This proposal concerns a Decision establishing the position to be taken on the behalf of the European Union at meetings of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) for the period 2024-2028 in connection with the envisaged adoption of conservation and management measures.
2.1.International Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas
The International Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT Convention) aims, by establishing the ICCAT, to promote cooperation in maintaining the populations of tuna and tuna‑like fish in the Atlantic Ocean at levels that permit the maximum sustainable catch for food and other purposes. The Convention entered into force on 21 March 1969.
The EU is a party to the ICCAT, having approved the Convention pursuant to the Council Decision of 9 June 1986 1 .
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2.2.International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas
The ICCAT is the body established by the ICCAT Convention to adopt binding decisions (‘recommendations’) for the conservation and management of the fisheries under its purview. Such measures may become binding on the EU.
As a contracting party of the ICCAT, the EU is entitled to participate in, and vote on, its decisions. The ICCAT takes its decisions by consensus.
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2.3.ICCAT decisions
The ICCAT has the authority to adopt recommendations for the conservation and management of the fisheries under its purview and these are binding on the contracting parties.
In accordance with Article VIII.2 of the ICCAT Convention, the recommendations enter into force six months after the date on which the contracting parties are notified of them by the ICCAT. A recommendation is not binding on a contracting party if it has submitted and reaffirmed an objection to it. If the objection is supported by a majority of the contracting parties, the recommendation does not come into effect.
3.Position to be taken on the EU’s behalf
The position to be adopted on behalf of the EU at the annual meetings of regional fisheries management organisations (RFMOs) is currently established according to a two‑tier approach. A Council Decision sets out the guiding principles and orientations of the EU’s position on a multiannual basis and it is subsequently adjusted for each annual meeting by Commission services non-papers to be endorsed by the Council.
For the ICCAT, this approach is implemented by Council Decision (EU) 2019/868 of 14 May 2019, which sets out the EU’s position in the ICCAT for the period 2019‑2023. The Decision contains general principles, but also takes into account, as far as possible, the specific features of the ICCAT. In addition, it sets out the standard process for establishing the EU’s position year by year, as requested by Member States.
Council Decision (EU) 2019/868 incorporated the principles of the new common fisheries policy, as laid down in Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council 2 , also taking into account the objectives set out in the Commission’s Communication on the external dimension of the common fisheries policy 3 . Moreover, it adjusted the EU’s position to the Treaty of Lisbon.
Council Decision (EU) 2019/868 provides for a review of the EU’s position before the 2024 annual meeting. Therefore, this proposal sets out the EU’s position in the ICCAT for the period 2024-2028, thereby replacing Council Decision (EU) 2019/868.
The current revision takes into consideration, in relation to fishing, the European Green Deal, notably Biodiversity 4 , Climate Adaptation 5 and Farm to Fork Strategies 6 . It also takes into account the Plastics Strategy 7 and the Zero pollution Action Plan 8 . Furthermore, it also takes into consideration, the International Ocean Governance Joint Communication 9 .
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4.Legal basis
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4.1.Procedural legal basis
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4.1.1.Principles
Article 218(9) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) provides for decisions establishing ‘the positions to be adopted on the EU’s behalf in a body set up by an agreement, when that body is called upon to adopt acts having legal effects, with the exception of acts supplementing or amending the institutional framework of the agreement’.
‘Acts having legal effects’ includes acts that have legal effects by virtue of the rules of international law governing the body in question, and instruments that do not have a binding effect under international law, but are ‘capable of decisively influencing the content of the legislation adopted by the EU legislature’ 10 .
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4.1.2.Application to the present case
The ICCAT is a body set up by an agreement, namely the ICCAT Convention.
The acts that the ICCAT is called upon to adopt constitute acts having legal effects. They are to be binding under international law in accordance with Article VIII of the ICCAT Convention and, because ICCAT recommendations may supplement, amend or replace obligations laid down in existing EU legislation, are capable of decisively influencing the content of that legislation, including:
·Council Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008 establishing a Community system to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing 11 ;
·Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 establishing a Community control system for ensuring compliance with the rules of the common fisheries policy 12 ;
·Regulation (EU) 2017/2403 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the sustainable management of external fishing fleets 13 ;
·Regulation (EU) 2016/1627 of the European Parliament and of the Council on a multiannual recovery plan for bluefin tuna in the eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean, and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 302/2009 14 ;
·Regulation (EU) 2017/2107 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 November 2017 laying down management, conservation and control measures applicable in the Convention area of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), and amending Council Regulations (EC) No 1936/2001, (EC) No 1984/2003 and (EC) No 520/2007 15 ;
·Regulation (EU) 2019/1154 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on a multiannual recovery plan for Mediterranean swordfish and amending Council Regulation (EC) No 1967/2006 and Regulation (EU) 2017/2107 of the European Parliament and of the Council 16 ;
·Council Regulation (EC) No 1936/2001 laying down control measures applicable to fishing for certain stocks of highly migratory fish 17 ;
·Council Regulation (EC) No 520/2007 laying down technical measures for the conservation of certain stocks of highly migratory species and repealing Regulation (EC) No 973/2001 18 ; and
·Council Regulation (EC) No 1984/2003 introducing a system for the statistical monitoring of trade in swordfish and bigeye tuna within the Community 19 .
The envisaged acts do not supplement or amend the institutional framework of the ICCAT Convention.
Therefore, the procedural legal basis for the proposed Decision is Article 218(9) TFEU.
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4.2.Substantive legal basis
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4.2.1.Principles
The substantive legal basis for a Decision under Article 218(9) TFEU depends primarily on the objective and content of the envisaged act in respect of which a position is taken on the EU’s behalf. If that act pursues two aims or has two components, and if one of those aims or components is identifiable as the main one, whereas the other is merely incidental, the Decision under Article 218(9) TFEU must be founded on a single substantive legal basis, namely that required by the main or predominant aim or component.
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4.2.2.Application to the present case
The main objective and content of the envisaged act relate to fisheries. The legal basis setting out the principles to be reflected in this position is Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013.
Therefore, the substantive legal basis of the proposed Decision is Article 43i TFEU. The Decision will replace Council Decision (EU) 2019/868, which covers the period 2019‑2023.
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4.3.Conclusion
The legal basis of the proposed Decision should be Article 43i TFEU, in conjunction with Article 218(9) TFEU.
