The Council of the European Union's Law of the Sea Working Party (COMAR) is scheduled to meet on 8 July 2026, according to a notice of meeting and provisional agenda published on 1 July 2026. The meeting will address a range of international maritime law and policy issues, including the implementation of the BBNJ Agreement, EU ocean diplomacy, and new draft Council Decisions to counter shadow fleet operations.
The agenda includes a debrief and follow-up on the BBNJ Agreement, covering TEG and Bureau meetings, interim CHM notification updates, outreach, and member state ratifications ahead of CoP 1. Members will also discuss Türkiye's declaration upon ratifying the BBNJ Agreement and the draft Hamilton II Declaration on Sargasso Sea conservation. A debrief and exchange of views on the 36th UNCLOS Meeting of State-Parties is scheduled, alongside a discussion on the European Parliament resolution on ocean diplomacy, focusing on paragraph 32 and a related non-paper.
On maritime security, the working party will receive information on draft Council Decisions for negotiations with Barbados, Cameroon, Sierra Leone, and Vanuatu to counter shadow fleet operations. Other items include a debrief on the UN Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans (26th meeting) on marine ecosystem restoration, updates on the 2026 Oceans and Law of the Sea Resolution and the 2026 Sea-Level Rise Declaration, and information on ITLOS provisional measures requests in Tonga Offshore Mining Ltd. v. ISA and Nauru Ocean Resources Inc. v. ISA. The agenda also covers the ISA Secretariat's proposal for an Advisory Opinion from the Seabed Disputes Chamber of ITLOS and a statement on the 10th anniversary of the South China Sea Arbitration.
The meeting will be chaired by Ireland, which holds the Council Presidency. The outcomes will shape EU positions on international ocean governance, with potential impacts on global marine biodiversity protection, maritime security enforcement, and seabed resource governance. Stakeholders include EU member states, the European Commission, the European External Action Service, and the shipping and fishing industries, which may face new regulatory frameworks from the shadow fleet negotiations and ocean diplomacy initiatives.