The European Union, along with Cyprus, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Portugal, and Slovenia, has submitted their ratification instruments for a treaty focused on protecting essential marine ecosystems to the United Nations. This treaty, which was adopted in June 2023 following extensive negotiations, was previously ratified by France and Spain earlier this year, according to the European mission to the UN.
Costas Kadis, the European Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans, described this as a “historic step towards the protection of the world’s oceans and the preservation of the delicate balance of the planet’s ecosystems” and urged all nations to take similar action.
This increases the total number of ratifications to 29, still short of the 60 required for the treaty to take effect.
Although France and environmental organizations had anticipated that the treaty would be enacted during the UN Ocean Conference in Nice from June 9 to 13, that now appears unlikely. The treaty will only become effective 120 days after the 60th ratification, which is projected for May 28, 2025.
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