In 2023, 13.7% of the European Union’s marine waters (excluding overseas territories) were designated as marine protected areas. In a report published on 26 October 2026, however, the European Court of Auditors considers that Europe has « little chance » of achieving its marine conservation targets by 2030.
The seas of the European Union (EU) cover about five million km², or approximately one million km² more than its land area. In the EU, in addition to the Natura 2000 sites, there are 6,610 national marine protected areas covering 243,600 km² and aiming to conserve biodiversity and ecosystems. If their area has increased, « the EU has not yet set up a network of marine protected areas that ensures effective protection of the marine environment, » according to the European Court of Auditors. There is a « persistent gap » between regulatory objectives and conservation results.
This is the main finding of the report on marine protected areas published by the European Court of Auditors on 26 October 2026.
Making the protection of marine areas in the EU more effective
The EU’s biodiversity strategy provides for the protection of 30% of the EU’s marine waters by 2030, 10% of which are under strict protection.
However, the objectives may not be achieved in view of the delay in the European Court of Auditors. According to available estimates, about 14% of them are currently designated as marine protected areas and less than 1% of these waters are now designated as strictly protected areas, a level well below the 10% target set for 2030.
In addition to the absence or the late designation of the areas to be protected, the European Court of Auditors stresses that the labelling does not guarantee protection in reality due to the lack of consistency of the existing network. The report highlights « poor conservation results, » including inadequate protection in offshore and deep-water habitats.
Thus, fishing can degrade the seabed and damage biodiversity while fishing restrictions only affect a small part of the protected areas.
