The Council of the EU has reached a provisional agreement with the European Parliament on improved rules to safeguard the long-term sustainability of shared fish stocks, while also ensuring fair competition for European fishers and protecting EU fishing interests.
Under existing rules, once a country has been identified as allowing non-sustainable fishing practices, the EU can impose restrictions such as import bans.
The new regulation gives more specifics as to what it means to fail to cooperate and provides a list of examples of non-cooperative behavior such as refusing to consult or to involve all the relevant countries in the consultations.
A country can be considered as allowing non-sustainable fishing if, while failing to cooperate, it does not adopt, implement or enforce the necessary measures, including control measures. If a third country imposes quotas or discriminatory measures, without due regard to the rights, interests and duties of other countries and the EU, and which lead to the stock being in an unsustainable state, the regulation can be applied. The third country has 90 days to respond to notifications from the EU.
The measures apply in all cases where international cooperation is required, including in the context of a regional fisheries management organization (RFMO). If the stock falls under an RFMO, the compliance body of that RFMO will deal with the matter, in order to remedy the situation, before the EU takes measures.
The goal is to ensure a continued dialogue with the third country, as well as bilateral and multilateral cooperation, aiming to ensure that the country ceases to allow non-sustainable fishing.
The provisional agreement will now need to be confirmed by both institutions before it can be formally adopted.
