Yesterday, the European Commission filed a case against Poland for failure to introduce a strategy for the protection of the Baltic Sea, as part of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD).
The complaint case was filed to the court of Justice of the European Union, and the Commission requested an imposition of a daily fine of nearly EUR 60 000, counted from the court sentencing date, unless legislation strategy is presented before that time.
The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) came into force on 15 July 2008, and is a legislative instrument, which aims to achieve Good Environmental Status (GES) in the European seas by 2020.
The strategy for Baltic Sea protection was supposed to be available from July 15, 2010, which means Poland missed the deadline by more than one year. Also at this time, the criteria and methodological standards for the interpretation of each descriptor of Good Environmental Status (GES) must have been agreed to, according to information from Seas at Risk, an organization involved in negotiating the MSFD legislation, and now working with its implementation.
Good Environmental Status is the basis of MSFD and contains eleven descriptors with which Member States need to comply. Some of the criteria for GES of marine waters in the EU focus on a myriad of aspects within the marine ecosystems framework, and include aspects such as fish stocks, biological diversity, eutrophication, contaminants, and more.
Lack of action by the Polish government on this issue puts the protection of fish stocks in the Baltic Sea at risk as well, which does not work in symbiosis with the push towards sustainable fisheries under the future Common Fisheries Policy, which is currently being reformed.
In addition to the above, Poland will also receive a so called ‘reasoned opinion’ from the European Commission regarding inappropriate action on programs concerning areas vulnerable to nitrate pollution, specifically nitrites found in agricultural fertilizers. According to Gospodarka Morska, a Polish Maritime & Fisheries news portal, the Commission believes that “Poland has not yet identified all the areas vulnerable to nitrate pollution. If Poland fails to do so within two months, the Commission may refer the matter to the EU Court of Justice”.
For more information on this issue see the links below.