Human activities at sea and on land as well as the emerging threats of climate change put considerable pressures on marine ecosystems. The QSR 2010 is a milestone for evaluating the quality status of the North-East Atlantic and for taking forward OSPAR’s vision of a clean, healthy and biologically diverse sea. Ten years of joint monitoring and assessment by OSPAR Contracting Parties of the marine environment provides the scientific basis for this holistic report, which has been prepared based on the expertise of the many experts from OSPAR Governments and stakeholders who provided input to OSPAR Working Groups and Committees. A peer review by a group of international scientists coordinated by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, and an e-consultation have both helped to critically review the gathered evidence and the conclusions drawn. This electronic publication presents the QSR 2010 summary report together with its suite of supporting thematic assessments to take stock of achievements in the period 1998–2008, to identify priorities for action, and to provide a baseline for future assessments of the quality status of the North-East Atlantic. The URL of the suite of thematic assessments as part of the QSR 2010 is: http://qsr2010.ospar.org/en/qsr_assessments.html