The current condition of Europe’s seas is generally poor according to the EEA report ‘Marine Messages II’
Water and marine environment
Subtopics
Securing the sustainable use of water remains a key challenge
Clean water is an essential resource for human health, agriculture, energy production, transport and nature. But it is also under multiple pressures. Currently, only 40% of Europe’s surface water bodies achieve good ecological status. In addition, even though EU countries have managed to reduce selected pressures, the status of our marine ecosystems remains critical, both in terms of species and habitats. More efforts are needed to achieve Europe's freshwater and marine-related environmental targets.
To continue enjoying the benefits of clean water and healthy oceans and rivers, we need to fundamentally change the way we use and treat water.
The EEA developed a water exploitation index showing that European annual water consumption in various economic activities.
State of bathing waters in 2019
This map shows bathing water locations and their quality for the latest as well as previous bathing seasons. All symbols are coloured according to achieved quality status in the most recent season. Data are presented on two levels: country (less detailed scales) and bathing water (more detailed scales).
Data sources:
- Bathing Water Directive - Status of bathing water provided by Directorate-General for Environment (DG ENV) and European Environment Agency (EEA)
Faced with the increased threats posed by overexploitation of marine resources, pollution and climate change, urgent action is needed to bring Europe’s seas back to good condition. According to the European Environment Agency’s report on Europe’s marine ecosystems, published today, we are running out of time to reverse decades of neglect and misuse.
The quality of Europe’s bathing water remains high, according to this year’s European bathing water quality assessment published today. Just under 85 % of swimming sites across Europe monitored in 2019 met the European Union’s highest and most stringent ‘excellent’ quality standards.
The preservation and restoration of Europe’s largely degraded floodplains, must be better prioritised according to a European Environment Agency (EEA) report published today. The report says floodplains have a key role to play in improving biodiversity, water, and climate change mitigation and adaptation.
Published: 25 Jun 2020
This report provides a set of key messages on the current use of Europe's seas and its combined effects on marine ecosystem condition. These messages underpin a set of lessons from marine ecosystem recovery from which solutions for a brighter future can be identified.
Published: 08 Jun 2020
Bathing is an extremely popular and important leisure activity in Europe. This annual assessment of European bathing sites shows how well environmental protection measures are implemented, allowing people to make informed decisions on where to go to best enjoy Europe’s inland and coastal bathing sites.
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Faced with the increased threats posed by overexploitation of marine resources, pollution and climate change, urgent action is needed to bring Europe’s seas back to good condition. According to the European Environment Agency’s report on Europe’s marine ecosystems, published today, we are running out of time to reverse decades of neglect and misuse.
The quality of Europe’s bathing water remains high, according to this year’s European bathing water quality assessment published today. Just under 85 % of swimming sites across Europe monitored in 2019 met the European Union’s highest and most stringent ‘excellent’ quality standards.
The preservation and restoration of Europe’s largely degraded floodplains, must be better prioritised according to a European Environment Agency (EEA) report published today. The report says floodplains have a key role to play in improving biodiversity, water, and climate change mitigation and adaptation.
People and the environment are exposed to a wide variety of extremely persistent chemicals known as PFAS, many of which are known to be toxic. A briefing by the European Environment Agency, published today, presents an overview of these chemicals, which continue to accumulate in people and the environment.
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Many people still associate mercury with thermometers and most also know that it is toxic. Because of its toxicity, mercury is on its way out from products in Europe but a lot of it is still circulating in air, water, soil and ecosystems. Is mercury still a problem and what is being done about it? We interviewed Ian Marnane, EEA expert on sustainable resource use and industry.
Climate change is increasing the pressure on water bodies. From floods and droughts to ocean acidification and rising sea levels, the impacts of climate change on water are expected to intensify in the years ahead. These changes are prompting action across Europe. Cities and regions are already adapting, using more sustainable, nature-based solutions to lessen the impact of floods and using water in smarter, more sustainable ways to enable us to live with droughts.
Nature and water go hand in hand. This is the thinking behind the Dutch Room for the River programme. This back-to-basics approach now serves as a global model in terms of water management and protection against increased risks of flooding linked to climate change. The most recent extreme floods in 1993 and 1995 served as a wake-up call, according to Willem Jan Goossen from the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management. We asked him what the programme represents in terms of sustainable flood protection.
We often take a reliable supply of clean water for granted. We turn on the tap and clean water comes out, we use it and the ‘dirty’ water goes down the drain. For a large majority of Europeans, the water we use at home is of drinking quality and available 24 hours a day. The brief moment between the tap and the drain is only a very small part of its overall journey. Managing water in a city is not limited to public water systems. Climate change, urban sprawl and alterations to river basins can all lead to more frequent and damaging floods in cities, leaving authorities faced with an ever-growing challenge.
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This report provides a set of key messages on the current use of Europe's seas and its combined effects on marine ecosystem condition. These messages underpin a set of lessons from marine ecosystem recovery from which solutions for a brighter future can be identified.
Bathing is an extremely popular and important leisure activity in Europe. This annual assessment of European bathing sites shows how well environmental protection measures are implemented, allowing people to make informed decisions on where to go to best enjoy Europe’s inland and coastal bathing sites.
It is currently not possible to perform in-depth environmental and health risk assessments of all chemical substances in use in Europe because of the great variety of chemicals and their diverse uses. New and legacy chemicals continue to be released into Europe’s environment, adding to the total chemical burden on Europe’s citizens and ecosystems. Early identification of emerging risks is one of the activities of the European Environment Agency (EEA). This briefing summarises the known and potential risks to human health and the environment in Europe posed by a group of very persistent chemicals, the per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS).
This assessment explores whether Europe has been able to reverse eutrophication trends in its regional seas. The assessment is based on publicly available monitoring data, primarily collected in the context of the Water Framework Directive, the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and Regional Sea Conventions.
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