site.btaCabinet Approves Agreement on Sustainable Use of Marine Biodiversity within UN Law of the Sea Convention

The caretaker Government Thursday approved an Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction  (the BBNJ Agreement), signed by the Republic of Bulgaria on September 20, 2023. The Government proposes that the National Assembly ratify the Agreement by law in accordance with the International Treaties Act, the Government Information Service reported. 

The BBNJ Agreement was signed by the European Union on September 20, 2023, and ratified on May 28, 2025. The document was signed by all EU Member States between September 20 and 22, 2023; to date, 18 of them have ratified it, while the others have submitted requests for expedited ratification. The Agreement entered into force on January 17, 2026, and the first Conference of the Parties (BBNJ CoP 1) is to be held within one year (January 17, 2027). To date, the Agreement has been ratified by 88 countries and continues to be ratified by both EU Member States and third countries.

The BBNJ Agreement provides the first comprehensive global framework for the protection of biodiversity in the high seas and on the seabed beyond national jurisdiction, aiming to ensure the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity through the effective implementation of the relevant provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and through continued international cooperation and coordination.

The full implementation of the BBNJ Agreement requires certain legislative changes to Bulgaria’s national legislation, the Government Information Service said. Currently, the EU is considering a Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction. Once adopted, this directive will be transposed into Bulgaria’s legislation (the Biodiversity Act, the Environmental Protection Act) within a period of at least six months, thereby fulfilling the country’s legal obligations under the BBNJ Agreement.

The BBNJ Agreement is expected to enter into force following the transposition of the directive, the Government Information Service specified.