(1)

Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (1) requires that conservation measures be adopted taking into account available scientific, technical and economic advice, including, where relevant, reports drawn up by the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries and other advisory bodies, as well as in the light of any advice received from Advisory Councils established for the relevant geographical areas or fields of competence and joint recommendations made by Member States.

(2)

It is incumbent upon the Council to adopt measures on the fixing and allocation of fishing opportunities, including certain conditions functionally linked thereto, as appropriate. Fishing opportunities should be allocated to Member States in such a way as to ensure the relative stability of fishing activities of each Member State for each fish stock or fishery and having due regard to the objectives of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) set out in Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013.

(3)

Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 provides that the objective of the CFP is to achieve the maximum sustainable yield (MSY) exploitation rate by 2015 where possible and, on a progressive, incremental basis at the latest by 2020 for all stocks.

(4)

The total allowable catches (TACs) should therefore be established, in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013, on the basis of the available scientific advice, taking into account biological and socioeconomic aspects whilst ensuring fair treatment between fishing sectors, as well as in having regard to the opinions expressed during the consultation with stakeholders.

(5)

Regulation (EU) 2016/1139 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2) establishes a multiannual plan for the stocks of cod, herring and sprat in the Baltic Sea and for the fisheries exploiting those stocks (‘the plan’). The plan aims to ensure that exploitation of living marine biological resources restores and maintains populations of harvested species above levels which can produce the MSY. To that end, the target fishing mortality for the stocks concerned, expressed in ranges, is to be achieved as soon as possible and, on a progressive, incremental basis, by 2020. It is appropriate that the catch limits applicable in 2018 for the cod, herring and sprat stocks in the Baltic Sea are established with a view to achieving the objectives of the plan.

(6)

According to the plan, when scientific advice indicates that the spawning stock biomass of any of the stocks concerned is below the reference points of spawning stock biomass set out in Annex II to Regulation (EU) 2016/1139, all appropriate remedial measures are to be adopted in order to ensure the rapid return of the stock concerned to levels above the level capable of producing the MSY. The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) has indicated the biomass of Western Baltic cod (Gadus morhua) and of Western Baltic herring (Clupea harengus) to be below the conservation reference points set out in Annex II to that Regulation. Consequently, it is appropriate that fishing opportunities for Western Baltic cod and for Western Baltic herring are set below the fishing mortality range in Annex I, column B to Regulation (EU) 2016/1139, at such a level that takes into account the decrease in the biomass. To that end, it is necessary to take into account the timeline for the achievement of the objectives of the CFP and of the plan, particularly in view of the expected effect of the remedial measures taken, whilst at the same time adhering with the objectives of achieving economic, social and employment benefits as set out in Article 2 of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013.

(7)

As regards the Western Baltic cod, further remedial measures should be taken. Maintaining the currently applicable eight-week closure period would continue to provide protection for spawning aggregations of cod. According to scientific advice, recreational fisheries for the Western Baltic cod contribute significantly to the overall fishing mortality of that stock. Taking into account the current status of that stock, it is appropriate to maintain certain currently applicable measures on recreational fisheries. A daily bag limit per fisherman should apply that should be more restrictive during the spawning period. That is without prejudice to the principle of relative stability applicable to commercial fishing activities.

(8)

As regards the Eastern Baltic cod (Gadus morhua), due to changes in its biology, the ICES has not been able to establish biological reference points. It is therefore appropriate, in order to contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the plan, to fix the TAC for Eastern Baltic cod in accordance with the precautionary approach as established in Article 9(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013. Furthermore, an eight-week closure period should be introduced to provide protection for spawning aggregations of Eastern Baltic cod in subdivisions 25-26.

(9)

In addition, allowing vessels of less than 12 metres in length overall to fish in areas where the water depth is less than 20 metres would make it possible for a limited number of fishermen to continue their fishing operations and to target species other than cod. It is therefore proportionate to grant vessels of less than 12 metres in length overall the right to fish in areas where the water depth is less than 20 metres.

(10)

As regards the Gulf of Bothnia herring, the ICES conducted an evaluation of the stock using the latest data and the most up-to-date information and revised the fishing mortality ranges corresponding to MSY. While there is a discrepancy in fishing mortality ranges established in the scientific advice and in the plan, which was also based on the best scientific advice available at the time of its adoption, the plan is legally binding and in force and should therefore be followed for setting fishing opportunities for that stock. Given that the spawning stock biomass of that stock is above the biomass reference point set out in Annex II, column A to Regulation (EU) 2016/1139, it is appropriate to fix the TAC in accordance with the fishing mortality ranges set out in Annex I, column B to that Regulation in order to limit variations in fishing opportunities between consecutive years in accordance with point (c) of Article 4(4) of that Regulation. Furthermore, a TAC for that stock now covers subdivisions 30 and 31. As the plan does not define a range for subdivision 31, MSY approach is applied regarding that subdivision in accordance with scientific advice.

(11)

The use of the fishing opportunities set out in this Regulation is subject to Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 (3), and in particular to Articles 33 and 34 thereof concerning the recording of catches and fishing effort, and to the transmission of data on the exhaustion of fishing opportunities to the Commission. This Regulation should therefore specify the codes relating to landings of stocks subject to this Regulation that are to be used by Member States when sending data to the Commission.

(12)

Council Regulation (EC) No 847/96 (4) introduced additional conditions for year-to-year management of TACs including, under Articles 3 and 4, flexibility provisions for precautionary and analytical TACs. Under Article 2 of that Regulation, when fixing the TACs, the Council is to decide to which stocks Article 3 or 4 is not to apply, in particular on the basis of the biological status of the stocks. More recently, the year-to-year flexibility mechanism was introduced by Article 15(9) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 for all stocks that are subject to the landingobligation. Therefore, in order to avoid excessive flexibility that would undermine the principle of rational and responsible exploitation of living marine biological resources, hinder the achievement of the objectives of the CFP and deteriorate the biological status of the stocks, Articles 3 and 4 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 should apply to analytical TACs only where the year-to-year flexibility provided for in Article 15(9) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 is not used.

(13)

Based on new scientific advice, a preliminary TAC for Norway pout in ICES area 3a and Union waters of ICES area 2a and subarea 4 should be established for the period from 1 November 2017 to 31 October 2018. Council Regulation (EU) 2017/127 (5) should therefore be amended accordingly.

(14)

In order to avoid the interruption of fishing activities and to ensure the livelihoods of Union fishermen, this Regulation should apply from 1 January 2018. However, this Regulation should apply to Norway pout from 1 November 2017. For reasons of urgency, this Regulation should enter into force immediately after its publication,

(1)

In order to ensure uniform application of the Combined Nomenclature annexed to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 (2), it is necessary to adopt measures concerning the classification of the goods referred to in the Annex to this Regulation.

(2)

Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 has laid down the general rules for the interpretation of the Combined Nomenclature. Those rules apply also to any other nomenclature which is wholly or partly based on it or which adds any additional subdivision to it and which is established by specific provisions of the Union, with a view to the application of tariff and other measures relating to trade in goods.

(3)

Pursuant to those general rules, the goods described in column (1) of the table set out in the Annex should be classified under the CN code indicated in column (2), by virtue of the reasons set out in column (3) of that table.

(4)

It is appropriate to provide that binding tariff information issued in respect of the goods concerned by this Regulation which does not conform to this Regulation may, for a certain period, continue to be invoked by the holder in accordance with Article 34(9) of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013. That period should be set at three months.

(5)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Customs Code Committee,

(1)

Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 lays down rules for the prevention, control and eradication of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE) in bovine, ovine and caprine animals. It applies to the production and placing on the market of live animals and products of animal origin and in certain specific cases to exports thereof.

(2)

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a TSE affecting cervids, which is widespread in North America. To date, CWD has not been reported in the Union territory; however it was detected for the first time in Norway in April 2016, in a reindeer. Norway subsequently intensified its surveillance programme for CWD in cervids and detected a number of other cases of CWD in reindeers and in moose.

(3)

On 2 December 2016, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) adopted a scientific opinion on chronic wasting disease in cervids (‘the EFSA opinion’) (2). The EFSA opinion provides recommendations for the implementation of a three-year surveillance programme for CWD in cervids in Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland and Sweden, which are the Union and EEA countries with a reindeer and/or a moose population. The EFSA opinion highlights that the objectives of such a three-year CWD monitoring programme are to confirm or exclude the presence of CWD in countries where the disease has never been detected and in countries where CWD has been detected (only Norway so far), in order to estimate the prevalence and geographical spread of CWD.

(4)

Article 6(1) of Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 provides that each Member State is to carry out an annual monitoring programme for TSEs based on active and passive surveillance in accordance with Annex III to that Regulation.

(5)

Requirements for a three-year surveillance programme for CWD in Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden should therefore be added in Chapter A of Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 999/2001, based on the recommendations included in the EFSA opinion. These requirements should be considered as minimum requirements to be complied with by the Member States concerned. These Member States may however further refine their CWD surveillance programme to adapt to their particular situation.

(6)

In addition, the laboratory protocols and testing methods to be used for the CWD monitoring programme as well as the measures to be taken following CWD testing should be clarified in Part III of Chapter A Annex III.

(7)

As recommended in the EFSA opinion, the three-year monitoring programme for CWD should target, on the one-hand, farmed and captive cervids, and on the other hand, wild and semi-domesticated cervids. In order to ensure legal certainty, definitions of ‘farmed and captive cervids’, ‘wild cervids’ and ‘semi-domesticated cervids’ should be inserted in Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 999/2001.

(8)

Article 6(4) of Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 provides that Member States are to submit to the Commission an annual report on their TSE monitoring activities. Part I(A) of Chapter B of Annex III to that Regulation lays down the information which the Member States are to include in their annual report, via regular submissions to the EU TSE database and/or inclusion in the annual report. Part II of that Chapter provides that the EFSA is to analyse the information included by the Member States in their annual report and to publish annually a report on the trends and sources of TSE in the Union. Reporting requirements covering the three-year CWD surveillance programme should be inserted in Part I(A) of Chapter B to Annex III in order to ensure that the data obtained from this programme is submitted by the Member States concerned to the EU TSE database and thus enable their inclusion and analysis in the EU annual summary report for TSE monitoring, to be produced by EFSA in accordance with Part II of that Chapter.

(9)

Commission Decision 2007/182/EC (3) provides requirements for a survey on CWD in cervids which was carried out from 2007 to 2010. As this survey has been completed, and in order to avoid diverging definitions relevant for CWD monitoring between those laid down in Annex I to that Decision and those laid down by this Regulation, Decision 2007/182/EC should be repealed. The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed,

(1)

In order to safeguard public and animal health, products from the Union which are transferred, with or without storage, through third countries are regarded as no longer complying with the requirements for those products laid down in Union legislation. Consequently, Council Directive 97/78/EC (3) provides that Member States are required to ensure that veterinary checks are carried out on consignments of these products introduced into the Union from third countries.

(2)

Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 lays down specific rules on the hygiene of food of animal origin for food business operators, including rules for fishery products. In addition, Regulation (EC) No 854/2004 lays down rules for official controls to be carried out on products of animal origin intended for human consumption. Regulation (EC) No 854/2004 provides that a document meeting certain requirements is to accompany consignments of products of animal origin when they enter the Union and official controls of those products are to take place in accordance with that Regulation.

(3)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 2074/2005 (4) sets out model health certificates and documents for imports of certain products of animal origin for the purposes of Regulations (EC) Nos 853/2004 and 854/2004, including one for imports of fishery products in Annex VI thereto.

(4)

Member States and stakeholder organisations have requested the Commission to establish a model health certificate for consignments of fishery products intended for human consumption caught by vessels flying the flag of a Member State and transferred in third countries, with or without storage, to be signed by the competent authority in the third country in order to harmonise the information to be provided when such consignments are entering the Union territory.

(5)

The model of health certificate should specifically refer to the relevant provisions concerning the landing, unloading and storing of fishery products laid down in Chapters II and VII of Section VIII of Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004.

(6)

The model of health certificate should also be compatible for use with the electronic trade control and expert system (TRACES) (5) used for the exchange of health certificates between the third countries and the Member States.

(7)

It is therefore appropriate to establish a harmonised model of health certificate to be signed by the competent authority in the third country through which the fishery products are transferred, before they are dispatched to the Union.

(8)

Regulation (EC) No 2074/2005 should be amended accordingly.

(9)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed,

(a)

the following Article 6c is inserted:

(b)

Annex VI is amended in accordance with the Annex to this Regulation.

(1)

Annex V to Regulation (EU) 2016/44 lists vessels designated by the United Nations Sanctions Committee in accordance with paragraph 11 of United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2146 (2014). Those vessels are subject to a number of prohibitions under that Regulation, including the prohibition to load, transport or discharge crude oil from Libya and to access ports in the territory of the Union.

(2)

On 20 October 2017, the United Nations Security Council Committee renewed and amended the listing of vessel Capricorn subject to restrictive measures. Therefore, Annex V to Regulation (EU) 2016/44 should be amended accordingly.

(3)

In order to ensure that the measures provided for in this Regulation are effective, this Regulation should enter into force immediately,

(1)

Directive 2011/65/EU requires Member States to ensure that electrical and electronic equipment placed on the market does not contain cadmium.

(2)

Point 39 in Annex III to Directive 2011/65/EU exempted the use of cadmium in colour converting light-emitting diodes (LEDs) for illumination and display applications from the prohibition until 1 July 2014. The Commission received an application for renewal of this exemption before 1 January 2013, in accordance with Article 5(5) of Directive 2011/65/EU.

(3)

Colour converting LEDs using quantum dots have been shown advantageous as compared to earlier technology regarding energy efficiency and colour performance. The overall balance of the use of cadmium-based quantum dots in displays has a positive impact due to their lower energy consumption as compared to currently available alternative technologies. The total negative environmental, health and consumer safety impacts caused by substitution of cadmium-based quantum dots in display applications where quantum dots are used are likely to outweigh the total environmental, health and consumer safety benefits thereof.

(4)

The use of cadmium selenide in downshifting cadmium-based semiconductor nanocrystal quantum dots for use in display lighting applications should therefore be exempted from the prohibition for the period of two years after the publication of the Delegated Directive in the Official Journal of the European Union. This short validity period for the exemption is unlikely to have adverse impacts on innovation and the development of cadmium free alternatives.

(5)

Cadmium-based quantum dot LEDs for illumination are not yet available on the market and their potential advantages in comparison with existing technologies are not properly quantifiable, thus a renewal of the exemption as regards illumination applications is not justified.

(6)

Annex III to Directive 2011/65/EU should therefore be amended accordingly,

(1)

On 31 July 2015, the Council adopted Decision (CFSP) 2015/1333.

(2)

On 20 October 2017, the United Nations Security Council Committee established pursuant to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1970 (2011) renewed and amended the listing of a vessel subject to restrictive measures.

(3)

Annex V to Decision (CFSP) 2015/1333 should therefore be amended accordingly,