This document is an excerpt from the EUR-Lex website
Bonn Agreement — dealing with pollution of the North Sea by oil and other harmful substances, including air pollution caused by shipping
Bonn Agreement — dealing with pollution of the North Sea by oil and other harmful substances, including air pollution caused by shipping
Bonn Agreement — dealing with pollution of the North Sea by oil and other harmful substances, including air pollution caused by shipping
Decision 84/358/EEC — conclusion of the Bonn Agreement
Contracting parties
The contracting parties to the Bonn Agreement, as most recently amended in 2021, are the governments of Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom, as well as the European Union.
Sea areas covered by the agreement
The agreement concerns the greater North Sea and its wider approaches – one of the busiest sea areas in the world. Since Spain’s accession to the agreement, it covers:
Scope of application
Building on an earlier agreement signed in 1969 which covered pollution from spills of crude oil, the 1984 Bonn Agreement also covered spills of other harmful substances polluting or threatening to pollute the sea in the North Sea area.
In 2019, the contracting parties decided to amend the agreement to cover cooperation on surveillance in respect of the requirements of Annex VI to the MARPOL Convention . Annex VI introduces stricter sulphur limits for marine fuel in sulphur oxide emission control areas (which includes the North Sea). Directive (EU) 2016/802 on reducing the sulphur content of certain liquid fuels incorporates the main changes in international law on preventing air pollution from ships into EU law (see summary).
Areas of work
The contracting parties agree:
Reporting of incidents and mutual assistance
Implementation
The contracting parties implement the agreement by:
Budget and secretariat
Each contracting party contributes 2.5% towards the agreement’s annual expenditure and the balance of the expenditure is shared among contracting parties (other than the EU) in proportion to their gross national product.
The agreement’s secretariat is based in London.
The 1984 Bonn agreement entered into force on 28 June 1984.
For more information, see:
Agreement for cooperation in dealing with pollution of the North Sea by oil and other harmful substances (Bonn Agreement) (OJ L 188, 16.7.1984, pp. 9-16)
Council Decision 84/358/EEC of 28 June 1984 concerning the conclusion of the Agreement for cooperation in dealing with pollution of the North Sea by oil and other harmful substances (OJ L 188, 16.7.1984, pp. 7-8)
Council Decision (EU) 2021/176 of 5 February 2021 on the conclusion of the amendments to the Agreement for cooperation in dealing with pollution of the North Sea by oil and other harmful substances (Bonn Agreement) with regard to the extension of the scope of application of that Agreement and on the accession of the Kingdom of Spain to that Agreement (OJ L 54, 16.2.2021, pp. 1-2)
Directive (EU) 2016/802 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2016 relating to a reduction in the sulphur content of certain liquid fuels (OJ L 132, 21.5.2016, pp. 58-78)
last update 26.04.2021