Europe’s ocean promises need action
Europe is falling behind on its promise of a healthy ocean by 2030. That is the warning from the 2026 Blue Manifesto assessment, published by a coalition of environmental organisations. It highlights a widening gap between the EU’s international commitments and what happens in its own waters.
Destructive fishing continues, pollution remains inadequately addressed, and marine protection needs stronger enforcement.
For anyone concerned about plastic pollution, the assessment offers a mixed picture. It recognises progress through EU rules to prevent losses of plastic pellets, the small raw materials used to manufacture plastic products. Packaging legislation also introduces measures to reduce waste, expand reuse and refill, and restrict certain single-use formats. These are useful steps towards preventing pollution before it reaches the sea.
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However, significant gaps remain. The report finds that, despite textiles, paints and tyres being included in EU product policy plans, requirements to prevent their microplastic emissions have yet to be set. It also warns that revising single-use plastics legislation could weaken existing protections or encourage replacement with other disposable materials, rather than reducing waste overall. Switching materials alone cannot deliver the wider shift towards reuse that is needed.
There are positive developments beyond plastics. The coalition welcomes the EU’s ratification of the High Seas Treaty (a global agreement to protect marine biodiversity in international waters, including by creating marine protected areas) and its continued opposition to deep-sea mining. Yet international leadership must be matched by action closer to home. The authors call for enforcement of existing laws and identify the forthcoming European Ocean Act and EU budget negotiations as opportunities to strengthen protection.
The message for the public is clear. Ocean recovery depends on decisions about what we produce, how businesses operate and whether governments, including the UK, enforce their commitments.
Supporting reuse and waste prevention matters.
As does asking policymakers to turn promises into funded, enforceable action.
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For more information contact: info@scarabtrust.org.uk
Images:
ocean waves in Hawaii - Image by Josh Withers (ST ref: 1423)
Parliament and Big Ben - Photo by Marcin Nowak on Unsplash (ST ref: 1422)
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