MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, URBANIZATION AND CLIMATE CHANGE
General Directorate of the European Union and Foreign Relations
IPA ENVIRONMENT and CLIMATE PROGRAMME

News

The Kick-Off Meeting of the IPA III Period Project entitled “Improving Marine Monitoring and Reporting Practices in compliance to Marine Strategy Framework Directive”, was held on 7 January 2026, hosted by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization.

The Kick-Off Meeting of the IPA III Period Project entitled “Improving Marine Monitoring and Reporting Practicesin in compliance to Marine Strategy Framework Directive”, was held on 7 January 2026, hosted by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change.

The meeting was attended by Ms. Özge Gökçe Aktaş, Sector Manager at the Delegation of the European Union to Türkiye; Mr. Özgür Ökmen, EU Expert at the Directorate for European Union Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Mr. Yahya Kesimal, Deputy Director General of the General Directorate of Environmental Impact Assessment, Permit and Inspection; Mr. Soner Olgun, Head of the Laboratory, Measurement and Monitoring Department; Assoc. Prof. Dr. İsmail Raci Bayer, Head of the Project Implementation Department at the General Directorate of European Union and Foreign Relations; Mr. Mehmet Yunus İnan, Head of the Project Preparation and Monitoring Department at the General Directorate of European Union and Foreign Relations; Ms. Didar Ergene Şentürk, Contracting Expert; as well as representatives of the General Directorate of European Union and Foreign Relations, the General Directorate of EIA, and the contractor supervision consortium.

In the opening speeches, it was emphasised that the project is expected to be successfully completed in line with the defined timetable and objectives through strong cooperation among all stakeholders. It was also highlighted that the project, the contract of which was signed on 13 October 2025 and whose implementation phase commenced as of 5 January 2026, aims to strengthen the technical and institutional capacity for the implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) in Türkiye.

During the presentations, the objectives and scope of the project, with a total budget of EUR 760,000, were shared, and activities aimed at improving marine monitoring programmes, updating data management systems, and enabling a more effective assessment of the status of the marine environment were addressed. In addition, information was provided on the technical assistance and cooperation mechanisms to be delivered throughout the project duration.

The meeting concluded following the receipt of opinions and evaluations from the project stakeholders.

The project is expected to make a significant contribution to strengthening the alignment of national practices for the protection of the marine environment with European Union legislation.