Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2023)362 - Conservation, management and control measures applicable in the area covered by the Convention on future multilateral cooperation in the North-East Atlantic fisheries - Main contents
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| dossier | COM(2023)362 - Conservation, management and control measures applicable in the area covered by the Convention on future multilateral ... |
|---|---|
| source | COM(2023)362 |
| date | 30-06-2023 |
1. CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL
• Reasons for and objectives of the proposal
The North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC) is the regional fisheries management organisation (RFMO) responsible for managing fishery resources covered by the Convention on Future Multilateral Cooperation in the North-East Atlantic (NEAFC Convention)1. The NEAFC Convention was approved by Council Decision 81/608/EEC2 and entered into force on 17 March 19823.
The NEAFC Commission adopts conservation, management and control measures to ensure the long-term conservation and optimum utilisation of fishery resources under its purview. These measures are adopted as recommendations that are binding on the Contracting Parties as soon as they enter into force, unless an objection is raised under Article 12(2) of the NEAFC Convention. Any Contracting Party can raise an objection to measures adopted by the NEAFC Commission within 50 days of the date on which a measure is notified by the NEAFC Secretariat. If three or more Contracting Parties have objected to a recommendation, it will not become binding on any NEAFC contracting party.
All the NEAFC Contracting Parties are members of the NEAFC Commission. The NEAFC Commission adopts measures by consensus or by a qualified majority vote in line with the NEAFC Convention. Before each NEAFC Commission meeting, the Commission, on behalf of the Union, draws up negotiating guidelines based on a five-year multiannual position established by a Council decision and on scientific advice provided by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) and in line with the common fisheries policy. These negotiating guidelines are presented, discussed and endorsed at the Council working party, and further adjusted, to take account of real-time developments, at coordination meetings with Member States held at the NEAFC annual meetings.
At its annual meetings, the NEAFC Commission adopts new measures, which the NEAFC’s Secretariat notifies to the Contracting Parties after the meeting as NEAFC Commission decisions. After receiving a notification, the Commission informs the Council about the adoption of new measures, along with the planned date for their entry into force. It is incumbent on the Union to ensure compliance with these measures, as international obligations, as soon as they enter into force.
In 2022, the Union had 301 fishing vessels authorised to operate in the NEAFC Regulatory Area.
The last implementation of conservation, management and control measures adopted by the NEAFC Commission was enacted by Regulation (EU) No 1236/20104 and amended several times. Since then, the NEAFC Commission has amended some measures that are already in force and adopted new measures that are not yet implemented into Union law. This relates to measures under the NEAFC Scheme of control and enforcement and to the measures adopted by the NEAFC Commission under:
- Recommendation 19:2014 on area management measures for the protection of vulnerable marine ecosystems in the NEAFC Regulatory Area5, as amended by Recommendation 06:20236;
- Recommendations 08:20237 and 09:20238 amending the list of NEAFC regulated resources covered by the NEAFC Scheme of control and enforcement;
- Recommendation 10:2023 banning discards in the NEAFC Regulatory Area9;
- Recommendation 11:2023 on the control of transhipment operations at sea10; and
- Recommendation 12:2023 on control measures applicable to commercial research vessels11.
The main purpose of the proposal is therefore to implement into Union law those conservation, management and control measures adopted by NEAFC Commission. The proposal closely follows the structure and wording of the most recent version of the NEAFC measures, to avoid deviating from the Union’s international obligations as a Contracting Party and to make the text easier to use for control personnel and operators.
At the same time, the proposal aims to compile in one regulation all NEAFC measures. Currently, Regulation (EU) No 1236/2010 and, to a certain extent, Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/200912, include provisions implementing NEAFC control measures; whereas provisions implementing NEAFC conservation and management measures that apply to the NEAFC Regulatory Area are set out in Council Regulation (EEC) No 1899/8513 and Regulation (EU) 2019/1241. Therefore, it is appropriate to replace the relevant provisions of those Regulations by a single legislative act.
The proposal also aims to implement certain measures stemming from the Union’s international commitments relating to the control of four pelagic fisheries in the North-East Atlantic: mackerel, horse mackerel, blue whiting and herring. The measures agreed within the framework of fisheries arrangements between the Union, the Faroe Islands and Norway on the management of these pelagic fisheries in North-East Atlantic waters for 2014-2020 were implemented into Union law by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/196214. That Regulation amended Articles 78 to 91 of the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 404/201115. In addition, Articles 54b and 54c of Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 include provisions on catch handling and discharge restrictions on pelagic vessels and on restrictions on the use of automatic grading equipment.
In 2022, the Union, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland, Norway and the United Kingdom held consultations on control measures for those pelagic fisheries in the North-East Atlantic. Those fisheries consultations were concluded in November 2022 and their outcome was documented in an Agreed Record16. The conclusions of those consultations reflect the agreement on a revision of the control measures for those pelagic fisheries that were agreed from 2014 to 2022, including a commitment to implement additional measures by 1 January 2026. The revised measures relate to the monitoring of discards, inspection procedures for landings and requirements for weighing and weighing systems.
It is incumbent on the Union to ensure the timely implementation into Union law of these measures. While several of the measures can be implemented by revising Articles 78 to 91 of Implementing Regulation (EU) No 404/2011, the proposal includes the revision of the measures currently contained in Articles 54b and 54c of Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 on restrictions on the use of automatic grading equipment on board and discarding. It allows for the necessary adaptation of monitoring tools as alternatives to the sealing of a fishing vessel’s discharge points and for the use of automatic grading equipment on board a fishing vessel if the fishing vessel is equipped with remote electronic monitoring systems. It also implements into Union law the requirement to electronically monitor the weighing operations at landing and processing facilities by camera surveillance and sensor technologies if more than 3 000 tonnes a year of these pelagic stocks are weighed.
The proposal grants delegated powers to the Commission under Article 290 TFEU, to amend NEAFC measures of a more technical nature, as well as those originating from fisheries consultations on measures for certain pelagic fisheries in the North-East Atlantic. These should be swiftly implemented into Union law so that the Union complies with its international obligations. Future amendments to the proposal should be carried out either by Commission delegated regulations if the amendments are of a technical nature, or by amendments to the regulation in other cases.
At its 2018 annual meeting, the NEAFC Commission adopted Recommendation 19:2019 to introduce an Electronic Reporting System (ERS) in NEAFC based on the new FLUX UN/CEFACT standard for sustainable fisheries management. The Recommendation establishes a procedure by which the Union will be the first NEAFC Contracting Party to adopt the system, to be followed by the other NEAFC Contracting Parties within a 2-year transition period. The adoption of the new standard is associated with the entry into force of a new NEAFC Scheme of control and enforcement. The proposal aims to implement into Union law this new Scheme.
• Consistency with existing policy provisions in the policy area
The proposal complements and is consistent with other provisions of Union law in this area. It is consistent with Part VI (External policy) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 on the common fisheries policy17, which requires the Union to conduct its external fisheries relations in line with its international obligations and to base its fishing activities on regional fisheries cooperation.
The proposal does not affect the application of Regulation (EU) 2017/2403 on the sustainable management of external fishing fleets18, which provides that EU fishing vessels should comply with the list of fishing authorisations under the conditions and rules of the RFMO in question. The proposal also does not affect Council Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008 establishing a Community system to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. Apart from the measures for certain pelagic fisheries currently in place under Articles 54b and 54c of Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009, the proposal also does not amend nor affect the application of that Regulation. The proposal does not contain provisions to implement measures that are already part of these or other relevant regulations in Union law.
The proposal does not cover fishing opportunities for the Union, as decided by the meeting of the parties. Under Article 43(3) TFEU, it is for the Council to adopt measures on fixing and allocating fishing opportunities and any conditions that are linked to those opportunities.
The NEAFC conservation and management measures that apply to the NEAFC Regulatory Area were last implemented into Union law by Annex XII to Regulation (EU) 2019/1241. The proposal amends these measures in line with the current NEAFC recommendations.
The NEAFC control measures were last implemented into Union law by Council Regulation (EC) No 1236/2010. The proposal repeals and replaces that Regulation and implements into Union law the latest revision of NEAFC control measures in line with the new Scheme of control and enforcement19. The proposal, if adopted by the co-legislators, will make Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 433/2012 and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 32/2012 obsolete in their entirety, to be repealed by a legal act adopted by the Commission at the time of entry into force of this proposal.
The proposal implements measures for certain pelagic fisheries as agreed by the Union, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland, Norway and the United Kingdom in fisheries consultations concluded in November 2022.
• Consistency with other Union policies
The proposal is consistent with other EU policies, in particular in the field of environment.
2. LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY
• Legal basis
The proposal is based on Article 43(2) TFEU, as it sets out provisions necessary to pursue the objectives of the common fisheries policy.
• Subsidiarity (for non-exclusive competence)
The subsidiarity principle does not apply, as the proposal falls under the exclusive competence of the Union under Article 3(d) TFEU.
• Proportionality
The proposal ensures that Union law is in line with international obligations and Union’s commitments without going beyond what is necessary to achieve this objective.
• Choice of the instrument
A regulation is considered the most appropriate instrument as it makes it possible to set requirements that apply directly to Member States and relevant economic operators. This will help to ensure that the requirements are implemented in a timely and common way, leading to greater legal certainty.
3. RESULTS OF EX-POST EVALUATIONS, STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATIONS AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS
• Ex-post evaluations/fitness checks of existing legislation
Not applicable.
• Stakeholder consultations
The purpose of the proposal is to implement into Union law existing NEAFC measures, which are binding upon the NEAFC Contracting Parties. The purpose is also to implement measures applicable to certain pelagic fisheries in the North-East Atlantic agreed in fisheries consultations between the Union, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland, Norway and the United Kingdom in November 2022. National experts and industry representatives from Member States were consulted during the run-up to the NEAFC meetings at which these recommendations were adopted, in the consultation process, throughout the negotiations at the NEAFC annual meeting and in fisheries consultations. Therefore, it was not considered necessary to hold further stakeholder consultations on the proposal.
• Collection and use of expertise
Not applicable.
• Impact assessment
Not relevant. This concerns the implementation of measures directly applicable in all EU Member States. The proposal does not define any new policy. It concerns existing international obligations that are already binding upon the Union and need to be implemented into Union law.
• Regulatory fitness and simplification
Not applicable. The proposal is not linked to the Regulatory Fitness and Performance Programme.
• Fundamental rights
Not applicable.
4. BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS
Not applicable.
5. OTHER ELEMENTS
• Implementation plans and monitoring, evaluation and reporting arrangements
Not applicable.
• Explanatory documents (for directives)
Not applicable.
• Detailed explanation of the specific provisions of the proposal
Title I contains the proposal’s subject matter, which is to lay down the provisions adopted by NEAFC and to establish measures for certain pelagic fisheries in the North-East Atlantic. To avoid duplications, measures already in place in Union law on fisheries are not included in the proposal as they remain applicable, in particular the provisions in Council Regulations (EC) No 1005/2008 and (EC) No 1224/2009, and Regulation (EU) No 2017/2403.
Title II implements the NEAFC measures and determines the scope (Chapter I) of those measures and sets the definitions applicable to Title II of the proposal. The measures being implemented include: (i) conservation and management measures (Chapter II) and (ii) control and enforcement measures (Chapter III). The provisions on control cover: the obligations for EU Member States to designate contact points and assign inspection means to the NEAFC Scheme of control, the obligations of EU fishing vessels authorised to operate in the NEAFC Regulatory Area and the implementation of the NEAFC port state control applicable to fishing vessels of another NEAFC Contracting Party with catches on board of fishery resources from the Convention Area intending to call at EU ports and to masters of EU fishing vessels calling a port of another Contracting Party. The NEAFC Scheme also includes a list of serious infringements and measures to ensure compliance by non-Contracting Party fishing vessels.
Title III sets out the measures that apply to certain pelagic fisheries. Chapter I determines the scope of those measures, which cover fisheries of herring, blue whiting, mackerel and horse mackerel in the NEAFC Convention Area and EU waters of the area under the auspices of the Committee for Eastern Central Atlantic Fisheries. Chapter II includes measures to control discarding and high-grading on board vessels. Chapter III sets out monitoring requirements for landing and processing facilities weighing more than 3 000 tonnes a year of landings of these pelagic fisheries.
Title IV contains the final provisions, including data protection, the delegation of powers and procedures for the exercise of such delegation. It also covers amendments to other regulations, repeals and the entry into force of the Regulation and date of application of certain provisions.