AGREEMENT ON FISHERIES between the European Economic Community and the Government of Sweden

THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY (hereinafter referred to as "the Community"),

of the one part, and

THE GOVERNMENT OF SWEDEN,

of the other part,

RECALLING the close relations between the Community and Sweden;

CONSIDERING their common desire to ensure the conservation and rational management of the fish stocks of the waters adjacent to their coasts;

NOTING THAT the extension of the fishery zones of certain coastal states in the Atlantic region may cause a transfer of fishing effort which might adversely affect the state of these resources;

RECOGNIZING that in these circumstances the coastal states in the area have a primary interest to assure by appropriate measures the conservation and rational management of the living resources;

TAKING INTO ACCOUNT the work of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea;

AFFIRMING that the extension by coastal states of their areas of jurisdiction over the living resources, and the exercise within these areas of sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring, exploiting, conserving and managing these resources, should be conducted pursuant to and in accordance with principles of international law;

HAVING REGARD to the fact that the Community has agreed that the limits of the fishery zones of its Member States (hereinafter referred to as the area of fisheries jurisdiction of the Community) shall extend up to 200 nautical miles, fishing within these limits being subject to the common fisheries policy of the Community;

DESIROUS of establishing the terms and conditions pertaining to fisheries of mutual concern,

HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

Each Party shall grant access to fishing vessels of the other Party to fish within its area of fisheries jurisdiction in accordance with the provisions set out below.

Article 2

Each Party shall, as appropriate, determine annually for its area of fisheries jurisdiction, subject to adjustment when necessary to meet unforeseen circumstances, and on the basis of the need for rational management of the living resources:

(a) the total allowable catch for individual stocks or complexes of stocks, taking into account the best scientific evidence available to it, the interdependence of stocks, the work of appropriate international organizations and other relevant factors;

(b) after appropriate consultations, allotments for fishing vessels of the other Party and the areas within which these allotments may be fished. The two Parties shall have as their aim the realization of a satisfactory balance between their fishing possibilities in maritime areas of mutual interest, taking into account, as a matter of priority, the mutual interests in the areas bordering on both Parties. In determining these fishing possibilities, each Party shall take into account: (i) the need to minimize difficulties for the Party whose fishing possibilities might be reduced in the course of the establishment of the balance referred to above;

(ii) all other relevant factors.

2. The measures to regulate fisheries taken by each Party shall not be of such a nature as to jeopardize the full exercise of the fishing rights allocated under the Agreement.

Article 3

Each Party may require that fishing in its area of fisheries jurisdiction by fishing vessels of the other Party shall be subject to licence. The competent authority of each Party shall, as appropriate, communicate in due time to the other Party the name, registration number, and other relevant particulars of the fishing vessels which shall be eligible to fish within the area of fisheries jurisdiction of the other Party. The second Party shall thereupon issue such licences in a manner commensurate with the possibilities for fishing granted under the provisions of Article 2 (1) (b).

Article 4

Fishing vessels of one Party shall, when fishing within the area of fisheries jurisdiction of the other Party, comply with the conservation measures, supervisory measures and other provisions governing fishing activities in that area. Appropriate advance notice shall be given of any new measures, conditions or provisions.

Article 5

1. Each Party shall take all necessary measures to ensure compliance with the provisions of this Agreement and other relevant regulations by its vessels.

2. Each Party may take within its area of fisheries jurisdiction such measures, in conformity with international law, as may be necessary to ensure compliance with the provisions of this Agreement by vessels of the other Party.

Article 6

The Parties undertake to cooperate to ensure proper managment and conservation of the living resources of the sea, and to facilitate the necessary scientific research in this respect, in particular with regard to:

(a) stocks occurring within the areas of fisheries jurisdiction of both Parties, with a view to achieving, as far as practicable, harmonization of measures for the regulation of fisheries in respect of such stocks;

(b) stocks of common interest occurring within the area of fisheries jurisdiction of both Parties and in the area beyond and adjacent to those areas.

Article 7

1. The Parties agree to consult on questions relating to the implementation and proper functioning of this Agreement.

2. In the event of a dispute concerning the interpretation or application of this Agreement such a dispute shall be the subject of consultations between the Parties.

If no settlement is reached following such consultations, and where it is claimed that a Party has manifestly failed to comply with specific provisions or conditions established by the present Agreement, the dispute shall be the subject of arbitration under the conditions laid down in the Annex, provided that sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring, exploiting, conserving and managing living resources within their fishery zones shall not be called in question.

Article 8

This Agreement shall be without prejudice to other existing Agreements between the two Parties or to existing Agreements concerning fishing by vessels of one Party within the area of fisheries jurisdiction of the other Party.

Article 9

Nothing contained in the present Agreement shall affect or prejudice in any manner the views of either Party with respect to any question relating to the Law of the Sea.

Article 10

This Agreement shall apply, on the one hand, to the territories in which the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community is applied, under the conditions laid down in that Treaty, and, on the other hand, to the territory of Sweden.

Article 11

This Agreement shall enter into force on the date on which the Parties notify each other of the completion of the procedures necessary for this purpose. Pending its entry into force it shall be applied provisionally from the date of signature.

Article 12

This Agreement shall remain in force for an initial period of 10 years after the date of its entry into force. In the event of the Agreement not being terminated by either Party through notice of termination given at least nine months before the expiry of that period, it shall remain in force for additional periods of six years duration thereafter, provided that notice of termination has not been given at least nine months before the expiry of any such period.

Article 13

The Parties agree to examine this Agreement upon the conclusion of the negotiations for a Multilateral Treaty resulting from the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned, being duly authorized for this purpose, have signed this Agreement.

Udfærdiget i Bruxelles, den enogtyvende marts nitten hundrede og syvoghalvfjerds i to eksemplarer på dansk, engelsk, fransk, italiensk, nederlandsk, tysk og svensk, idet hver af disse tekster har samme gyldighed.

Geschehen zu Brüssel am einundzwanzigsten März neunzehnhundertsiebenundsiebzig in zwei Urschriften in dänischer, deutscher, englischer, französischer, italienischer, niederländischer und schwedischer Sprache, wobei jeder Wortlaut gleichermaßen verbindlich ist.

Done at Brussels on the twenty-first day of March in the year one thousand nine hundred and seventy-seven, in duplicate in the Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian and Swedish languages, each of these texts being equally authentic.

Fait à Bruxelles, le vingt et un mars mil neuf cent soixante-dix-sept, en double exemplaire, en langues allemande, anglaise, danoise, française, italienne, néerlandaise et suédoise, chacun de ces textes faisant également foi.

Fatto a Bruxelles, il ventuno marzo millenovecentosettantasette, in duplice copia in lingua danese, francese, inglese, italiana, olandese, tedesca e svedese, ciascuno di detti testi facente ugualmente fede.

Gedaan te Brussel, op eenentwintig maart negentienhonderd zevenenzeventig, in twee exemplaren in de Deense, de Duitse, de Engelse, de Franse, de Italiaanse, de Nederlandse en de Zweedse taal, zijnde alle teksten gelijkelijk authentiek.

Som skedde i Bryssel den tjugoförsta mars nittonhundrasjuttiosju, i två exemplar på svenska, danska, engelska, franska, italienska, nederländska och tyska språken, varvid envar av dessa texter skall ha lika vitsord.

For Rådet for De europæiske Fællesskaber

Für den Rat der Europäischen Gemeinschaften

For the Council of the European Communities

Pour le Conseil des Communautés européennes

Per il Consiglio delle Comunità europee

Voor de Raad van de Europese Gemeenschappen

För Rådet för De Europeiska Gemenskaperna

For Sveriges regering

For the Government of Sweden

Pour le gouvernement de la Suède

Per il governo svedese

Voor de Regering van Zweden

För Sveriges Regering

ANNEX 1.

Within two months from the date on which either Party has formally requested that a dispute be submitted to arbitration in accordance with Article 7 (2) of the Agreement, each Party shall appoint one member of the arbitral tribunal and these two members shall, within three months from the same date, agree upon a national of a third State as third member to be appointed by the two Parties.

2. The Party requesting arbitration shall, at the time of treating the request, submit a statement of its claim and the grounds on which such claim is based.

3. If the periods specified in paragraph 1 have not been observed, either Party may, in the absence of any other relevant arrangement, invite the President of the International Court of Justice to make the necessary appointments. If the President is a national of either Party or if he is otherwise prevented from discharging the said function, the Vice-President should make the necessary appointments. If the Vice-President is a national of either Party or if he, too, is prevented from discharging the said function, the Member of the Court next in seniority who is not a national of either Party should make the necessary appointments.

4. The arbitral tribunal shall, on the basis of the present Agreement and of other rules of international law, reach its decisions by a majority of votes. Such decisions shall be binding. Although the cost of the arbitral tribunal shall normally be borne in equal parts by both Parties, the arbitral tribunal is empowered to rule otherwise concerning costs. In all other respects, the arbitral tribunal shall determine its own organization and procedure.