Informal meeting of Water Directors - Europa Meeting of Water and Marine Directors of the European Union, Candidate and EFTA Countries Luxembourg, 25th and 26th of November 2015 4

Informal meeting of Water and Marine Directors of the European Union, Candidate and EFTA Countries

Luxembourg, 25th and 26th of November 2015

Final Synthesis

Introduction The Water and Marine Directors of the European Union1 (EU) and EFTA countries2 met on 25th and 26th of November 2015. The Water Directors (WD)

endorsed the Work Programme 2016-2018 of the Common Implementation Strategy (CIS) for the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and the Floods Directive (FD)

discussed the way they wish to take forward the work on water and agriculture in the coming years

endorsed a CIS Technical Report on Groundwater Associated Aquatic Ecosystems and a paper on Indicators to Communicate Progress Towards Good Status

discussed the state of play of the preparations for the 2016 reporting under the WFD and supported the proposed way forward

received information on and discussed the Commission’s approach to the upcoming assessment of the WFD River Basin Management Plans and the FD Flood Risk Management Plans

exchange views on the experience from the first cycle of implementation of the FD

took note of the information provided on the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), on state of play on water industry Directives and the result of the Meeting of the Parties of the UNECE Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes held in Budapest in November 2015

The Marine Directors (MD) discussed, in particular

The activities and agreements reached under the Common Implementation Strategy of the MSFD and during the last MSFD Regulatory Committee, in particular the latest information on the review of the good environmental status Decision

The Work Programme of the Common Implementation Strategy for 2016-2018

The progress in the Commission's assessment of monitoring programmes

Ocean Governance

The state of implementation of the MSFD

Recent Commission activities with relevance to the marine environment

International activities related to marine environment The present note summarises the main elements discussed, and the agreements reached, during the Water and Marine Directors meeting. The agenda of the meeting is in Annex I, the list of participants is in Annex II.

1 Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany,

Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom and the European Commission and the EEA. Absent: Lithuania. 2 Iceland, Norway and Switzerland.

Informal Meeting of Water and Marine Directors of the European Union, Candidate and EFTA Countries Luxembourg, 25

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The Water and Marine Directors held a joint session with the Nature Directors, in which the links between the water, marine, biodiversity and nature policies were discussed (see outcome of this joint session in Annex III).

Outcome of the meeting PART 1: WATER DIRECTORS' MEETING

Mr Jean-Paul Lickes (Luxembourg Presidency) and Mrs Marianne Wenning (Commission, DG Environment) welcomed the participants.

1. CIS activities

− Progress report on CIS

WD took note of the CIS progress report (DOC WD/2015-2/1.1).

WD endorsed the CIS Technical Report on Groundwater Associated Aquatic Ecosystems (DOC WD/2015-2/1.2). WD thanked the Working Groups and the SCG for the work done.

2. CIS Work Programme 2016-2018

a. Discussion and agreement on the Work Programme

WD thanked the Working Groups and the SCG for the preparation of the document. WD agreed that it provides a solid basis for the CIS work in the coming years.

WD stressed the need to maintain a strong link to the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) CIS process, in particular in view of the discussion on the MSFD CIS Work Programme that will be held by Marine Directors and the Marine SCG.

WD endorsed the CIS Work Programme 2016-2018 (DOC WD/2015-2/2) adding to Annex 1 (template for Terms of Reference of Ad-hoc Task Groups) the justification for the need to work on the topic within the CIS.

WD agreed that the Working Groups can continue their work on the basis of the mandates included in sections 4.3 to 4.7 of the CIS Work Programme. WD encouraged Working Group leads to further define and prioritise the main tasks where necessary.

WD support the enhanced role that the SCG will play in the coming years and welcome the flexibility built in the CIS Work Programme through the Ad-hoc Task Groups. The wide scope of EU water policy and the rich experience on implementation has resulted in an extensive list of important issues that will potentially be addressed during the 3 year period. While all tasks and issues are important and can support improved implementation, WD identified the assessment of the 2nd RMBP and the FRMPs as a priority for 2016-2017 and further agreed that the following main tasks should take priority and should be started by the SCG in early 20163:

Best practice and guidance on dealing with hydromorphology (led by the Commission, Italy4 and other Member States to be confirmed)

Guidance on Article 4(7) (led by the Commission and Member States to be confirmed)

3 A call for interest will be sent in writing to Water Directors after the meeting.

4 Italy will also co-lead the Ecostat Working Group specifically on hydromorphology issues.


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Guidance on water reuse (led by the Commission and Member States to be confirmed)

WD requested the indicated co-leads of these Ad-hoc Task Groups to develop detailed terms of reference, in accordance with the template annexed to the CIS Work Programme, and to present it for agreement at the next SCG meeting in February 2016 in order to initiate the work immediately. The starting of these activities should not prevent additional lighter initiatives (such as e.g. exchange of information and experiences) from being proposed and agreed by the SCG in the coming months using the same procedure. WDs will review the effectiveness of these working arrangements at future meetings on the basis of the feedback from the SCG.

WD furthermore stressed that the timely availability of working documents is a prerequisite for experts to prepare for the meetings in order to respect the deadlines for the CIS deliverables.

The SCG is invited to consult and seek advice from WD to define the tasks to be taken forward in the coming years. This process should be informed by the exchange of experiences from Member States in developing the RBMPs and FRMPs and by the results of the Commission’s assessment of the plans.

WD welcome the continuation of Luxembourg as co-chair of the SCG.

b. Discussion on work on water and agriculture

WD discussed the way the work on water and agriculture should proceed.

WD stressed that the work on water and agriculture can only be successful with a full engagement of the agriculture administrations, at Member State and Commission level.

WD welcome the proposal by the future Dutch Presidency to have a discussion at the Amsterdam Water Directors meeting, based on some inspiring presentations on good practice of collaboration between the water and the agriculture communities, with the aim of identifying the issues that may be of interest to work together. This will allow enough time to prepare well a first workshop of water and agriculture experts during the second semester of 2016 or first semester of 2017. The outcome of such workshop would be the basis for discussion at the first joint Water and Agriculture Directors meeting. A number of Member States indicated their interest to proactively support the Dutch Presidency on this process.

WD also stressed that the assessment of the 2nd RBMP should be used to derive issues of common concern which might be addressed in the further dialogue with Agriculture Directors and agriculture stakeholders with a view to preparing the 3rd river basin management cycle.

3. River Basin Management Plans and Flood Risk Management Plans

a. WFD reporting March 2016: finalised tools and documentation

WD took note of the information provided by the Commission on the state of play of the reporting guidance and tools (DOC WD/2015-2/4).

WD agreed that Annex 0 to the Reporting Guidance (justification of non-reporting of required elements) will be used only in cases where necessary and will be provided to the Commission, in English, at the latest one month before the date of reporting in WISE.

b. Assessment of River Basin Management Plans and Flood Risk Management Plans

WD took note of the information provided by the Commission on the intended approach for the assessment of RBMPs and FRMPs (DOC WD/2015-2/8).


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WD welcomed the commitment by the Commission to a transparent process that will allow participation to MS and stakeholders. WD stressed the need to go beyond compliance to requirements of the Directives and also address political aspects including integration with sectoral policies, in particular agriculture. The assessment should highlight achievements and progress in Member States implementation in order to incentivise further action. A number of Member States expressed their expectations regarding assessment of synergies between water Directives, in particular between WFD, FD and MSFD.

c. Communicating progress towards good status

WD thanked the Working Group Data and Information Sharing and the SCG for their work on the CIS paper on Indicators to Communicate Progress Towards Good Status (DOC WD/2015-2/5).

WD endorsed the paper with the understanding that it is a good basis for a first development of indicators of progress. The Commission and the EEA will, in the second half of 2016, develop draft indicators on the basis of this paper and the data reported by Member States. The results will be consulted with the relevant CIS Working Groups (Ecostat, Groundwater and Chemicals) and the SCG to discuss the findings and validate the indicators. The paper should therefore be considered a living document and will be revisited, including the possible development of additional indicators, once the indicators can be built on the basis of the reported data.

d. Exchange of experience from the first cycle of implementation of the Floods Directive

WD took note of the information presented by the Commission (DOC WD/2015-2/6).

WD discussed their experience from the 1st cycle of implementation of the Floods Directive. WDs that took the floor expressed satisfaction with the implementation so far and highlighted the usefulness of the framework provided by the Directive.

COM encouraged WD to mobilise their networks and services to support the workshop on lessons learnt that the Floods Working Group plans for spring 2016 and in particular their services filling in as thoroughly as possible the questionnaire to be distributed in the following weeks.

4. Other issues

− European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI)

WD took note of the information provided by the European Investment Bank.

− Water Industry highlights

WD took note of the information provided by the Commission (DOC WD/2015-2/7).

− Outcome of the MoP 7 of the UNECE Water Convention

WD took note of the information provided by the Hungarian delegation about the 7th Meeting of the Parties of the UNECE Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes held in Budapest in November 2015.


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PART 2: JOINT WATER-MARINE-NATURE DIRECTORS' MEETING

See Annex III for the outcome of the Joint Water-Marine-Nature Directors’ meeting.

Directors also took note of the information provided by the upcoming Presidencies on future Directors' meeting:

NL informed Directors about the next Water and Marine Directors, that will take place on 9-10 June 2016 in Amsterdam, with Marine Directors session in the morning of the 9th, a joint water-marine session in the afternoon of the 9th and the Water Directors' session on 10th June, morning.

SK informed that the Water and Marine Directors under their Presidency will take place on 28-29 November 2016 in Bratislava.

MT informed that the date for the Water and Marine Directors under their Presidency was not fixed yet but would likely take place end May-beginning June 2017.

SK also informed Directors of an upcoming informal Ministerial conference on 11 July.


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PART 3: MARINE DIRECTORS' MEETING

Mr Jean-Paul Lickes (Luxemburgish Presidency) welcomed delegates and opened the marine part of the Directors' meeting. The meeting was co-chaired by Mr Jean-Paul Lickes and Ms Marianne Wenning (European Commission, DG Environment).

1. Common Implementation Strategy (CIS) activities for the MSFD

1.1 Overall progress on the CIS work programme and MSCG agreements made at MSCG, including latest information on review of good environmental status Decision

The Marine Directors took note of the progress report, especially with regard to the review of the good environmental status Decision, and thanked the Marine Strategy Coordination Group (MSCG) for its work. The Marine Directors endorsed all decisions taken by the MSCG and welcomed the approach of the MSCG to oversee and manage the overall progress of the CIS. The Marine Directors invited the MSCG Chairperson to present a similar, concise progress report at their next meeting. The Marine Directors also took note of the short oral report on the issues discussed during the MSFD Regulatory Committee and noted that the Commission is reflecting on a way forward with regard to the endorsement of a map of marine regions and sub-regions. Marine Directors supported the work done under the GES decision review but expressed concerns with regard to timing, especially as to whether a reliable and meaningful outcome could be achieved within the timeframe available, in time for the next MSFD assessment.

1.2 Towards work programme 2016-2018

The Marine Directors welcomed the document as a good basis to further develop the MSFD Common Implementation Strategy for 2016-2018. The Marine Directors note that the document is a good follow-up to the Riga outcome and addresses the need to focus efforts and to maximise efficiency by proposing to prioritise the work that is needed to determine the progress towards reaching Good Environmental Status and feeding into the next assessments required by the MSFD. Overall, Marine Directors supported a reduction of the number of CIS meetings (most of them supporting "option 2" in document MD 2015-2/2) or at least, the introduction of some flexibility as regards the frequency of meetings. They emphasized that this should be decided on the basis of their tasks. Marine Directors underlined that there should be clear, targeted, priorities for the working groups, and especially for the technical groups, to avoid duplication of work. Marine Directors are of the opinion that the working arrangements proposed in the document, notably through a clearer allocation of responsibility for the implementation of MSFD articles to the working groups, provide for a more effective way of working. Marine Directors also called on the MSCG to clarify the concrete deliverables expected from the work programme, based on the discussion paper, today's discussion and inputs from the Working Groups. Marine Directors also referred to the conclusions of the Joint Nature-Water–Marine Directors agreed in the morning (cf Annex III) and called on the Commission to reflect the outcomes of the joint session in the CIS Work Programme. Among other issues, the question of co-chairing was also raised, and the Commission called on Marine Directors to send suggestions for candidates for co-chairs.


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The proposed tasks also adhere to the same notions of focus and efficiency; however Marine Directors asked the Commission and MSCG to set target dates for the actions being proposed. MSCG is also urged to clearly identify operational work streams that would improve further coordination, including coordination of timing, with the Regional Sea Conventions as well as other legislative frameworks, in particular by bringing together the work of working groups established in the different fora. This is particularly relevant for the timing of the roof report to avoid, here again, potential duplications ahead of the next assessment.

1.3 Progress in the Commission's assessment of monitoring programmes

Marine Directors took note of the information presented by the Commission on the assessment of the monitoring programmes. They also took note of the progress made, the preliminary conclusions that were reached on the basis of the technical assessment, and the next steps. With regard to next steps, the publication of the Commission's report on its assessment of Member States' Monitoring Programmes, including of the Commission's recommendations, is foreseen for the first semester of 2016. Marine Directors called on the European Commission to adopt the recommendations on Article 11 as soon as possible to be taken into account for future assessments.

2. Commission activities regarding the MSFD

2.1 Ocean governance

The Commission presented some detailed information about the ocean governance initiative, and called on Marine Directors to provide feedback on concrete and specific issues that are of interest to them. The economic, social and environmental importance of oceans was highlighted, along with the main international and EU legislative mechanisms related to ocean governance. The debate centred around ocean governance at EU level, namely highlighting the following issues: - How can the various EU legislative frameworks and processes related to oceans and the blue economy (MSFD, MSP, CFP) help improve ocean governance on an international level? - How can we reconcile the EU’s major role in the global marine economy with the need to ensure the sustainable use of marine resources in the long-run? - Can we improve the linkages between economic organisations (e.g. fisheries organisations) and environmental organisations (e.g. the RSCs)? How coherent is the system and what can we do to improve the coherence? - Can there be more coherence in the decision-making process? - Can we improve standards for the use of international marine resources? Can we improve implementation and enforcement? The Commission services are currently looking at different work strands, whose actual outcome will depend on the result of the consultation exercise, for instance partnerships, knowledge of the oceans, maritime security, BBNJ, etc. The Commission recalled that a public consultation took place on ocean governance over the summer. Although the consultation is closed, the Commission would still welcome contributions from Marine Directors. Marine Directors welcomed the presentation by the Commission and stressed that, despite the current focus on growth and jobs, there is a duty to protect our oceans that is of equal importance to economic considerations.


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Marine Directors also pointed to the role of the EU in Regional Sea Conventions as an existing model of governance. Marine Directors pointed out that Sustainable Development Goals provide an overarching framework of a global guiding action and the question of the EU added value needs to be seen in this particular context. Ocean governance also provides another angle on cross-relationships between water and marine environment and global discussions on sustainable use of water resources. Marine Directors called onto the forthcoming Dutch Presidency to add a point on ocean governance on the agenda of the next Water-Marine Directors Meeting, and requested to have some information provided in writing for the meeting further outlining the proposed initiative from the Commission.

2.2 Transposition and implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD)

Due to lack of time this item was not presented but the presentation was made available on CIRCABC.

2.3 Other relevant Commission activities

Marine Directors received an update on Commission activities relevant to the marine environment, in particular on the following:

• Latest developments on WFD implementation process

• Nature legislation fitness check process: The Commission quickly debriefed on the outcome of the conference on the fitness check which was held on 20.11.2015.

• Follow-up of Natura 2000 Marine biogeographical seminar

• Adoption of Commission report on Marine Protected Areas (Art.21)

• Eco-system approach for MSP land/sea interactions

• State of Europe's Seas report

• Report on Fisheries workshop

• Aquaculture guidelines

• World Oceans Assessment

The Marine Directors took note of the information provided by the Commission on activities of relevance (see also document MD/2015-2/3).

3. European and international issues

International discussions on marine issues including Rio+20 follow up, outcome of CBD (marine issues) and UN World Oceans Assessment (information from the Presidency and the Commission)

Marine Directors took note of the information presented by the Commission on Arctic-related developments, preparation of Barcelona COP 19, the BBNJ implementing agreement under UNCLOS, the post-2015 framework for sustainable development and sustainable development goals, the United Nations Environment Assembly resolution, and the UN World Oceans Assessment. The Commission also informed Marine Directors on a workshop on ocean governance it co-organised with UNEP, the minutes of which will be circulated.


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Marine directors were informed of the departure of the UK and PL marine directors and thanked them for their valuable contribution over the past years.


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ANNEX 1 - AGENDA

INFORMAL MEETING OF EU WATER DIRECTORS AND

EU MARINE DIRECTORS

FINAL AGENDA

Wednesday, 25 November 2015

WATER DIRECTORS' MEETING

08:30h Opening and welcome speeches

08:35h 1. CIS activities

– CIS Progress report (acknowledgement of the written report and batch

endorsement of documents) [DOC WD/2015-2/1]

08:45h 2. CIS Work Programme 2016-2018

a. Discussion and agreement on the Work Programme [DOC WD/2015-2/2]

b. Discussion on work on water and agriculture

10:00h 3. River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs) and Flood Risk Management

Plans (FRMPS)

a. WFD reporting March 2016: finalised tools and documentation

(information point and endorsement of way forward) (COM) [DOC

WD/2015-2/4]

b. Assessment of RBMPs and FRMPs (information point and discussion)

(COM) [DOC WD/2015-2/8]

COFFEE 10:30h – 11:00h

11:00h 3. River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs) and Flood Risk Management

Plans (FRMPS)/continued…

c. Communicating progress towards good status (endorsement of CIS

document in indicators of progress towards good status) (COM) [DOC

WD/2015-2/5]

d. Exchange of experience from the first cycle of implementation of the

Floods Directive (brief presentation by COM and selected Member States,

discussion) [DOC WD/2015-2/6]

12:00h 4. Other issues

– European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) (info point EIB)

– Water Industry highlights (info point COM) [DOC WD/2015-2/7]

– Outcome of the MoP 7 of the UNECE Water Convention (info point HU)

12:15h 5. Adoption of the minutes


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LUNCH 12:30h – 13:30h

Afternoon: Joint meeting of Nature, Water and Marine Directors (see separate agenda)

END OF DAY 1 – 18:00h

Thursday, 26 November 2015

Morning: continuation of Joint meeting of Nature, Water and Marine Directors (see

separate agenda)

LUNCH 13:00h – 14:00h

MARINE DIRECTORS' MEETING

14:00h Welcome and introduction

14:15h 1. Common Implementation Strategy (CIS) activities for the MSFD

1.1 Overall progress on the CIS work programme and MSCG agreements made at

MSCG, including latest information on review of good environmental status

Decision (information by Commission)

[DOC MD/2015-2/1]

14:30h 1.2 Towards Work Programme 2016-2018

[DOC MD/2015-2/2]

15:30h 1.3 Progress in the Commission's assessment of monitoring programmes

15:40h 2. Commission activities regarding the MSFD

2.1 Ocean governance (presentation by Commission) and debate

COFFEE 16:30h – 17:00h

17:00h 2.2 Transposition and implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework

Directive (MSFD) - overview by the Commission

17:10h 2.3 Other relevant Commission activities [DOC MD/2015-2/3]

17:15h 3. European and international issues

International discussions on marine issues including Biodiversity beyond national

jurisdiction, Sustainable Development Goals, and other relevant activities

(information from Presidency / Commission)

17:30h 4. Adoption of Marine Directors' minutes

END OF DAY 2 – 18:00h


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ANNEX II – List of participants (see separate document)


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ANNEX III – Outcome of the Joint Nature, Water and Marine Directors' Meeting

Statement by the European Nature, Water and Marine Directors on mutually supportive implementation of the WFD, MSFD and BHD

Agreed at the occasion of the joint Directors’ meeting in Luxembourg

26 November 2015

After a first meeting held under Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the EU in December 2013 and following a workshop held in Brussels in December 2014 on coordinated implementation of nature, biodiversity, marine and water policies, the Nature, Water and Marine Directors (“The directors”) of the European Union and EFTA countries met again on 25 and 26 November 2015 under Luxemburgish Presidency in Luxembourg. The aim of that meeting was to discuss past experiences, current challenges and opportunities as well as the future perspectives and potential synergies that arise from the implementation of the different directives (Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), Water Framework Directive (WFD), Birds and Habitats Directives (BHD)). The focus of this discussion was to strengthen the synergy process and foster communication and collaboration between the existing working groups. Following an open, constructive and inspiring debate, the directors agreed on the following conclusions:

A. Setting the scene

- All directives work in the same direction: protection and improvement of nature and environment. Nature and environment would benefit if the WFD/MSFD/BHD-communities worked together more closely, and had one message about the status and opportunities to work with other sectors on the challenges.

- Benefits of improved and coherent implementation of the directives should be achieved both at EU level and at Member State level and through regional cooperation. This will lead to more streamlined implementation approaches reducing costs for Member States and further improving funding opportunities and the effectiveness of the directives.

- Improvement of communication and cooperation across policies can lead to enhanced synergies. In this regard, cooperation and communication among responsible departments at all levels, both within Member States and the EU level, is an important element for successful coordinated implementation.

B. Coordinated planning and implementation

- Pragmatic approaches to coordinate planning, monitoring and reporting are crucial for coherent and cost-effective implementation.


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- Taking action to streamline reporting under the different directives seems a promising step. In the future, it can be followed by streamlining monitoring and assessments taking into account the potential of common status indicators towards natural capital accounting and the mapping of ecosystem services.

- There is a strong added value in coordinating the preparation and implementation of measures under the MSFD, WFD and BHD, including the Floods Directive where appropriate. The positive outcomes of a coordinated approach include the multiple benefits that some measures (e.g. green infrastructures) can have for the different directives and the fact that this enables the development and the use of a common language to communicate information to the general public.

C. Mutual benefits

- The objectives of the different directives are not stand-alone but depend on the incorporation into other sectors like e.g. agriculture, fisheries and forestry to find mutually supportive solutions and avoid environmentally harmful subsidies.

- Acting in a coordinated manner with a common basis and objectives will improve implementation and ensure effective dialogue with other sectors.

- The coordinated mobilisation and use of financial resources at EU and Member State level will enhance the success of measures that may not have been achievable when focusing on a single directive or only at local level.

Follow up and next steps

The directors agreed to take the following actions within an appropriate time frame: 1. Continue to work together in their respective planning and implementation processes. They

recognise the need to enhance cooperation between the relevant authorities in each Member State and stakeholders through appropriate coordination mechanisms and to strengthen capacities in areas such as data collection, assessments, stakeholder engagement, communication and awareness raising, effectiveness of measures and funding.

2. Include agenda items in the meetings of the respective coordination groups (SCG, MSCG and

CGBN) to inform about the activities of issues of common interest including other sectoral policies such as CAP, CFP and IMP. Invite the working groups under the coordination groups to identify concrete means to cooperate on those issues.

3. The ‘Starter’s Guide’ will be a useful and practical introduction to the different directives, and is

helpful in improving mutual understanding. The Floods Directive should be included due to its link to the other Directives. The directors should work towards having the document improved, finalised and translated into the official EU languages and have it widely disseminated as a product of the joint process. It can be followed up with a more detailed overview of monitoring and reporting requirements addressing commonalities and differences including used terminology. The compilation of case studies is also useful and further contributions are welcome.

4. Promote further innovative approaches and research in the field of common beneficial measures

and joint monitoring programmes.

5. A closer dialogue is necessary both within the EU and national authorities in charge of agriculture, forestry and fisheries policies due to the environmental pressure that these activities exert and to the opportunities that they offer to agree and implement measures that deliver


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win-win results. Therefore Directors invite the upcoming Presidencies together with the Commission to consider the organisation of joint meetings of Directors for Nature/Water/Marine with their respective EU and national counterparts in Agriculture and Fisheries on specific issues of mutual concern with the aim to identify ways and means to address them.

6. Invite the Member States, the next presidencies and the Commission to promote cross-sectoral

dialogue with other relevant sectors such as the pharmaceutical and chemical industry. 7. Streamlining reporting and facilitating access to data and information is a concrete opportunity

to reduce administrative and financial burden. Directors call upon the Commission to engage Member States in the ongoing fitness check of Environmental Reporting and, with the support of the EEA, to turn this opportunity into reality.

8. Effective use of EU funding instruments (EAFRD, ERDF, EMFF, EFSI, LIFE, NCFF, etc.) to support

water, marine, biodiversity and nature policies should be strengthened. For instance, this could be achieved by fully exploiting funding opportunities and making more use of multi-purpose projects to implement the directives. Effectiveness of funding should be assessed at national and EU level and strengthened also by mainstreaming environmental aspects in their implementation mechanisms.

To conclude:

We, the Water, Marine and Nature Directors of the European Union and EFTA countries, conscious of the need to continue our dialogue at future joint meetings, recognize the considerable achievements already performed in the nature, marine and water policy fields over the past 30 years. Nevertheless, we strongly invite all actors, including from other sectors, to implement the above actions to achieve concrete results during the next years.

“Water, nature and marine environments don’t know boundaries! A high level of protection of the natural environment is a core European and national responsibility.”

Documents

Informal meeting of Water Directors - Europa Meeting of Water and Marine Directors of the European Union, Candidate and EFTA Countries Luxembourg, 25th and 26th of November 2015 4