Changes from plenary report to adopted text

Article 13 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – introductory part: Where a Member State with jurisdiction or control over an authorised activity identifies substantial pollution or significant and harmful changes to the marine environment that either were not foreseen in the environmental impact assessment, in nature or severity, or that arise from a breach of any of the conditions referred to in Article 12(2)(b) or where a party to the BBNJ Agreement or the BBNJ Scientific and Technical Body raise any concerns or recommendations, the Member State concerned shall review its decision. To that point, it shall:

Article 14 – paragraph 1: 1. In line with the objective of contributing to the implementation of the Aarhus Convention, Member States shall ensure that, in accordance with the relevant national legal system, members of the public concerned have access to a review procedure before a court of law or another independent and impartial body set up by law to challenge the substantive or procedural legality of decisions, acts or omissions under Articles 8 to 13 and 16 to 19, where at least one of the following conditions is met: / (a) they have a sufficient interest; / (b) they maintain the impairment of a right, where the administrative procedural law of a Member State requires such an impairment as a precondition.

Article 14 – paragraph 1 a (new): 1a. Member States shall determine what constitutes a sufficient interest and impairment of a right consistently with the objective of giving the public concerned wide access to justice. To that end, the interest of any non-governmental organisation promoting environmental protection and meeting the requirements under national law shall be deemed sufficient for the purpose of paragraph 1, point (a). Such organisations shall also be deemed to have rights capable of being impaired for the purpose of paragraph 1, point (b).

Article 14 – paragraph 1 b (new): 1b. Legal standing under the review procedure shall not be conditional on the role that the member of the public concerned had during a participatory phase of the decision-making procedures under this Directive.

Article 14 – paragraph 1 c (new): 1c. Member States shall determine at what stage the decisions, acts or omissions, referred to in paragraph 1, may be challenged.

Article 14 – paragraph 1 d (new): 1d. The review procedure shall be fair, equitable, timely and not prohibitively expensive, and shall provide for adequate and effective redress mechanisms, including injunctive relief, where appropriate.

Article 14 – paragraph 1 e (new): 1e. Member States shall ensure that practical information is made available to the public on access to administrative and judicial review procedures referred to in this Article.

Article 15 – paragraph 1: Where Directive 2001/42/EC provides for an obligation to carry out a strategic environmental assessment, Member States shall comply with the provisions of that Directive when carrying out such assessments. / Member States may, individually or in cooperation with other Member States or with other Parties to the BBNJ Agreement, carry out strategic environmental assessments for plans and programmes relating to planned activities under their jurisdiction or control to be conducted in areas beyond national jurisdiction, in order to assess the potential effects of such plans or programmes on the marine environment.

Article 16 – paragraph 1: 1. Member States shall, irrespective of whether they act individually or collectively, send the draft of a proposal under Article 19 of the BBNJ Agreement or of an emergency measure under Article 24(3) of that Agreement to the Commission before any submission to the BBNJ Secretariat. Upon receipt, the Commission shall inform all Member States and share the draft proposal without delay. Member States may submit comments on the draft proposal or emergency measures to the Commission within 30 days from receipt of the draft proposal or earlier if warranted by the emergency measure. The Commission shall send the comments received on to the other Member States.

Article 16 – paragraph 2: deleted

Article 16 – paragraph 3: 3. The Commission shall examine the draft proposal or draft emergency measure and comments received under paragraph 1 and present within 30 days of the deadline on Member States to comment a legal assessment of whether or not the draft proposal or draft emergency measure received under that paragraph should be submitted to the BBNJ Secretariat by the Commission on behalf of the Union. The legal assessment shall be made available to all the Member States.

Article 16 – paragraph 3 a (new): 3a. Where the Commission concludes in its legal assessment that a draft proposal or draft emergency measure should be submitted on behalf of the Union or the Union and its Member States, the Commission shall proceed with the submission to the BBNJ Secretariat, where relevant, together with the Member States.

Article 16 – paragraph 3 b (new): 3b. Where the Commission concludes in its legal assessment that a draft proposal or draft emergency measure should not be submitted on behalf of the Union, the Member State or group of Member States that sent the draft may proceed with the submission to the BBNJ Secretariat on their own behalf.

Article 16 – paragraph 3 c (new): 3c. Without prejudice to paragraphs 1 to 3b of this Article, a Member State or a group of Member States may submit a proposal for an emergency measure under Article 24(3) of the BBNJ Agreement directly to the BBNJ Secretariat. The Member State or group of Member States concerned shall inform the Commission and the other Member States and make the submitted proposal available to them without delay.

Article 16 – paragraph 3 d (new): 3d. Member States and the Commission shall endeavour to cooperate closely and consult each other regularly, in good faith, in the establishment, assessment and prior to the submission to the BBNJ Secretariat of any proposal for area-based management tools and emergency measures.

Article 17 – paragraph 2: 2. Member States shall consult, as appropriate, with relevant stakeholders, including states and global, regional, subregional and sectoral bodies, as well as civil society, the scientific community, the private sector, Indigenous Peoples and local communities, for the development of proposals referred to in this Chapter.

Article 17 – paragraph 4 a (new): 4a. Member States shall make information relating to the establishment of area-based management tools, including marine protected areas, available through the BBNJ Clearing-House Mechanism.

Article 18 – paragraph 1 a (new): 1a. Member States may adopt more stringent measures with respect to their nationals and vessels or with regard to activities under their jurisdiction or control in addition to those adopted under Part III of the BBNJ Agreement, in accordance with international law and in support of the objectives of the Agreement.

Article 18 – paragraph 2: 2. Member States and the Commission shall promote, as appropriate the adoption of measures, and collaborate with consideration for competences, under relevant legal instruments, frameworks and relevant global, regional, subregional and sectoral bodies to support and facilitate the implementation of the decisions and recommendations adopted by the Conference of the Parties under Part III of the BBNJ Agreement.

Article 18 – paragraph 2 a (new): 2a. Member States shall make information relating to the implementation of area-based management tools, including marine protected areas, available through the BBNJ Clearing-House Mechanism.

Article 18 – paragraph 2 b (new): 2b. Member States shall encourage those third countries that are entitled to become parties to the BBNJ Agreement, in particular those whose activities, vessels or nationals operate in an area that is the subject of an established area- based management tool, including a marine protected area, to adopt measures supporting the decisions and recommendations of the Conference of the Parties on area-based management tools, including marine protected areas, established under the BBNJ Agreement.

Article 18 – paragraph 2 c (new): 2c. The Commission, based on the information from the Member States, shall submit biannual reports to the European Parliament on the implementation measures adopted under this Directive and on global developments regarding the implementation of the BBNJ Agreement, including information on compliance, enforcement and scientific monitoring.