28.9.83 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 259/3 
II 
(Preparatory Acts) 
COMMISSION 
Proposal for a Council Decision concluding the Protocol concerning specially protected 
areas of the Mediterranean Sea 
(Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 16 September 1983) 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN 
COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the 
European Economic Community, and in particular 
Article 235 thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European Par­
liament, 
Whereas the action programmes of the European 
Communities on the environment (') stress the need 
to protect and to purify the sea, in order that it might 
continue to play its part in the preservation and 
development of species, and to maintain the vital 
ecological balance; 
Whereas the second action programme of the 
European Communities on the environment 
underlines the urgent need for international solutions 
to the problem of the development and ecological 
management of coastal regions; 
Whereas the third action programme of the European 
Communities on the environment (2), of which the 
Council and the representatives of the Governments 
of the Member States approved the main principles 
on 7 February 1983, makes particular reference to the 
need for a rational policy for the protection and 
management of natural resources; 
Whereas cooperation with the developing countries, 
and in particular with the Community's 
Mediterranean partners, for the purposes of 
protecting the environment is one of the prime 
objectives of the second action programme of the 
European Communities on the environment; 
(') OJ No C 112, 20. 12. 1973, p. 1; OJ No C 139, 13. 6. 
1977, p. 1. 
(2) OJ No C 46, 17. 2. 1983, p. 1. Whereas Article 4 of the Convention on the 
protection of the Mediterranean Sea against 
pollution, concluded by the Community by Council 
Decision 77/585/EEC (J), empowers the Contracting 
Parties to adopt additional Protocols prescribing 
measures, procedures and standards for the 
implementation of the said Convention; whereas, 
pursuant to this Article, the Mediterranean States 
represented at a conference of plenipotentiaries held 
in Geneva on 2 and 3 April 1982 signed the Protocol 
to the said Convention on specially protected areas of 
the Mediterranean Sea; 
Whereas the Community has also concluded, by 
Decision 77/585/EEC, the Protocol for the 
prevention of pollution of the Mediterranean Sea by 
dumping from ships and aircraft, and, by Council 
Decision 81/420/EEC (4), the Protocol concerning 
cooperation in combating pollution of the 
Mediterranean Sea by oil and other harmful subs­
tances in cases of emergency and, by Council 
Decision 83/101/EEC (5), the Protocol concerning 
the protection of the Mediterranean Sea from land-
based sources of pollution; 
Whereas the Protocol concerning specially protected 
areas of the Mediterranean Sea provides for the 
adoption of measures concerning trade, imports and 
exports of the fauna and flora protected by it and 
could, therefore, affect the common policy and the 
free movement of goods between Member States; 
Whereas some provisions of the said draft Protocol 
could affect Council Directives 76/464/EEC of 4 
May 1976 on pollution caused by certain dangerous 
substances discharged into the aquatic environment of 
the Community (6), 79/409/EEC of 2 April 1979 on 
(') OJ No L 240, 19. 9. 1977, p. 1. 
O OJ No L 162, 19. 6. 1981, p. 4. 
(') OJNoL67, 12.3. 1983, p. 1. 
(6) OJ No L 129, 18. 5. 1976, p. 23. 
No C 259/4 Official Journal of the European Communities 28. 9. 83 
the conservation of wild birds ('), and 79/923/EEC 
of 30 October 1979 on the quality required of 
shellfish waters (2), and Council Regulation (EEC) 
No 348/81 of 20 January 1981 on common rules for 
imports of cetacean products (3); 
Whereas the said Protocol concerning specially 
protected areas of the Mediterranean sets out to 
safeguard the common natural resources of that 
region, to preserve the diversity of the indigenous 
species and to protect certain natural habitats by 
setting up a number of specially protected areas; 
Whereas most of the signatories to the Convention on 
the protection of the Mediterranean Sea against 
pollution and to the annexed Protocols enjoy, within 
the framework of the Community's overall approach 
to the Mediterranean, a special relationship with the 
Community, particularly as regards cooperation; 
whereas the Protocol concerning specially protected 
areas of the Mediterranean lays down detailed rules 
for such cooperation in the sectors which it covers; 
Whereas the Community signed the Protocol relating 
to specially protected areas of the Mediterranean Sea 
of 30 March 1983; Whereas the Community should conclude the 
Protocol concerning specially protected areas of the 
Mediterranean Sea in order to attain, in the course of 
the operation of the common market, one of the 
objectives of the Community in the field of the 
protection of the environment and of the quality of 
life; 
Whereas no provision is made in the Treaty for the 
powers necessary to this end, 
HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS: 
Article 1 
The Protocol concerning specially protected areas of 
the Mediterranean Sea is hereby approved on behalf 
of the European Economic Community. 
The text of the Protocol is annexed to this Decision. 
Article 2 
The President of the Council shall deposit the acts as 
provided for in Article 18 of the Protocol referred to 
in Article 1. 
(») OJ No L 103, 25. 4. 1979, p. 1. 
(2) OJ No L 281, 10. 11. 1979, p. 47. 
(J) OJ No L 39, 12. 2. 1981, p. 1.