Dividing the common pond: Regionalizing EU ocean governance

► We examine regional measures increasingly incorporated in EU ocean policies. ► Used to improve the existing CFP, they have been a core part of the MSFD right from the start. ► They aim at more ecosystem specific policy solutions. ► Regional measures do not alter the existing institutional distribution of competences in the EU. ► They can also be understood as a testing ground for a more phased approach of EU integration.