(1)

Council Regulation (EEC) No 1382/91 of 21 May 1991 on the submission of data on the landings of fishery products in Member States (2) requires Member States to submit data on the quantities and average prices of fishery products landed on their territory.

(2)

Experience has shown that analyses of the market for fishery products and other economic analyses would not be adversely affected if data were submitted under Community legislation at yearly rather than monthly intervals.

(3)

Analyses would be enhanced if data were broken down by the flag state of fishing vessels carrying out landings.

(4)

Regulation (EEC) No 1382/91 imposes a limit on the extent to which sampling techniques are permitted when the collection and compilation of data place an excessive burden on certain national authorities. In order to improve and simplify the system for the submission of data, it is appropriate to replace that Regulation with a new instrument. Consequently, Regulation (EEC) No 1382/91 should be repealed.

(5)

Since the objective of this Regulation, namely the establishment of a common legal framework for the systematic production of Community statistical data on landings of fishery products in Member States, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can therefore be better achieved at Community level, the Community may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty. In accordance with the principle of proportionality as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that objective.

(6)

Council Regulation (EC) No 322/97 of 17 February 1997 on Community Statistics (3) provides a reference framework for statistics in the field of fisheries. In particular, it requires conformity with principles of impartiality, reliability, relevance, cost-effectiveness, statistical confidentiality and transparency.

(7)

It is important to ensure the uniform application of this Regulation and, in order to do so, to make provision for a Community procedure to help determine the implementing arrangements within an appropriate timescale and to make the necessary technical adaptations.

(8)

The measures necessary for the implementation of this Regulation should be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission (4).

(9)

Since the statistical data on landings of fishery products are an essential tool for the management of the Common Fisheries Policy, it is appropriate to lay down the possibility of using the management procedure provided for by Decision 1999/468/EC for granting Member States transitional periods for the implementation of this Regulation and derogations permitting them to exclude statistical data covering a particular sector of the fisheries industry from the national statistical data submitted.

(10)

On the other hand, power should be conferred on the Commission to establish the conditions under which the Annexes should be technically adapted. Since those measures are of general scope and are designed to amend non-essential elements of this Regulation, they should be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny provided for in Article 5a of Decision 1999/468/EC,

1)

‘Community fishing vessels’ means fishing vessels flying the flag of a Member State and registered in the Community;

2)

‘EFTA fishing vessels’ means fishing vessels flying the flag of, or registered in, an EFTA country;

3)

‘Unit value’ means: