The European Parliament has just voted to ratify the high seas treaty

The first international treaty to protect biodiversity on the high seas was adopted in June 2023. In April 2024, it was signed by 89 countries.

However, for it to be implemented, if possible in June 2025, when the United Nations Ocean Conference takes place in Nice, it must first be ratified by the governments of the countries that have signed it.

The European Union is following in the footsteps of the Republic of Palau, Chile and the Seychelles by voting on the 24th of April 2024 to ratify the treaty.

The Parliament's decision must be formally adopted by the European Council before it can be submitted to the United Nations. Each country in the European Union will in turn have to ratify the treaty domestically.

And 57 other States must do likewise for the treaty to finally become effective!

At the recent meeting of the environmental ministers from the G7 countries in Turin, the ministers expressed their support for the rapid ratification of the international treaty for the protection of marine biodiversity in the high seas, in time for the United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice in 2025. They also reiterated their support for the precautionary principle regarding deep-sea mining.

Si l’Union européenne l’a ratifié le 24 avril 2024, la France est le premier pays en Europe à lui emboiter le pas. Le mercredi 29 mai 2024, l'Assemblée nationale a adopté, à l'unanimité, le projet de loi autorisant cette ratification de l'accord.

C'est une avancée décisive pour l'avenir de la Haute Mer.