1. Contents of the Art.20 report
Article 20(1) of the MSFD states that "the Commission shall publish a first evaluation report on the implementation of this Directive […] by 2019 at the latest". This will be the first MSFD implementation report. According to Article 20(3), the report shall include:
a review of progress in the implementation of this Directive;
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;
a survey of the marine strategies, together with suggestions for their improvement;
Key achievements and limitations of the implementation
WISE Marine products and EEA/JRC assessments, RSC reports, situation per descriptor
Review of previous assessments + Art.17 + update of recommendations

2. 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;
a summary of the response to each of the reports submitted to the Commission by Member States pursuant to Article 18;
a summary of the responses to comments made by the European Parliament and the Council on previous marine strategies;
a summary of the contribution made by other relevant Community policies to the attainment of the objectives of this Directive.
Analysis of correspondence
Art.18 assessment
Compilation of major comments from EU institutions
Selection and analysis of key policies (PoMs)

3. Art.12 and Art.18 will be embedded – quicker assessments
KEY MESSAGES :
Art. 20 report will be the first integrative appraisal of the MSFD and the CIS
2018 eReporting will be of outmost importance, both for the analysis of implementation of the MSFD and for the assessment of the marine environment
Art.12 and Art.18 will be embedded – quicker assessments
It should be able to:
Highlight the key achievements
Quantify progress
Explain the key environmental & policy challenges and propose ways to overcome those