1.The Commission shall publish a first evaluation report on the implementation of this Directive within two years of receiving all programmes of measures and, in any case, by 2019 at the latest.
The Commission shall publish further reports every six years thereafter. It shall submit the reports to the European Parliament and to the Council.
2.By 15 July 2012 at the latest, the Commission shall publish a report assessing the contribution of this Directive to the implementation of existing obligations, commitments and initiatives of the Member States or the Community at Community or international level in the sphere of environmental protection in marine waters.
That report shall be submitted to the European Parliament and to the Council.
3.The reports provided for in paragraph 1 shall include the following:
(a)a review of progress in the implementation of this Directive;
(b)a review of the status of the marine environment in the Community, undertaken in coordination with the European Environment Agency and the relevant regional marine and fisheries organisations and conventions;
(c)a survey of the marine strategies, together with suggestions for their improvement;
(d)a summary of the information received from Member States pursuant to Articles 12 and 16 and of the assessments made by the Commission, in accordance with Article 16, in relation to information received from Member States pursuant to Article 15;
(e)a summary of the response to each of the reports submitted to the Commission by Member States pursuant to Article 18;
(f)a summary of the responses to comments made by the European Parliament and the Council on previous marine strategies;
(g)a summary of the contribution made by other relevant Community policies to the attainment of the objectives of this Directive.