservation at Deutsche Umwelthilfe.
  • “Although Greece has not yet submitted its draft National Restoration Plan, it can still put forward a strong and ambitious plan with positive impact for nature and people. Blue Marine Foundation encourages the Greek authorities to use this process to set out concrete measures to restore degraded marine habitats, reduce harmful pressures, and strengthen the protection of our biodiversity. We remain available to support both the development and implementation of the plan,” said Angela Lazou Dean, Senior Greece Projects Manager at Blue Marine Foundation.
  • For Italy, International Projects Lead Dr Jean-Luc Solandt at Blue Marine Foundation said, “It’s important that many of coastal designated MPAs are integrated into a wider network that also includes the more than 10 proposed inshore sites and 8 proposed offshore sites currently awaiting designation by the Environment Ministry (MASE). Currently Italy’s MPA designations measure about 11%,  with effective management for protection and species restoration measures in place for only 1% of Italian waters. In this respect, securing good management within such expanded MPA network would be the most cost-effective way of delivering conditions for restoration.
  • “We can say it plainly: Spain’s National Restoration Plan is, for now, invisible to society. Its preparation has been marked by opacity and a lack of meaningful public participation, and after submitting it to the European Commission, the Government still refuses to say when it will make the document public. From the Alliance for Nature Restoration, of which Ecologistas en Acción is a member, we demand its immediate publication, urgent action to address major knowledge gaps on marine ecosystems, and a plan that goes beyond existing marine protected areas and measures already required by law. Spain has a historic opportunity to restore its marine ecosystems, but the Government must rise to the challenge,” said Marta García Pallarés from Ecologistas en Acción.
  • “Portugal’s draft National Restoration Plan provides a strong technical basis and is very transparent about significant gaps in our knowledge of marine ecosystems. But knowledge cannot substitute for action. Of the 27 measures identified for marine ecosystems, only two are classified as direct restoration measures, while recovery targets remain limited and funding is yet to be clearly secured. Gaps in our knowledge of some marine habitats cannot be taken as evidence that degradation is not occurring, nor justify delaying action where pressures are already well documented. Portugal must set ambitious and measurable restoration targets, tackle the pressures preventing ecosystems from recovering, and ensure adequate funding and robust monitoring are in place. Our seas need a National Restoration Plan that goes beyond diagnosis and delivers meaningful, measurable and lasting ecological recovery,” said Henrique Folhas from Sciaena.
  • “In the restoration of marine ecosystems, the priority must be passive restoration, understood as the set of measures that enable the natural recovery of degraded ecosystems by removing the pressures exerted upon them as a result of human activities. Maritime transport is the primary source of continuous underwater noise, while  ship-whale collisions are the leading cause of human-induced mortality in areas of heavy maritime traffic, such as the north-western Mediterranean and the Canary Islands. There is an urgent need to adopt mandatory measures to reduce ship speeds in order to effectively and cost-efficiently mitigate these pressures and impacts,” said Carlos Bravo, from OceanCare.

The message from across Europe is clear: restoration will only work if Member States are prepared to go beyond business as usual and tackle the pressures preventing nature from recovering. Governments must guarantee transparency by making draft plans public and involving civil society throughout the implementation process. The Commission must now use its review to demand stronger, measurable, and adequately funded plans, while Member States must raise their ambition ahead of the 2027 deadline. Europe already possesses the tools to restore its seas; it now needs the political will to use them. 

Posted on: 31 August 2026