The European Commission has given Croatia a deadline of two months to submit a programme of measures that will ensure the good environmental status of marine waters and to establish monitoring systems for the implementation of these measures.

On February 7, 2024, the European Commission decided to send reasoned opinions to Croatia, Denmark, Greece, and Malta for failure to fulfil their reporting obligations based on the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (Directive 2008/56/EC).

The aim of this directive is to achieve a good environmental status in the seas and oceans of the EU and to ensure sustainable management of their resources. The European Green Deal, whose goals include a zero pollution rate, calls for the reduction of air, water, and soil pollution by 2050 to levels no longer considered harmful to human health and natural ecosystems in order to create a non-toxic environment and strengthen collective resilience.

Based on the aforementioned directive, member states had until March 31, 2022, to review and update their programme of measures. These programmes are the basis of the Directive because they determine the measures that should be taken in order to achieve or maintain a good environmental status of marine waters and ensure the monitoring of the implementation of these measures.

Several member states did not respect the deadline to submit reports to the Commission on updating their programmes of measures, and therefore the Commission sent them official warnings in February 2023. Some member states have since adopted and submitted their programmes of measures. However, Croatia, along with three other member states, did not do so. Therefore, the Commission decided to send a reasoned opinion, to which Croatia has two months to respond and take appropriate measures. Otherwise, the Commission can refer the case to the Court of Justice of the European Union, as stated on the official website of the European Commission.

Translated into English by Maja Dragojević