# EUR-Lex - 52013PC0417 - EN

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# 52013PC0417

**Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending certain Regulations in the field of fisheries and animal health by reason of the change of status of Mayotte with regard to the Union /* COM/2013/0417 final - 2013/0191 (COD) */**

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

1.           CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL

By Decision 2012/419/EUi, the
European Council amended the status of Mayotte with regard to the Union with effect from 1 January 2014. Therefore, from that date Mayotte will cease to be
an overseas territory to become an outermost region within the meaning of
Articles 349 and 355(1) TFEU. Union law will apply to Mayotte from 1 January
2014.

This proposal takes account of requests made
by the French authorities, to have the Union acquis amended through specific
measures applicable to Mayotte in different areas, such as fisheries and animal
health.

The examination of the situation regarding
Mayotte has revealed that it is necessary to protect the sensitive biological
situation of its waters and therefore to include the waters around Mayotte
within the scope of application of Regulation (EC) No 850/98 of 30 March 1998
for the conservation of fishery resources through technical measures for the
protection of juveniles of marine organism. . In certain respects, France needs additional time to comply with the Union acquis with regard to Mayotte. This
goes in particular to the registering and control obligations in the area of
fisheries, to the extent it concerns certain vessels dispersed around the
island and not associated to a specific landing site.

In the area of animal health, it appears
justified to grant additional time to comply with Regulation (EC) No 1069/2009
of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 laying down
health rules as regards animal by-products and derived products not intended
for human consumption and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1774/2002, since Mayotte
has currently no industrial capacity for the processing of animal by-products.

In the interest of simplicity and speediness,
it has been considered expedient not to resort to individual proposals for each
of the acts concerned but, where legally possible, to bundle the amendments to
several acts in a single proposal. The amendments proposed in the present
document all relate to Regulations and fall under the ordinary legislative
procedure (Articles 289(1) and 294 TFEU).

2.           RESULTS OF CONSULTATIONS
WITH THE INTERESTED PARTIES AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS

The Commission has not used an impact assessment. However, when
examining the various issues and in particular the requests made by France, it had contacts with representatives of national and regional authorities in order
to better evaluate the grounds of the specific measures.

3.           LEGAL ELEMENTS OF THE
PROPOSAL

In accordance with Article 43(2) TFEU, the European Parliament and
the Council are empowered to define the provisions necessary for the pursuit of
the objectives of the common fisheries policy.

Under this legal basis, it is proposed to amend four Council
Regulations in the areas of fisheries, having regard to the particular
situation of Mayotte as summarised above and set out in detail in the draft
recitals:

- Council Regulation (EC) No 850/98 of 30
March 1998 in order to include the waters around Mayotte and to prohibit the
use of purse-seines on tuna and tuna-like schools of fish inside the area
within 24 miles from the baselines of the island in order to preserve the
shoals of large migratory fish in the vicinity of the island of Mayotte;

- Council Regulation (EC) No 104/2000 of 17
December 1999 on the common organisation of the markets in fishery and
aquaculture products

- Council Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002 of
20 December 2002 in order to introduce specific measures with respect to the
fleet register and the access regime;

- Council Regulation (EC) No 639/2004 of 30
March 2004 in order to introduce the development plan presented by France to
the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) as a reference for the capacity of the
fleet registered in the ports of Mayotte and to allow France to increase its
fleet up to the objectives of the said development plan;

- Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 of
20 November 2009 in order to provide for transitional measures and temporary
derogations from certain rules concerning the control of fishing vessels in
view of progressively comply with all the Union control obligations and
objectives of that Regulation.

Pursuant to Article 168(4)(b) TFEU, the European Parliament and the Council
are entitled to adopt measures in the veterinary and phytosanitary fields which
have as their direct objective the protection of public health.

Under this legal basis, it is proposed to modify Regulation (EC) No
1069/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 in
order to grant France a transitional period of five years with regard to Mayotte, allowing it to establish the infrastructure necessary for the identification,
handling, transport, treatment and disposal of animal by-products.

4.           BUDGETARY IMPLICATION

The proposal has no impact on the budget of
the European Union.

2013/0191 (COD)

Proposal for a

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
AND OF THE COUNCIL

amending certain Regulations in the field
of fisheries and animal health by reason of the change of status of Mayotte
with regard to the Union

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE
COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the
Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 43(2) and Article
168(4)(b) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European
Commission,

After transmission of the draft legislative
act to the national Parliaments,

Having regard to the opinion of the
European Economic and Social Committee[1],

Having regard to the opinion of the
Committee of the Regions[2],

Acting in accordance with the ordinary
legislative procedure,

Whereas:

(1)       By Decision 2012/419/EU[3], the European Council amended
the status of Mayotte with regard to the Union with effect from 1 January 2014.
Therefore, from that date Mayotte will cease to be an overseas territory to
become an outermost region within the meaning of Articles 349 and 355(1) TFEU.
Union law will apply to Mayotte from 1 January 2014. It is
appropriate to provide for certain specific measures justified by the
particular situation of Mayotte in a number of areas.

(2)       In the field of fisheries
and animal health, the following Regulations should be amended.

(3)       As regards Council
Regulation (EC) No 850/98 of 30 March 1998 for the conservation of fishery
resources through technical measures for the protection of juveniles of marine
organism[4],
the waters around Mayotte should be included within the scope of that
Regulation and the use of purse-seines on tuna and tuna-like schools of fish
inside the area within 24 miles from the baselines of the island should be
prohibited in order to preserve the shoals of large migratory fish in the
vicinity of the island of Mayotte.

(4)       As regards Council
Regulation (EC) No 104/2000 of 17 December 1999 on the common organisation of
the markets in fishery and aquaculture products[5],
in view of the very fragmented and under-developed marketing schemes of
Mayotte, the application of the rules on the labelling of fishery products
would impose on retailers a burden that is disproportionate to the information
that will be transmitted to the consumer. It is therefore appropriate to
provide for a temporary derogation from the rules concerning the labelling of
fishery products offered for retail sale to the final consumer in Mayotte.

(5)       As regards Council
Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002 of 20 December 2002 on the conservation and
sustainable exploitation of fisheries resources under the Common Fisheries
Policy[6],
specific measures should be introduced with respect to the fleet register and
the access regime.

(6)       First, an important part
of the fleet flying the flag of France and operating from the French Department
of Mayotte is composed by vessels of less than 9 meters which are dispersed
around the island, have no specific landing sites and still need to be
identified, measured and equipped with minimum safety implements in order to be
included in the register of Union fishing vessels; as a consequence, France
will not be able to complete this register until 31 December 2016. France should, however, install a provisional fleet register guaranteeing minimum
identification of the vessels of this segment in order to avoid proliferation
of informal fishing vessels.

(7)       Second, it is necessary
for the protection of the sensitive biological situation of the waters around Mayotte and the preservation of the local economy of that island, having regard to its
structural, social and economic situation, to limit certain fishing activities
in those waters to vessels registered in the ports of that island.

(8)       As regards Council
Regulation (EC) No 639/2004 of 30 March 2004 on the management of fishing
fleets registered in the Community outermost regions[7], a particular feature of Mayotte is that no objective has been set for its fleet under Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002
which refers to the Multiannual Guidance Programme 1997-2002. From the
point of view of conservation of fish resources, it is appropriate to freeze
the fishing capacity of the fleets at current levels, especially for the
segment of large vessels with a great fishing capacity. However, for smaller
vessels, in view of the fact that France presented to the Indian Ocean Tuna
Commission (IOTC) a development plan indicating the expected evolution of the
fleet based in Mayotte, to which no IOTC contracting party, including the
Union, has objected, it is appropriate to use the objectives of that plan as
reference levels for the capacity of the fleet registered in the ports of
Mayotte and to allow France to increase its fleet up to the objectives of its
development plan.

(9)       As regards Regulation (EC)
No 1069/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009
laying down health rules as regards animal by-products and derived products not
intended for human consumption and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1774/2002[8], it should be noted that Mayotte has no industrial capacity for the processing of animal by-products. It is
therefore appropriate to allow France a period of five years in order to
establish the infrastructure necessary for the identification, handling,
transport, treatment and disposal of animal by-products in Mayotte in full
compliance with Regulation (EC) No 1069/2009.

(10)     As regards Council
Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 of 20 November 2009 establishing a Community
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[9]
, it appears that France will not be in a position to comply with all Union
control obligations for the segment "Mayotte. Pelagic and demersal
species. Length < 9m" of the fleet of Mayotte by the date on which Mayotte becomes an outermost region. The vessels of that segment, dispersed around the
island, have no specific landing sites and still need to be identified. In
addition, it is necessary to train fishermen and controllers and to set up the
appropriate administrative and physical infrastructure. It is therefore
necessary to provide for a temporary derogation from certain rules concerning
the control of fishing vessels and their characteristics, their activities at
sea, their gear and their catches at all stages from the vessel to the market
in respect of that segment of the fleet. However, in order to attain at least
some of the most important objectives of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009, France should establish a national control system allowing it to control and monitor the activities
of that segment of the fleet and to comply with the international reporting
obligations of the Union.

(11)     Regulations (EC) No 850/98,
(EC) No 104/2000, (EC) No 2371/2002, (EC) No 639/2004, (EC) No 1069/2009 and (EC)
No 1224/2009 should therefore be amended accordingly,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1
Amendments to Regulation (EC) No 850/98

Regulation (EC) No 850/98 is amended as
follows:

(1)
In Article 2(1), point (h) is replaced by the
following:

"(h)    Region 8:

All waters off the coasts of the French
departments of Réunion and Mayotte that come under the sovereignty or
jurisdiction of France.";

(2)
The following Article 34a is inserted after
Article 34:

"Article 34a

Restrictions on fishing activities in
the 24-mile zone around the island of Mayotte

Vessels shall be prohibited from using any
purse-seine on tuna and tuna-like schools of fish inside the areas within 24
miles of the coasts of the island of Mayotte, measured from the baselines from
which territorial waters are measured."

Article 2
Amendment to Regulation (EC) No 104/2000

In Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No
104/2000, the following paragraph 3a is inserted after paragraph 3:

"3a.      Until 16 December 2016,
paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 shall not apply to products offered for retail sale to
the final consumer in Mayotte."

Article 3
Amendments to Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002

Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002 is amended as
follows:

(1)
In Article 15, the following paragraphs 5 and 6
are added:

“5.     By way of derogation from paragraph 1,
 France shall be exempted until 31 December 2016 from the obligation to include
in its register of Union fishing vessels those vessels which are less than 9
meters in overall length and operate from Mayotte.

6.      Until 31 December 2016, France shall keep a provisional register of fishing vessels which are less than 9 meters in overall
length and operate from Mayotte. That register shall contain, for each vessel,
at least its name, its overall length and an identification code.”

(2)
The following Article 18a is inserted after
Article 18:

"Article 18a

Mayotte

By way of derogation from Article 17, in
the waters up to 100 nautical miles from the baselines of Mayotte, France may
restrict fishing to fishing vessels registered in the ports of Mayotte, either
in the register of Union vessels or in the provisional register referred to in
Article 15(6), except for Union vessels that, within the two years preceding 1
January 2014, fished in those waters for at least 40 days insofar as they do
not exceed the fishing effort traditionally exerted."

Article 4
Amendment to Regulation (EC) No 639/2004

In Regulation (EC) No 639/2004, the
following Article 1a is inserted after Article 1:

“Article 1a

Fleet of Mayotte

1.           By way of derogation from
Article 1(1)(a), the reference levels for fishing vessels registered in the
ports of Mayotte, either in the register of Union vessels or in the provisional
register referred to in Article 15(6) of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002, shall be
the capacity of that fleet at 31 December 2013.

However, for fishing vessels which are between
8 and 12 meters in overall length and use longlines and fishing vessels
which are less than 9 meters in overall length, the reference level shall be
the capacity foreseen in the development plan presented by France to the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission on 7 January 2011.

2.           By way of derogation from
Article 13 of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002, France shall be authorised to
introduce new capacity in the fleet segments defined for fishing vessels which
are between 8 and 12 meters in overall length and use longlines and fishing
vessels which are less than 9 meters in overall length without the withdrawal
of an equivalent capacity.”

Article 5
Amendment to Regulation (EC) No 1069/2009

In Regulation (EC) No 1069/2009, Article 56
is replaced by the following:

"Article 56

Entry into force

This Regulation shall enter into force on
the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal
of the European Union.

It shall apply from 4 March 2011.

However, Article 4 shall apply to Mayotte from 1 January 2019. Animal by-products and derived products generated in Mayotte before 1 January 2019 shall be disposed of in accordance with Article 19(1)(b).

This Regulation shall be binding
in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.”

Article 6
Amendment to Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009

In Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009, the
following Article 2a is inserted after Article 2:

"Article 2a

Application of the Community control
system to certain segments of the fleet of the French overseas department of Mayotte

1.           Until 31 December 2016,
Article 5(3) and Articles 6, 8, 41, 56, 58 to 62, 66, 68 and 109 shall not
apply to France in respect of fishing vessels which are less than 9 meters
in overall length and operate from Mayotte, their activities and their catch.

2.           By 1 January 2014, France shall establish a national scheme of control applicable to fishing vessels which are less
than 9 meters in overall length and operate from Mayotte. That scheme shall
comply with the following requirements:

(a)
a single authority, located in Mayotte, shall
coordinate the control activities of all local authorities;

(b)
control, inspection and enforcement shall be
carried out on a non-discriminatory basis;

(c)
the scheme shall ensure the control of catches
of species subject to management under the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission and of
species subject to protection;

(d)
the scheme shall ensure the control of access to
waters around Mayotte, in particular to areas subject to access restrictions
applicable to certain segments of the fleet;

(e)
the scheme shall set as a priority the objective
of mapping fishing activities around the island with a view to prepare the
grounds for targeted action in terms of control.

(3)
By 30 September 2014 France shall present to the
Commission an action plan setting out the measures to be taken in order to
ensure the full implementation of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 from 1 January
2017 concerning fishing vessels which are less than 9 meters in overall length
and operate from the French department of Mayotte. The action plan shall be the
subject of a dialogue between France and the Commission. France shall take all necessary measures to implement that action plan.”

Article 7
Entry into force

This Regulation shall enter into force on
the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal
of the European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding
in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels,

For the European Parliament                       For
the Council

The President                                                 The
President

i               OL L 204, 31.7.2012, p.131.

[1]               OJ C , , p. .

[2]               OJ C , , p. .

[3]               OL L 204, 31.7.2012, p.131.

[4]               OJ L 125, 27.4.1998, p. 1.

[5]               OJ L 17, 21.1.2000, p. 22.

[6]               OJ L 320, 5.12.2001, p. 7.

[7]               OJ L 102, 7.4.2004, p. 9.

[8]               OJ L 300, 14.11.2009, p.1.

[9]               OJ L 343, 22.12.2009, p.1.