Commission Decision (EU) 2017/848 of 17 May 2017 laying down criteria and methodological standards on good environmental status of marine waters and specifications and standardised methods for monitoring and assessment, and repealing Decision 2010/477/EU (Text with EEA relevance. )

This Decision lays down: (a) criteria and methodological standards to be used by Member States when determining a set of characteristics for good environmental status in accordance with Article 9(1) of Directive 2008/56/EC, on the basis of Annexes I and III and by reference to the initial assessment made pursuant to Article 8(1) of that Directive, to assess the extent to which good environmental status is being achieved, in accordance with Article 9(3) of that Directive; (b) specifications and standardised methods for monitoring and assessment, to be used by Member States when establishing coordinated monitoring programmes under Article 11 of Directive 2008/56/EC, in accordance with Article 11(4) of that Directive; (c) a timeline for the establishment of threshold values, lists of criteria elements and methodological standards through Union, regional or subregional cooperation; (d) a notification requirement for criteria elements, threshold values and methodological standards.

For the purposes of this Decision, the definitions laid down in Article 3 of Directive 2008/56/EC shall apply. The following definitions shall also apply: (1) ‘subregions’ means the subregions listed in Article 4(2) of Directive 2008/56/EC; (2) ‘subdivisions’ means subdivisions as referred to in Article 4(2) of Directive 2008/56/EC; (3) ‘invasive non-indigenous species’ means ‘invasive alien species’ within the meaning of Article 3(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1143/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council ; (4) ‘criteria elements’ means constituent elements of an ecosystem, particularly its biological elements (species, habitats and their communities), or aspects of pressures on the marine environment (biological, physical, substances, litter and energy), which are assessed under each criterion; (5) ‘threshold value’ means a value or range of values that allows for an assessment of the quality level achieved for a particular criterion, thereby contributing to the assessment of the extent to which good environmental status is being achieved.

1 Member States shall use primary criteria and associated methodological standards, specifications and standardised methods laid down in the Annex to implement this Decision. However, on the basis of the initial assessment or its subsequent updates carried out in accordance with Articles 8 and 17(2)(a) of Directive 2008/56/EC, Member States may consider, in justified circumstances, that it is not appropriate to use one or more of the primary criteria. In such cases, Member States shall provide the Commission with a justification in the framework of the notification made pursuant to Article 9(2) or 17(3) of Directive 2008/56/EC. Pursuant to the obligation of regional cooperation laid down in Articles 5 and 6 of Directive 2008/56/EC, a Member State shall inform other Member States sharing the same marine region or subregion before it decides not to use a primary criterion in accordance with the first subparagraph.

2 Secondary criteria and associated methodological standards, specifications and standardised methods laid down in the Annex shall be used to complement a primary criterion or when the marine environment is at risk of not achieving or not maintaining good environmental status for that particular criterion. The use of a secondary criterion shall be decided by each Member State, except where otherwise specified in the Annex.

3 Where this Decision does not set criteria, methodological standards, specifications or standardised methods for monitoring and assessment, including for spatial and temporal aggregation of data, Member States shall build upon, where practical and appropriate, those developed at international, regional or subregional level, such as those agreed in the relevant Regional Sea Conventions.

4 Until Union, international, regional or subregional lists of criteria elements, methodological standards, and specifications and standardised methods for monitoring and assessment are established, Member States may use those established at national level, provided that regional cooperation is pursued as laid down in Articles 5 and 6 of Directive 2008/56/EC.

1 Where Member States are required under this Decision to establish threshold values through Union, regional or subregional cooperation, those values shall: (a) be part of the set of characteristics used by Member States in their determination of good environmental status; (b) be consistent with Union legislation; (c) where appropriate, distinguish the quality level that reflects the significance of an adverse effect for a criterion and be set in relation to a reference condition; (d) be set at appropriate geographic scales of assessment to reflect the different biotic and abiotic characteristics of the regions, subregions and subdivisions; (e) be set on the basis of the precautionary principle, reflecting the potential risks to the marine environment; (f) be consistent across different criteria when they relate to the same ecosystem element; (g) make use of best available science; (h) be based on long time-series data, where available, to help determine the most appropriate value; (i) reflect natural ecosystem dynamics, including predator-prey relationships and hydrological and climatic variation, also acknowledging that the ecosystem or parts thereof may recover, if deteriorated, to a state that reflects prevailing physiographic, geographic, climatic and biological conditions, rather than return to a specific state of the past; (j) be consistent, where practical and appropriate, with relevant values set under regional institutional cooperation structures, including those agreed in the Regional Sea Conventions.

2 Until Member States have established threshold values through Union, regional or subregional cooperation as required under this Decision, they may use any of the following to express the extent to which good environmental status is being achieved: (a) national threshold values, provided the obligation of regional cooperation laid down in Articles 5 and 6 of Directive 2008/56/EC is complied with; (b) directional trends of the values; (c) pressure-based threshold values as proxies. These shall follow, where possible, the principles set out in points (a) to (i) of paragraph 1.

3 Where threshold values, including those established by Member States in accordance with this Decision, are not met for a particular criterion to the extent which that Member State has determined as constituting good environmental status in accordance with Article 9(1) of Directive 2008/56/EC, Member States shall consider, as appropriate, whether measures should be taken under Article 13 of that Directive or whether further research or investigation should be carried out.

4 Threshold values established by Member States in accordance with this Decision may be periodically reviewed in the light of scientific and technical progress and amended, where necessary, in time for the reviews provided for in Article 17(2)(a) of Directive 2008/56/EC.

1 Where this Decision provides for Member States to establish threshold values, lists of criteria elements or methodological standards through Union, regional or subregional cooperation, Member States shall endeavour to do so within the time-limit set for the first review of their initial assessment and determination of good environmental status in accordance with Article 17(2)(a) of Directive 2008/56/EC (15 July 2018).

2 Where Member States are not able to establish threshold values, lists of criteria elements or methodological standards through Union, regional or subregional cooperation within the time-limit laid down in paragraph 1, they shall establish these as soon as possible thereafter, on condition that they provide, by 15 October 2018, justification to the Commission in the notification made pursuant to Article 9(2) or 17(3) of Directive 2008/56/EC.

Each Member State shall send to the Commission, as part of the notification made pursuant to Article 17(3) of Directive 2008/56/EC, those criteria elements, threshold values and methodological standards established through Union, regional or subregional cooperation in accordance with this Decision, that it decides to use as part of its set of characteristics for determining good environmental status under Article 9(1) of Directive 2008/56/EC.

Decision 2010/477/EU is hereby repealed. References to Decision 2010/477/EU shall be construed as references to this Decision.

This Decision shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.