The European Union and six of its member states have ratified the treaty to protect the high seas, 10 days ahead of France hosting the UN Ocean Conference in Nice. However, the treaty is still far short of the 60 ratifications required for it to come into force.
Ratification of the treaty's text – first adopted in June 2023 after years of negotiations – was a "historic step towards protecting the world's oceans and preserving the delicate balance of our planet's ecosystem," said Costas Kadis, the European Union oceans commissioner.
