26.10.2016   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 395/1

(1)

Council Regulation (EC) No 1342/2008 (3) establishes a long-term plan for cod stocks in the Kattegat, the North Sea, the Skagerrak and the eastern Channel, the west of Scotland and the Irish Sea, and for the fisheries exploiting those stocks. The objective of Regulation (EC) No 1342/2008 is sustainable exploitation that restores and maintains those cod stocks above levels capable of producing maximum sustainable yield (MSY).

(2)

The scientific evaluation of the performance of Regulation (EC) No 1342/2008 carried out by the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) has shown a number of problems with the application of that Regulation. The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) has suggested a re-evaluation of the management strategy, in particular following a change in its perception of the North Sea stock.

(3)

With the application of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (4) as from 1 January 2014, the management framework for cod has changed fundamentally, in particular through the introduction of a landing obligation.

(4)

New multiannual plans for multi-species fisheries in various Atlantic regions, based on Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013, are currently being prepared. Regulation (EC) No 1342/2008 will eventually be superseded, for each relevant area, by those new multiannual plans for multi-species fisheries. Regulation (EC) No 1342/2008 will therefore continue to apply for only a short period of time. However, a number of urgent amendments should nevertheless be made to Regulation (EC) No 1342/2008 to cover the period until the new multiannual plans for multi-species fisheries start to apply.

(5)

The fishing effort regime set out in Regulation (EC) No 1342/2008 resulted in a number of achievements concerning selectivity and other measures to avoid catching cod, but it has become an obstacle to the implementation of the landing obligation, as it hampers further adaptation of fishing patterns, such as the choice of area and gear. The fishing effort regime should therefore be discontinued. As Regulation (EC) No 1342/2008 triggered considerable improvements in selectivity and cod avoidance through incentives that were linked to the fishing effort regime and through national measures (cod avoidance or discard reduction plans), it is of utmost importance that, while the landing obligation is introduced for all catches of cod in accordance with the timetable for its introduction set out in Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013, Member States having a direct interest in the fisheries continue, or further develop, those national measures.

(6)

During a transitional phase in which preparations are ongoing towards multiannual plans for multi-species fisheries in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 in areas now covered by Regulation (EC) No 1342/2008, management measures should take into account appropriate minimum and precautionary biomass levels. If the stocks fall below safeguard biomass levels (MSY Btrigger) available in scientific advice consistent with Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013, all necessary measures to address the situation should be taken.

(7)

In some areas covered by Regulation (EC) No 1342/2008, information on the stock and the fisheries may be insufficient to determine fishing opportunities in accordance with the principle of MSY. In such cases, the precautionary approach should be followed.

(8)

In addition to the fishing effort regime, Regulation (EC) No 1342/2008 introduced a system of special fishing permits linked to a limitation of the total capacity of fishing vessels’ engine power in a relevant area. In order to avoid the disruptive dislocation of fishing activity which could have a negative impact on the stocks’ recovery, it is appropriate to maintain that system, while the fishing effort regime itself is being completely discontinued.

(9)

Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 (5) repealed a number of provisions of Regulation (EC) No 1342/2008 that referred to Annexes II and III thereto. Since there are no other references in Regulation (EC) No 1342/2008 to those Annexes, they became obsolete and should be deleted.

(10)

Regulation (EC) No 1342/2008 should therefore be amended accordingly,

(1)

Article 2 is replaced by the following:

‘Article 2

Definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation, the definitions laid down in Article 4(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (*) shall apply.

(*)  Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 on the Common Fisheries Policy, amending Council Regulations (EC) No 1954/2003 and (EC) No 1224/2009 and repealing Council Regulations (EC) No 2371/2002 and (EC) No 639/2004 and Council Decision 2004/585/EC (OJ L 354, 28.12.2013, p. 22).’;"

(2)

Article 4 is deleted;

(3)

Article 5 is replaced by the following:

‘Article 5

Objective of the plan

1.   The plan referred to in Article 1 shall aim to ensure exploitation that restores and maintains the cod stocks above levels which can produce maximum sustainable yield.

2.   Any management measure taken pursuant to this Regulation shall be consistent with the requirements laid down in Article 2(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 and with the principles and aims of that Regulation.’;

(4)

Article 6 is replaced by the following:

‘Article 6

Minimum and precautionary biomass levels

When adopting management measures, minimum and precautionary biomass levels for each of the cod stocks shall be consistent with the objectives of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013.’;

(5)

Articles 7 and 8 are deleted;

(6)

Article 9 is replaced by the following:

‘Article 9

Setting of TACs in poor data conditions

Where, due to a lack of sufficiently accurate and representative information, fishing opportunities cannot be determined in accordance with Article 5(1), the fixing of fishing opportunities shall be based on the precautionary approach in accordance with Article 9(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013, taking into account trends in the cod stock and in the fishing activity, and ensuring at least a comparable degree of conservation of the relevant stocks.’;

(7)

after Article 9, a new chapter heading is inserted:

‘CHAPTER IIa

MEMBER STATES’ OBLIGATIONS’;

(8)

Article 10 is replaced by the following:

‘Article 10

Fishing authorisations and capacity ceilings

1.   For each of the geographical areas referred to in Article 1 of this Regulation, each Member State shall issue fishing authorisations in accordance with Article 7 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 (**) for vessels flying its flag which engage in fishing activities in that area and using one of the following gears:

2.   Without prejudice to the capacity ceilings set out in Annex II to Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013, for each of the geographical areas referred to in Article 1 of this Regulation, the total capacity expressed in kW of the vessels having fishing authorisations issued in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article shall not be greater than the maximum capacity of the vessels that have been active in 2006 or 2007 using one of the gears referred to in paragraph 1 in the geographical area concerned.

3.   Each Member State shall establish and maintain a list of vessels holding the fishing authorisation referred to in paragraph 1 and make it available on its official website to the Commission and other Member States.

(**)  Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 of 20 November 2009 establishing a Union control system for ensuring compliance with the rules of the common fisheries policy, amending Regulations (EC) No 847/96, (EC) No 2371/2002, (EC) No 811/2004, (EC) No 768/2005, (EC) No 2115/2005, (EC) No 2166/2005, (EC) No 388/2006, (EC) No 509/2007, (EC) No 676/2007, (EC) No 1098/2007, (EC) No 1300/2008, (EC) No 1342/2008 and repealing Regulations (EEC) No 2847/93, (EC) No 1627/94 and (EC) No 1966/2006 (OJ L 343, 22.12.2009, p. 1).’;"

(9)

Chapter III is deleted.

(10)

Articles 30 and 31 are deleted;

(11)

Annexes I, II, III and IV are deleted.

26.10.2016   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 395/5

1.

The European Commission submitted the proposal on 14 September 2012 (1).

2.

The European Economic and Social Committee adopted its opinion on 12 December 2012 (2).

3.

On 19 December 2012, the Council decided to split the proposal in two parts (3) and amended one part of the existing cod plan by Council Regulation (EU) No 1243/2012 (4).

4.

The European Parliament adopted a position at first reading on 11 June 2013 (5).

5.

On 1 December 2015 the Court of Justice annulled Council Regulation (EU) No 1243/2012 by considering that the proposal should have been adopted on the basis of Article 43(2) and not 43(3) (6). However, the Court maintained the effects of that Regulation until the entry into force of a new Regulation based on Article 43(2) TFUE, at the latest by 31 December 2016.

6.

On 27 April 2016, Coreper provided the Presidency with an initial mandate to conduct informal negotiations for an amending Regulation based on Article 43(2) TFEU (7). Following a revision by the European Parliament of its negotiating position which Council received on 7 June 2016 (8), the Presidency's mandate was revised on 22 June 2016 (9).

7.

During a trilogue meeting on 29 June 2016, the institutions' negotiators reached a political compromise. With a letter dated 13 July 2016, the Chair of the European Parliament's Committee on Fisheries informed the Chair of Coreper 1 that, should the Council transmit formally to the European Parliament its position as agreed, subject to legal-linguistic verification, he will recommend to the Plenary that the Council's position be accepted without amendments at Parliament's second reading. The compromise reached on 29 June 2016 was endorsed by Coreper on 20 July 2016 (10), and received Council's political agreement on 27 July 2016 (11).

8.

The aim of the proposal was to amend the existing Regulation of 2008 for a long-term plan for cod stocks (12) ("cod plan"). The proposal suggests inter alia to insert a certain flexibility into the rules on Total Allowable Catches, to better harmonise the calculation of fishing effort, and to insert new and amended incentives into the system of fishing effort restrictions which aim at avoiding cod and reducing discards.

9.

The Parliament's position at first reading supported a number of amendments to the proposal which Council also supported through its - later annulled - Regulation (EU) No 1243/2012. However, the co-legislators, in agreement with the Commission, opted for a substantial revision of their positions in light of the fact that the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) has, since 2014, changed the management framework for multiannual plans.

10.

The change to the management framework principally affected the discussion on the cod plan amendment in three ways:

11.

The Council's position contains an amendment to the cod plan's objective (Article 1 (3) of the Council's position). This is justified by the fact that the Basic Regulation stipulates the overall conservation objective for managing stocks, and by the intention to avoid an in-depth review of biological reference points for cod stocks which should be undertaken through the successor multiannual plans. The solution found together with the European Parliament is similar to the one agreed for the recently adopted multiannual plan for the stocks of cod, herring and sprat in the Baltic Sea (14).

12.

The Council deleted all provisions relating to effort regulation (see Article 1 (1), (2), (9) to (11) of the Council's position). This position corresponds to the revised Parliament's position which supported this move with a view to eliminating an obstacle to the implementation of the landing obligation which, since 2016, is being introduced in the North East Atlantic fisheries. This more radical move replaced amendments 4 and 5, 9 to 17 and 19 to 21 of the Parliament's first reading position of 2013, which were motivated by similar concerns (simplification, flexibility), but still within the system of regulating fishing effort.

13.

The Council maintained in the cod plan the Member States' obligation to limit the overall fishing capacity (in kW) for the regulated gears in an area (Article 1 (8) of the Council's position). This obligation, which previously formed part of the chapter on effort regulation, is now fully separate.

14.

In line with the Parliament's initial amendments 8 and 18, Council agreed to insert a recital (recital 5) that stresses the importance of Member State measures on discard reduction and cod avoidance, as these were considered valuable achievements under the cod plan which could facilitate the implementation of the landing obligation.

15.

The Council's position shortens the rules on total allowable catches (Articles 6 to 10 of the cod plan) and makes them more flexible. In particular, Article 6 no longer contains precautionary spawning biomass levels, as these levels should be revisited by the co-legislators upon Commission proposals on new multiannual management plans, together with the related management obligations (Articles 7 and 8 of the cod plan).

16.

The simplification of Article 6 and deletion of Articles 7 and 8 of the cod plan (see Article 1 (4) and (5) of the Council's position) clearly show the transitional nature of the amended cod plan, as expressed in the new recital 6. The European Parliament's revised negotiating position confirmed this approach. The co-legislators also considered the need to agree on the amendments to the cod plan still in 2016, and the fact that scientific advice for the cod stock in the North Sea suggests a re-evaluation of the management strategy (see amendment to recital 2).

17.

The Commission's proposal concerning the reformulation of Article 9 on a special procedure for setting TACs in data-poor situations had already received an amendment during the Parliament's first reading (amendment 7). The Council's position, reflecting on a revised negotiating position of the European Parliament, goes in the same direction of reducing the rigidity, but favours a much lower level of detail.

18.

Finally, Article 10 of the cod plan is deleted in the Council's position following the Parliament's request stating that it was no longer in line with the understanding of the co-legislators with respect to deciding on policy choices.

19.

In establishing its position, the Council has taken full account of the Commission's proposal and of the European Parliament's position at first reading and revised negotiating position.