This pillar contributes substantially to achieving the European Cohesion Policy objectives.

Specifically, it contributes to

·      A greener Europe by addressing environmental and ecological conditions of the sea as well as supporting terrestrial habitats.

Pillar 3 addresses the environmental quality of marine, coastal and terrestrial ecosystems and aims to achieve the following objectives:

·         To ensure a good environmental and ecological status of the marine and coastal environment

·         To contribute to the goal of the EU Biodiversity Strategy to halt the loss of biodiversity and the degradation of ecosystem services in the EU by 2020, and restore them in so far as feasible, by addressing threats to marine and terrestrial biodiversity.

·         To improve waste management by reducing waste flows to the sea and, to reduce nutrient flows and other pollutants to the rivers and the sea.

These objectives are covered by two topics: