The Regional Seas Conventions (RSC) are cooperation structures set up to protect the marine environment of a specific marine region. The four European RSC are (1):

1. OSPAR Convention (OSPAR): The Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment in the North-East Atlantic - updated in 1992
2. Helsinki Convention (HELCOM): The Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment in the Baltic Sea Area - updated in 1992
3. Barcelona Convention (UNEP-MAP): The Convention for the Protection of Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of the Mediterranean - updated in 1995
4. Bucharest Convention: The Convention for the Protection of the Black Sea of 1992

RSC shall support the implementation of EU environmental policy in general and of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive in specific in at least three ways (1):

• by improving regional and cross-regional coherence of national implementation
• by making the RSCs’ long-standing experience and established structures for cooperation available to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of national implementation and
• by offering practical opportunities for the mobilisation and coordination of relevant third countries’ activities.