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The national classification systems for assessing ecological status for all the required biological quality elements (BQEs) have been intercalibrated according to WFD requirements. Through the intercalibration process, the national classification systems has been adjusted to ensure that the good status boundaries are set at the same distance from reference conditions for each biological quality element in all member states sharing the same type of water bodies.  The first phase of intercalibration was completed by the end of 2007. Due to delays in the development of the national systems in many member states the results from this first phase do not cover all the biological classification tools required and provide only partial results for others.  The delays were most severe for transitional waters, which were not even included in the first phase of the intercalibration process, but there were also major gaps for coastal waters, as well as for lakes. For rivers, most member states had developed assessment systems for at least two BQEs (macroinvertebrates and diatom phytobenthos) in time for the first phase of the intercalibration. This means that the comparability across member states of the ecological status reported in these first RBMPs are best for rivers, less good for lakes and coastal waters and not known for transitional waters.  For more information on the first Official Decision of the Intercalibration exercise and the Technical Annexes to this Decision for Rivers, Lakes and Coastal Waters, see:

 http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2008:332:0020:0044:EN:PDF.

The 2nd phase of Intercalibration ended in December 2011 with finalisation of the updated intercalibration technical report and with formal adoption of the new results in 2012. These last results are not incorporated in the first River Basin Management Plans, but are to be included in the second cycle of reporting in 2015.