International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW)

The SingleUse Plastics Directive (SUP Directive) is a groundbreaking piece of legislation that has enabled EU Member States to make major collective progress in tackling plastic pollution. It has also helped elevate global awareness of the issue and encouraged countries outside the EU to develop their own policies to address singleuse plastics.

IFAW believes the EU should adopt a single, coherent legislative framework to guide all its ocean policies. The proposed Ocean Act should fulfill this role by making the achievement of GES for all EU marine waters its primary objective. Please find attached IFAW recommendations for the preparation of the European Ocean Act.

IFAW calls on the EU to seize the opportunity offered by the revision of the MSFD to uphold the original level of ambition of this crucial legislation, while making it more operational and effective. This should include the introduction of mandatory and monitorable pressure -reduction targets and clear EU -harmonised and legally binding measures for the achievement of GES under each Descriptor.

IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare) believes that environmental crime is frequently embedded within broader criminal ecosystems involving fraud, corruption, money laundering, and other offences that affect the EUs financial interestsareas that, contrary to environmental crime, are already covered by the EPPOs mandate.