Marine Strategy Framework Directive

The Marine Strategy Framework Directive obliges Member States to develop marine strategies and achieve good environmental status in their seas. It applies only to governments: there is no permit, filing, threshold or product requirement that reaches a business. A small water utility, a dyeing works or a food packer has nothing to do because of it.

Marine strategies are reviewed on six-year cycles; no proposal to revise the Directive had been published as at 22 August 2026.