A damning new report by the European Court of Auditors (ECA) shows a raft of failures to protect the EU’s Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) – what should be the jewel in the crown of Europe’s oceans. Finding that just 1% of EU marine waters were under strict protection, the report launches in the midst of COP17 – the “biodiversity COP” – where EU leaders are emphasising the urgency of advancing 30×30 – the ambition to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030.

Environmental groups are calling out the irony that, whilst advocating for more protection on the global stage, the EU remains alarmingly far from taking adequate action at home. 

The MPA Legal Coalition, the alliance of environmental groups behind a suite of legal actions to defend Marine Protected Areas, warns that Europe’s global credibility is at stake:

“Our oceans are in a terrifying state of decline. We can have all the pledges in the world to protect and restore them, but they mean nothing if those protections exist only on paper. Despite a suite of commitments from EU leaders in recent years, the ECA’s report shows the ever-widening gulf between rhetoric, and the reality on the seabed. In Europe, the solution is clear  – we need to apply and enforce the laws we have already.

The ECA is the independent external auditor and financial watchdog of the European Union. Key findings from their report show that:

  • As of 2023, only 13.7% of EU waters were designated with any level of protection, with  1% strictly protected. The 30×30 targets aim for 30% under protection, and 10% under strict protection.
  • Fishing, in particular bottom-trawling, remains the main threat to protected areas, with fishing activity on average 72% higher inside marine Natura 2000 sites than outside them.
  • Limited restrictions for MPAs have been introduced since 2013, and no classification system linking protection categories to permitted activities. 
  • Funding is fragmented and insufficient for long-term management, monitoring and enforcement.

The report comes just after the implementation dialogue with Jessika Roswall on 23rd October, concerning the Commission’s ongoing 2026 ‘stress test’ of the Birds and Habitat Directives. The stress test process has sparked concerns of a weakening of the crucial laws that protect seas, forests, rivers and other ecosystems in the EU. The ECA’s report strongly supports the case that the Directives are fit for purpose and should not be reopened. 

The Coalition aims to spur on action to close the ocean ‘enforcement gap’ through a wave of strategic litigation, which has already led to a major success. In May 2026, the District Court of The Hague in the Netherlands ruled that Dutch bottom trawlers could no longer operate without a permit and an environmental assessment in the Dogger Bank Natura 2000 site, confirming that EU nature laws are effective when properly respected.

Despite their protected status, many marine protected areas (MPAs) across Europe remain open to destructive fishing practices like bottom trawling. The MPA Legal Coalition is calling on the Commission to launch infringement proceedings against EU Countries that continue to allow destructive activities in Natura 2000 MPAs, and for the next EU budget to ringfence adequate funding for the EU’s marine Natura 2000 network.  The Commission should also use the upcoming European Ocean Act to strengthen protections for MPAs.

ENDS

 

Notes to Editors:

The Court recommends that the Commission:

  1. Promote a coherent trans-European MPA network, including ecological corridors.
  2. Ensure protected areas are actually protected, including better conservation measures and improved fisheries-management processes.
  3. Support a fair transition for coastal communities, with stronger stakeholder participation.
  4. Strengthen adaptive management and monitoring, including a robust methodology for evaluating management effectiveness.

COP17: The EU’s confirmed negotiating position for the CBD COP17 (and the forthcoming COP31 climate COP) is described by the Council: “The EU’s focus… is on translating commitments into concrete actions… the EU will reaffirm the urgent need for accelerated implementation of the Paris Agreement and of the global biodiversity framework.”

BHD Stress Test: The Commission stated that the stress test of the BHD aims to ‘reduce administrative burdens’, sparking fears from environmental NGOs that the EU’s nature protection laws will fall victim to the EU’s wider push for competitiveness and ‘simplification’. 

  • Among other things, the stress test is considering whether Article 6 is fit for purpose. This provision crucially guarantees protection for Natura 2000 conservation areas like MPAs.

30×30: The 30×30 goal falls under Target 3 of the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), adopted by governments at COP15 in 2022. The framework sets a global strategy for conserving and sustainably drawing on the world’s biological diversity, to restore habitats, reduce pollution, and protect wildlife.

  • A key objective of COP17 is to assess global progress towards these goals. However the latest UN progress report confirms that the ambitions will not be achieved in time for the 2030 deadline unless action “accelerates rapidly”, with nations currently falling short on 22 of 23 nature targets, which focus on restoring ecosystems, increasing nature finance and reducing harmful subsidies.

MPA Legal Coalition legal actions:

  • Members of the MPA Legal Coalition have undertaken national litigation in France, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, and, most recently, in Italy. Members of the MPA Legal Coalition also filed complaints with the European Commission across six Member States, showing that the continued authorisation of bottom trawling in MPAs reflects a systemic failure to comply with EU law, including the Habitats Directive.
  • Dutch Dogger Bank and Bancs des Flandres legal cases: While this decision is currently being appealed by the Dutch government, it sets an enormously important precedent that will help set the direction of travel across Europe when it comes to MPA management. Only a few weeks later, in France, the Administrative Court of Rouen confirmed insufficient protection for the Natura 2000 site of Bancs des Flandres. 

The #HandsOffNature coalition – comprising BirdLife Europe, ClientEarth, the European Environmental Bureau and WWF EU – is urging the European Commission to use its review of the EU’s nature laws to fully enforce and fund the existing legislation, rather than weaken it. The campaign’s petition reached 1.25 million signatures and was handed in on 23rd October to Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall.

Posted on: 26 October 2026