Partnership Agreement in the fisheries sector between the European Community and the Union of the Comoros
Date: 2007-05-03
Institutions: Comoros, European Community
Subjects: Comoros, European Community, cooperation agreement (EU), economic development, fishery management, fishing agreement, fishing area, fishing rights, ratification of an agreement

20.10.2006

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 290/7

in the fisheries sector between the European Community and the Union of the Comoros

PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT

THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY,

hereinafter referred to as ‘the Community’,

and

THE UNION OF THE COMOROS,

hereinafter referred to as ‘the Comoros’,

hereinafter referred to as ‘the Parties’,

CONSIDERING the close working relationship between the Community and the Comoros, particularly in the context of
the Cotonou Agreement, and their mutual desire to intensify that relationship,

HAVING REGARD TO the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,

AWARE OF the importance of the principles established by the Code of conduct for responsible fisheries adopted at the
FAO Conference in 1995,

DETERMINED to cooperate, in their mutual interest, in promoting the introduction of responsible fisheries to ensure the
long-term conservation and sustainable exploitation of marine living resources,

PERSUADED that such cooperation must take the form of complementary initiatives and measures which, whether taken
jointly or separately, follow consistent policies and ensure synergy,

DECIDED, to those ends, to establish a dialogue with a view to defining a sectoral fisheries policy in the Comoros and
identifying the appropriate means of ensuring that this policy is effectively implemented and that economic operators and
civil society are involved in the process,

DESIROUS of establishing terms and conditions governing the fishing activities of Community vessels in Comorian
waters and Community support for the introduction of responsible fishing in those waters,

RESOLVED to pursue closer economic cooperation in the fishing industry and in related activities through the setting up
and development of joint enterprises involving undertakings from both Parties,

HEREBY AGREE AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

Object

— the conditions governing access for Community fishing

vessels to Comorian waters,

This Agreement establishes the principles, rules and procedures
governing:

— economic, financial, technical and scientific cooperation in
the fisheries sector with a view to introducing responsible
fishing in Comorian waters to guarantee the conservation
and sustainable exploitation of
resources, and
developing the Comorian fisheries sector,

fisheries

— the arrangements for policing fisheries in Comorian waters
with a view to ensuring that the above rules and conditions
are complied with, the measures for the conservation and
management of fish stocks are effective, and illegal, unde-
clared or unregulated fishing is prevented,

— partnerships between undertakings aimed at developing, in
the common interest, economic and related activities in the
fisheries sector.

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Official Journal of the European Union

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Article 2

Definitions

For the purposes of this Agreement:

(a)

‘Comorian authorities’ means the Ministry with responsi-
bility for fisheries in the Comoros;

(b) ‘Community authorities’ means the European Commission;

Labour Organisation (ILO) Declaration on Fundamental Prin-
ciples and Rights at Work, which shall apply automatically to
the corresponding contracts and general terms of employment,
in particular as regards freedom of association and the effective
recognition of the right to collective bargaining, and the elim-
ination of discrimination in respect of employment and occu-
pation.

Article 4

Scientific cooperation

(c)

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

During the period covered by the Agreement, the Parties
1.
shall endeavour to monitor the state of resources in Comorian
waters.

(d) ‘joint enterprise’ means a commercial company set up in the
Comoros by vessel owners or national enterprises from the
Parties to carry on fishing or related activities;

(e)

‘Joint Committee’ means a committee made up of represen-
tatives of
the Community and the Comoros whose
functions are described in Article 9 of this Agreement.

Article 3

Principles and objectives underlying the implementation of
this Agreement

1.
The Parties hereby undertake to promote responsible
fishing in Comorian waters based on the principle of non-discri-
mination between the different fleets fishing in those waters,
concluded between
without prejudice
developing countries within a geographical region,
including
reciprocal fisheries agreements.

agreements

to the

2. Without prejudice to Comorian sovereignty, the Parties
shall cooperate with a view to defining and implementing a
sectoral fisheries policy in Comorian waters and shall to that
end initiate a policy dialogue on the necessary reforms. They
hereby undertake not to adopt measures in this area without
first consulting one another.

The Parties shall also cooperate in carrying out ex-ante,
3.
ongoing and ex-post evaluations, both jointly and unilaterally,
of measures, programmes and actions implemented on the basis
of this Agreement.

The Parties hereby undertake

4.
this
Agreement is implemented in accordance with the principles
of good economic and social governance.

to ensure

that

2.
Based on the recommendations and resolutions adopted
within the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) and the best
available scientific advice, the Parties shall consult one another
within the Joint Committee provided for in Article 9 and, where
necessary and by mutual agreement, take measures to ensure
the sustainable management of fisheries resources.

3.
The Parties hereby undertake to consult each other, either
directly or within the IOTC, to ensure the management and
conservation of living resources in the Indian Ocean, and to
cooperate in the relevant scientific research.

Article 5

Access for Community vessels to Comorian fisheries

1.
The Comoros undertakes to authorise Community vessels
to carry on fishing activities in its fishing zone in accordance
with this Agreement, including the Protocol and Annex.

The fishing activities governed by this Agreement shall be
2.
subject to the laws and regulations in force in the Comoros. The
Comorian authorities
shall notify the Commission of any
amendments to that legislation.

3.
The Parties shall assume responsibility for the effective
application of
in the
the fisheries monitoring provisions
the
Protocol. Community
shall
Comorian authorities responsible for carrying out such moni-
toring.

cooperate with

vessels

5.
In particular, the employment of Comorian seamen on
board Community vessels shall be governed by the International

The Community undertakes to take all the appropriate
its vessels comply with this
in the

4.
steps required to ensure that
Agreement and the legislation governing fisheries
waters over which the Comoros has jurisdiction.

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Official Journal of the European Union

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Article 6

Licences

a way as to comply systematically with the Comorian and
Community legislation in force.

1.
Community vessels may fish in Comorian waters only if
they are in possession of a fishing licence issued under this
Agreement.

Article 9

Joint Committee

2.
The procedure for obtaining a fishing licence for a vessel,
the taxes applicable and the method of payment to be used by
shipowners shall be as set out in the Annex to the Protocol.

Article 7

Financial contribution

The Community shall grant the Comoros a financial contri-
laid
bution in accordance with the terms and conditions
down in the Protocol and Annexes. This single contribution
shall be composed of two related elements, namely:

(a) access for Community vessels to Comorian fisheries; and

(b) the Community's

introducing
responsible fishing and the sustainable exploitation of
fisheries resources in Comorian waters;

financial

support

for

(c)

the component of the financial contribution referred to in
point (a) of paragraph 1 shall be determined and managed
in the light of objectives identified by common accord
between the Parties in accordance with the Protocol, to be
achieved in the context of the sectoral fisheries policy in the
Comoros and an annual and multiannual programme for its
implementation.

Article 8

Promoting cooperation among economic operators and in
civil society

The Parties

shall encourage economic,

1.
scientific and
technical cooperation in the fisheries and related sectors. They
shall consult one another with a view to coordinating the
different measures that may be taken to this end.

2.
The Parties shall encourage exchanges of information on
fishing techniques and gear, preservation methods and the
industrial processing of fisheries products.

The Parties shall endeavour to create conditions favourable
3.
to the promotion of relations between enterprises from the
Parties in the technical, economic and commercial spheres, by
encouraging the establishment of an environment favourable to
the development of business and investment.

A Joint Committee shall be set up to monitor the imple-

1.
mentation of this Agreement. The Joint Committee shall:

(a) monitor the performance, interpretation and application of
the
and multiannual programming referred to in

the Agreement and,
annual
Article 7(b) and the evaluation of its implementation;

the definition of

in particular,

(b) provide the necessary liaison for matters of mutual interest

relating to fisheries;

(c) act as a forum for the amicable settlement of any disputes
the

interpretation

application

the

or

of

regarding
Agreement;

(d) reassess, where necessary, the level of fishing opportunities

and, consequently, of the financial contribution;

(e) perform any other function which the Parties decide on by

mutual agreement.

2.
The Joint Committee shall meet at least once a year, alter-
nately in the Comoros and in the Community, and shall be
It shall hold a
chaired by the Party hosting the meeting.
special meeting at the request of either of the Parties.

In particular, it shall meet not later than three months after the
entry into force of each Protocol in order to lay down detailed
rules for the implementation of this Agreement. It shall draw up
for that purpose an action plan defining expressly the activities
to be developed, followed by a detailed timetable covering the
period of each Protocol.

Article 10

Geographical area to which the Agreement applies

This Agreement shall apply, on the one hand, to the territories
in which the Treaty establishing the European Community
applies, under the conditions laid down in that Treaty and,
on the other, to the territory of the Union of the Comoros.

Article 11

Duration

The Parties shall encourage, in particular, the setting-up of
4.
joint enterprises
interest. The transfer of
Community vessels to joint enterprises and the creation of
joint enterprises in the Comoros shall be carried out in such

in their mutual

This Agreement shall apply for seven years from the date of its
entry into force; it shall be renewable for additional periods of
seven years, unless notice of termination is given in accordance
with Article 12.

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Article 12

Termination

Payment of the financial contribution referred to in Article
2.
7 shall be reduced proportionately and pro rata temporis,
according to the duration of the suspension.

1.
This Agreement may be terminated by either Party in the
event of serious circumstances such as the deterioration of the
stocks concerned, the discovery of a reduced level of exploi-
tation of
the fishing opportunities granted to Community
vessels, or failure to comply with undertakings made by the
Parties with regard to combating illegal, undeclared and unre-
gulated fishing.

2.
The Party concerned shall notify the other Party of its
intention to withdraw from the Agreement in writing at least
six months before the date of expiry of the initial period or each
additional period.

Dispatch of the notification referred to in the previous

3.
paragraph shall open consultations by the Parties.

Payment of the financial contribution referred to in Article
4.
7 for the year in which the termination takes effect shall be
reduced proportionately and pro rata temporis.

Article 13

Suspension

Application of this Agreement may be suspended at the
1.
initiative of one of
the Parties in the event of a serious
disagreement as to the application of provisions laid down in
the Party
the Agreement. Such suspension shall
require
concerned to notify its intention in writing at
three
least
months before the date on which suspension is due to take
effect. On receipt of this notification, the Parties shall enter
into consultations with a view to resolving their differences
amicably.

Article 14

The Protocol and the Annex shall form an integral part of this
Agreement.

Article 15

Repeal and transitional provisions

This Agreement shall repeal and replace on the date of its entry
into force the fisheries agreement between the European
Economic Community and the Islamic Federal Republic of the
Comoros on fishing off the Comoros which entered into force
on 20 July 1988.

However, the Protocol fixing for the period from 1 January
2005 to 31 December 2010 the fishing possibilities and
financial contribution provided for in the fisheries agreement
between the European Economic Community and the Islamic
Federal Republic of the Comoros on fishing off the Comoros
shall continue to apply during the period referred to in Article
1(1)
this
thereof and shall become an integral part of
Agreement.

Article 16

Entry into force

Italian,

This Agreement, drawn up in duplicate in the Czech, Danish,
Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek,
Hungarian,
Polish,
Portuguese, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish, Swedish and Arabic
languages, each of these texts being equally authentic, shall
enter into force on the date on which the Parties notify each
other that their adoption procedures have been completed.

Lithuanian, Maltese,

Latvian,