Proposal for a Council Decision on the establishment of the Community position to be adopted in the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission
Date: 2009-09-21
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Atlantic Ocean, European Commission, catch quota, fishery management, fishery resources, fishing agreement, fishing area, fishing regulations

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 21.9.2009 
COM(2009) 484 final 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on the establishment of the Community position to be adopted in the North East Atlantic 
Fisheries Commission 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

According to the second subparagraph of Article 300(2) of the EC Treaty, the positions to be 
adopted on behalf of the Community in Regional Fisheries Management Organisations when 
they are called upon to adopt decisions having legal effects, with the exception of decisions 
supplementing or amending their institutional framework, must be decided on by the Council, 
acting by a qualified majority on a proposal from the Commission. 

In  view  of  this  obligation,  and  following  similar  Council  Decisions  and  proposals  from  the 
European Commission for other Regional Fisheries Management Organisations, the European 
Commission proposes the present decision to establish the Community position to be adopted 
in the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission. This proposal follows the same approach as 
for other Regional Fisheries Management Organisations so as to ensure consistency. 

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Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on the establishment of the Community position to be adopted in the North East Atlantic 
Fisheries Commission 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 
37, in conjunction with the second subparagraph of Article 300(2) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

Article 33 of the EC Treaty, in conjunction with Article 32 thereof, provides that one 
of  the  objectives  of  the  Common  Fisheries  Policy  is  to  assure  the  availability  of 
supplies. Regulation (EC) N° 2371/20021 provides that the Community shall apply the 
precautionary  approach  in  taking  measures  designed  to  protect  and  conserve  living 
aquatic  resources,  to  provide  for  their  sustainable  exploitation  and  to  minimise  the 
impact  of  fishing  activities  on  marine  eco-systems.  It  also  provides  that  the 
Community  shall  aim  at  a  progressive  implementation  of  an  eco-system-based 
approach to fisheries management, and aim to contribute to efficient fishing activities 
within  an  economically  viable  and  competitive  fisheries  and  aquaculture  industry, 
providing  a  fair  standard  of  living  for  those  who  depend  on  fishing  activities  and 
taking into account the interest of consumers. 

By Decision  81/608/EEC2, the European Community approved  the  1982  Convention 
on  Future  Multilateral  Co-operation  in  North-East  Atlantic  Fisheries,  which  was 
subsequently  amended  in  2005.  The  Convention  established  a  North  East  Atlantic 
Fisheries Commission (NEAFC) which is charged with making recommendations, as 
appropriate,  concerning  fisheries  conducted  beyond  the  areas  under  jurisdiction  of 
Contracting  Parties,  and  which  may  make  recommendations  concerning  fisheries 
conducted within an area under jurisdiction of a Contracting Party, designed to ensure 
the  long-term  conservation  and  optimum  utilisation  of  the  fishery  resources  in  the 
Convention Area, providing sustainable economic, environmental and social benefits. 
Such recommendations may become binding upon the Community. 

(3) 

Pursuant to the second sub-paragraph of Article 300 (2) of the EC Treaty, the position 
of the Community in bodies set up by regional fisheries agreements which are called 
upon  to  adopt  decisions  having  legal  effects  (but  not  modifying  the  institutional 

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OJ L 358, 31.12.2002, p. 59 
OJ L 227, 12.8.1981, p. 21 

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framework  of  the  agreements  concerned)  must  be  adopted  by  qualified  majority  by 
Council decision, on a proposal from the Commission. 

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:  

Article 1 

The position to be adopted on behalf of the Community in the North East Atlantic Fisheries 
Commission when that Commission is called upon to adopt decisions having legal effects is 
set out in the Annex to this Decision. 

Article 2 

The Community position set out in the Annex to the present Decision shall be assessed and, 
where appropriate, revised by the Council upon a proposal from the Commission, at the latest 
for the annual meeting of the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission in 2014. 

Done at Brussels,  

For the Council 
The President 

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The Community position in the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission 

ANNEX  

1. 

PRINCIPLES 

In the framework of the NEAFC, the European Community shall: 

a) 

b) 

c) 

d) 

e) 

f) 

2. 

act  in  accordance  with  the  objectives  pursued  by  the  Community  within  the 
framework  of  the  Common  Fisheries  Policy,  notably  through  the  precautionary 
approach  to  provide  for  the  sustainable  exploitation  of  species  regulated  by  the 
NEAFC, to promote the gradual implementation of an ecosystem-based approach to 
fisheries  management,  and  to  minimise  the  impact  of  fishing  activities  on  marine 
eco-systems,  as  well  as  through  the  promotion  of  economically  viable  and 
competitive Community fisheries, providing a fair standard of living for those who 
depend on fishing activities and taking account of the interests of consumers; 

ensure  that  NEAFC  measures  are  in  accordance  with  the  objectives  of  the  NEAFC 
Convention; 

ensure that NEAFC measures are consistent with international law, and in particular 
with the provisions of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the UN Agreement 
relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly 
Migratory Fish Stocks and the Agreement to promote compliance with international 
conservation and management measures by fishing vessels on the high seas; 

promote consistent positions within Regional Fisheries Management Organisations; 

seek synergy with the policy that the Community is pursuing as part of its bilateral 
fisheries  relations  with  third  countries,  and  ensure  coherence  with  its  external 
relations policy; 

ensure that the Community's international commitments are respected. 

ORIENTATIONS 

The European Community shall, where appropriate, endeavour to support the adoption of the 
following actions by the NEAFC: 

a) 

b) 

c) 

conservation  and  management  measures  for  fisheries  resources  in  the  NEAFC 
Regulatory Area and, where appropriate, the NEAFC Convention Area based on the 
best scientific advice available, including TACs and quotas for species regulated by 
the  NEAFC  Where  necessary,  specific  measures  for  stocks  which  suffer  from 
overfishing shall be considered in order to avoid any increase of fishing activities; 

protective  measures  for  vulnerable  marine  ecosystems  in  the  NEAFC  Regulatory 
Area in line with UNGA Resolutions; 

reinforcement  of  monitoring,  control  and  surveillance  measures  in  the  NEAFC 
Regulatory Area in order to strengthen compliance with NEAFC measures; 

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d) 

e) 

f) 

reinforcement of action against IUU fishing activities; 

development  of  common  approaches  with  other  Regional  Fisheries  Management 
Organisations,  including  the  Northwest  Atlantic  Fisheries  Organisation,  the  North 
Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organisation and the International Commission for the 
Conservation of Atlantic Tunas; 

additional technical measures based on advice from the International Council for the 
Exploration of the Sea; 

g) 

continued modernisation of the NEAFC following the performance review. 

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