Today, the European Commission adopted its keystone initiative, the ‘European Green Deal’. You can find it here along with the follow up key actions (link).
It starts off strong. The Commission realises that “oceans are being polluted and destroyed”.
And, for a Green Deal that uses bold words about climate change, the Commission recognises the ‘role of oceans in mitigating and adapting to climate change is increasingly recognised’.
A call to arms?
Indeed, at least there are few words to acknowledge that the greatest impact on our ecosystems is over-fishing when they state ‘Work will continue under the common fisheries policy to reduce the adverse impacts that fishing can have on ecosystems, especially in sensitive areas’.
The calls to arms continue:
- The Commission will also support more connected and well-managed marine protected areas.
- The Commission will also take a zero-tolerance approach to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing
- The 2020 United Nations Ocean Conference in Portugal will be an opportunity for the EU to highlight the importance of action on ocean issues.
- The common agricultural and common fisheries policies will remain key tools to support these efforts while ensuring a decent living for farmers, fishermen and their families.
- And, a new Farm to Fork Strategy will ‘reduce pollution from excess nutrients’.
Fairy Dust
The truth is policy papers don’t actually deliver change. In the real world, policy papers and laws are not fairy dust you sprinkle on an issue, and it all gets sorted out. That magic kingdom only exists inside the Brussels Bubble.
The truth is there is nothing in the Green Deal on the state of the Oceans and fisheries that a junior desk officer in the Commission or national government did not know for a long time.
The laws have been in place for many years to deal with these challenges. Governments have chosen to drag their feet, implemented slowly, if at all, and the done little to enforce the rules they signed up to. The Commission too often turns a blind eye.
Gaps
The discards ban, known as the landing obligation, which would, if implemented and enforced, help restore healthy fish stocks levels in record time. Member States and the Commission have stalled on implementing it. I guess it is easier to look from afar to measures that have worked outside Europe, than take the tough choices at home.
It’s great to see a tough line on the rule of law on the high seas being pushed on IUU. What’s less clear is why the same rigour is not applied to Europe’s own fleet fishing in the high seas or in the EU’s own waters.
Europe’s own CFP is the main culprit for excess nutrients flowing into Europe’s rivers and seas.
The largest source of marine litter is ghost fishing nets.
The Commission and the Member States know the problems they have to deal with. They have laws in place to deal with them, and instead, they choose to drag their feet implementing what’s worked in other countries.
Europe needs to get away from being the masters of empty gestures and deliver what they already signed up to.
I hope that Commissioner Sinkevičius learns that fairy dust does not mix well with water.