BRUSSELS — The European Commission on Monday proposed an ambitious set of measures to clean up Europe’s beaches and rid its seas and waterways of disposable plastics, and urged the European Union to lead the way in reducing marine litter worldwide.

The measures, which will need to be approved by the European Union’s 28 member states, would reduce or alter the consumption and production of the top 10 plastic items most commonly found on beaches, including straws, cotton swabs, disposable cutlery and fishing gear.

“We are at risk of choking our oceans in plastic, with a knock-on effect on our food chain and human health,” said Frans Timmermans, the vice president of the European Commission, which is the bloc’s executive arm responsible for proposing legislation. “It’s in the air, it’s in our oceans, it’s in our food and also in our bodies.”

“We will ban single-use plastics,” he said, and “lead the way” in a “global race to the top” to clean up the world’s oceans.