Coastal sea level data from seven tide gauges in the Western Mediterranean and the Adriatic show decreasing sea levels after 1960. Control stations in the Black Sea and in the northeastern Atlantic indicate sea levels still rising after 1960. The sea level trend in the Mediterranean before 1960 was between 1.2 and 1.5 mm yr-1, while in the Atlantic and the Black Sea stations it was between 1.8 and 2.2 mm yr-1. After 1960 the sea level in the Mediterranean is decreasing with rates up to -1.3 mm yr-1, while in the Black Sea the sea level trend remains unaltered and at the Atlantic stations sea level keeps rising with reduced rates of 1.0--1.2 mm yr-1. The change of the Mediterranean sea level trends, which is in excess of the sea level trend reduction at the Atlantic sites, is consistent with increases in temperature and salinity of the Mediterranean Deep Water. The reduction of sea level trends at the Atlantic sites is probably related to the North Atlantic Oscillation. ¿ 2000 American Geophysical Union