HAVET & VANHUFFEL – Association d’avocats
On 28 May 2025, the European Union and six of its Member States – Cyprus, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Portugal and Slovenia – ratified the International Treaty on the High Seas (BBNJ). This text, adopted on 23 June 2023 and already signed, has been signed by 115 States since 20 September 2023 at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
The aim of the treaty is to establish large-scale marine protected areas on the high seas, i.e. areas outside maritime areas controlled by States that contain carbon sinks and biological reservoirs.The Treaty will enter into force once it has been ratified by 60 countries. To date, 31 countries, including the EU and some of its Member States, have already ratified the treaty.
As a regional economic integration organisation, only the ratifications of its member states count towards the 60 ratifications.
The European Union (EU) officially deposited its instrument of ratification on 28 May 2025.
The following EU Member States have also deposited their instruments of ratification: Cyprus, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Portugal, Slovenia, France and Spain.
To see which countries have ratified the treaty, follow this link:https://highseasalliance.org/treaty-ratification/.
For the text of the treaty, follow this link:https://www.un.org/bbnjagreement/en/bbnj-agreement/text-bbnj-agreement.