Amended proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending Regulation (EC) No 708/2007 concerning use of alien and locally absent species in aquaculture
Date: 2010-07-19
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: administrative formalities, agricultural production, aquaculture, biodiversity, common fisheries policy, ecological balance, environmental protection, fishery management, health control

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EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 19.7.2010 
COM(2010)393 final 

2009/0153 (COD) 

Amended proposal for a 

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

amending Regulation (EC) No 708/2007 concerning use of alien and locally absent 
species in aquaculture 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

On 15 October 2009, the Commission adopted a proposal for a Council Regulation amending 
Regulation  (EC)  No  708/2007  concerning  use  of  alien  and  locally  absent  species  in 
aquaculture  (COM(2009)  541  final).  The  proposal  was  transmitted  to  the  Council,  the 
European Parliament and the European Economic and Social Committee on 16 October 2009 
(2009/0153/CNS). 

After the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty on 1 December 2009, the proposal has moved 
to the ordinary legislative procedure (2009/0153/COD). 

At  the  time  of  making  the  proposal,  there  was  no  need  to  envisage  any  modification  of  the 
"comitology"  provisions  laid  down  in  Article  24  of  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  708/2007. 
Yet,  in  the  course  of  discussions  at  the  European  Parliament's  Fisheries  Committee  and  the 
Council  Working  Party  on  Internal  and  External  Fisheries  Policy,  the  issue  of  a  possible 
conversion  of  the  management  procedure  foreseen  in  Article  24  into  delegated  powers  did 
come up. 

In  actual  fact,  it  is  appropriate  to  align  the  "comitology"  provisions  in  issue  to  the  novel 
provisions of Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union pertaining 
to  delegated  powers  and  of  Article  291  of  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European 
Union pertaining to implementing powers. This will make Council Regulation No 708/2007 
fully consistent with the new decision-making set-up under the new Treaty. 

It is thus necessary to amend the Commission's initial proposal accordingly. 

Inasmuch as delegated powers are concerned, the proposed amendments follow the line given 
in the Commission Communication on the implementation of Article 290 of the Treaty on the 
Functioning of the European (COM(2009) 673 final). 

It also appears appropriate to amend the Commission's initial proposal in order to incorporate 
certain specifications of definitions (i.e. "closed aquaculture facility"), clarifications of certain 
provisions  (i.e.  situation  of  facilities  at  a  safe  distance  from  open  waters)  and  a  number  of 
drafting improvements. 

The amended proposal has no implications for the EU budget.

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2009/0153 (COD) 

Amended proposal for a 

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

amending Regulation (EC) No 708/2007 concerning use of alien and locally absent 
species in aquaculture 

THE  COUNCIL  EUROPEAN  PARLIAMENT  AND  THE  COUNCIL  OF  THE 
EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  of  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union  establishing  the 
European Community, and in particular Article 43(2)Article 37 and Article 299(2) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission1, 

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament2, 

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee3, 

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure,  

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

Regulation  (EC)  No  708/20074  establishes  a  framework  governing  aquaculture 
practices  in  relation  to  alien  and  locally  absent  species  to  assess  and  minimise  the 
possible  impact  of  those  species  and  of  associated  non-target  species  on  aquatic 
habitats. It provides in its Article 2(7) that introductions and translocations for use in 
closed  aquaculture  facilities  may  at  a  future  date  be  exempted  from  the  permit 
requirement of Chapter III of that Regulation, based on new scientific information and 
advice. 

The Community-funded concerted action, "Environmental impacts of alien species in 
aquaculture"  (IMPASSE),  has  delivered  a  new  operational  definition  of  'closed 
aquaculture facilities'. For such facilities the degree of risk associated with alien and 
locally  absent  species  could  be  reduced  to  an  acceptable  level  if  the  potential  for 
escape of the organisms to be farmed and of non-target organisms is addressed during 
transportation  and  if  well-defined  protocols  are  applied  at  the  receiving  facility. 
Introductions and translocations for use in closed aquaculture facilities should only be 
exempted from the permit requirement if those conditions are met. 

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, , p. . 
, , p. . 
, , p. . 
OJ L 168, 28.6.2007, p. 1. 

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(3) 

It  is  therefore  necessary  to  amend  the  definition  of  'closed  aquaculture  facility'  in 
Article  3,  paragraph  3,  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  708/2007  by  adding  specific  features 
intended to ensure the biosecurity of those facilities. 

(4)  Member  States  should  set  up  a  list  of  closed  aquaculture  facilities  located  in  their 
territory.  For  reasons  of  transparency,  that  list  should  be  published  and  regularly 
updated  on  a  website  created  in  accordance  with  Commission  Regulation  (EC)  No 
535/20085. 

(5) 

(6) 

Following these amendments certain other adaptations are needed to the Regulation, in 
particular,  to  remove  the  references  to  "closed  aquaculture  facilities"  in  the 
definition of 'routine movement' and from Annexe I. 

The  Commission  should  be  empowered  to  adopt  delegated  acts  in  accordance 
with Article 290 of the Treaty in respect of the following elements of Regulation 
(EC)  No  708/2007:  he  indicative  guidelines  referred  to  in  Article  6,  the 
procedures  and  minimum  elements  to  be  addressed  in  an  environmental  risk 
assessment as provided for in Article 9, the conditions of quarantine as provided 
for  in  Article  15,  the  list  of  species  referred  to  in  Article  2(5),  as  laid  down  in 
Annexes  I,  II,  III  and  IV  and  the  conditions  necessary  for  adding  species  to 
Annex IV, as referred in Article 24(2).  

(7) 

Regulation 708/2007 should therefore be amended accordingly, 

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

Article 1 

Regulation (EC) No 708/2007 is hereby amended as follows: 

(1) 

In Article 2, paragraph 7 is replaced by the following: 

"7.  Chapters  III  to  VI  shall  not  apply  to  movements  of  alien  or  locally  absent 
species  to  be  held  in  closed  aquaculture  facilities,  provided  that  the  transport  is 
carried out under conditions that prevent the escape of those species and of the non-
target species.  

Member  States  shall  set  up  a  list  of  closed  aquaculture  facilities  in  their  territory 
complying  with  the  definition  of  the  Article  3  (3)  and  update  that  list  regularly. 
Within  six  months  following  the  adoption  of  the  Regulation  amending 
Regulation (EC) No 708/2007 Tthe list shall be published on the website set up in 
accordance with Article 4 (2) of the Commission Regulation (EC) No 535/2008. 

(2) 

Article 3 is amended as follows 

(a) 

point 3 is replaced by the following: 

"3. 

'Closed aquaculture facility' means a land-based facility: 

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OJ L 156, 14.6.2008, p. 6. 

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(a)  where:  

(i) 

aquaculture  is  conducted  in  an  aquatic  medium  which 
involves recirculation of water and 

(ii)  discharges do not connect in any way to open waters prior of 
being  screened  and  filtered  or  percolated  and  treated  to 
prevent the release of solid waste to the aquatic environment 
and  the  escape  of  the  farmed  species  and  of  non-target 
species from the facility that might survive and subsequently 
reproduce; 

(b) 

and which: 

(i) 

prevents losses of reared specimens or biological material 
including  pathogens,  due  to  environmental  factors,  such  as 
predators (e.g. birds) and flooding (e.g. the facility must be 
situated  at  a  safe  distance  from  open  waters  following  a 
proper  assessment  made  by  the  competent  authorities), 
and;  

(ii)  prevents  in  a  reasonable  way  losses  of  reared  specimens 
or biological material including pathogens due to theft and 
vandalism; and  

(iii)  ensures appropriate disposal of dead organisms; 

(b)  point 16 is replaced by the following: 

"16.  'routine  movement'  means  the  movement  of  aquatic  organisms  from  a 
source which has a low risk of transferring non-target species and which, 
on  account  of  the  characteristics  of  the  aquatic  organisms  and/or  the 
method of aquaculture to be used, does not give rise to adverse ecological 
effects;" 

(3) 

In Article 4 the following paragraph is added: 

"The  competent  authorities  in  the  Member  States  shall  monitor  and  supervise 
aquaculture activities so as to ensure that  

closed  aquaculture  facilities  comply  with  the  requirements  laid  down  in 

(a) 
Article 3(3), and 

transport from or to closed aquaculture facilities takes place in conditions 

(b) 
that are such as to prevent the escape of alien or non-target species." 

(4) 

Article 14 is replaced by the following: 

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"Article 14 

Release into aquaculture facilities in case of routine introductions 

In the case of routine introductions, the release of aquatic organisms into aquaculture 
facilities shall be allowed without quarantine or pilot release, unless, in exceptional 
cases, the competent authority decides otherwise on the basis of specific advice given 
by the advisory committee. Movements from a closed aquaculture facility to an open 
aquaculture  facility  shall  not  be  regarded  as  routine  be  considered  as  routine  or 
non-routine movements in line with the provisions of Articles 6 and 7." 

(5) 

Article 24 is amended as follows: 

(a) Paragraph 1 is replaced by the following: 

“1. The Commission may, by means of delegated acts in accordance with Article 
24a, amend Annexes I, II, III and IV to this Regulation in order to adapt them 
to  technical  and  scientific  progress  and  adopt  specifications  for  the  conditions 
necessary for adding species to Annex IV, as provided for in paragraph 2.” 

(b) The following paragraph 1a is inserted: 

"1a.When  adopting  delegated  acts  as  referred  to  in  paragraph  1,  the 
Commission  shall  act  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  this  Regulation.” 

(c) Paragraph 3 is deleted 

(d) The first sentence of paragraph 4 is replaced by the following: 

“Member  States  may  request  the  Commission  to  add  species  to  Annex  IV  by 
means of delegated acts in accordance with Article 24a.” 

(e) Paragraph 5 is deleted 

(f) The following paragraph 6a is added: 

"The  Commission  may  adopt  detailed  rules  for  the  implementation  of 
paragraphs  4  and  6,  and  in  particular  the  formats,  the  contents  and  the 
particulars  of  Member  States'  requests  for  the  addition  of  species  and  the 
information  to  be  provided  in  support  such  requests,  in  accordance  with  the 
procedure referred to in Article 30(2) of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002." 

(6) 

The following Articles 24a, 24b and 24c are inserted: 

“Article 24a 

Exercise of the delegation 

1.  The  power  to  adopt  the  delegated  acts  referred  to  in  Article  24  shall  be 
conferred on the Commission for an indeterminate period of time. 

2.  As  soon  as  it  adopts  a  delegated  act,  the  Commission  shall  notify  it 
simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the Council. 

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3. The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission subject to 
the conditions laid down in Articles 24b and 24c. 

Article 24b 

Revocation of the delegation 

1. The delegation of powers referred to in Article 24 may be revoked at any time 
by the European Parliament or by the Council. 

2.  The  institution  which  has  commenced  an  internal  procedure  for  deciding 
whether to revoke the delegation of powers shall endeavour to inform the other 
institution  and  the  Commission  within  a  reasonable  time  before  the  final 
decision  is  taken,  indicating  the  delegated  powers  which  could  be  subject  to 
revocation and possible reasons for a revocation. 

3.  The  decision  of  revocation  shall  put  an  end  to  the  delegation  of  the  powers 
specified  in  that  decision.  It  shall  take  effect  immediately  or  at  a  later  date 
specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of the delegated acts already in 
force. It shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union. 

Article 24c 

Objections to delegated acts 

1. The European Parliament or the Council may object to a delegated act within 
a period of two months from the date of notification. 

At the initiative of the European Parliament or the Council this period shall be 
extended by one month. 

2. If, on expiry of that period, neither the European Parliament nor the Council 
has objected to the delegated act it shall be published in the Official Journal of 
the European Union and shall enter into force on the date stated therein. 

The  delegated  act  shall  be  published  in  the  Official  Journal  of  the  European 
Union  and  enter  into  force  before  the  expiry  of  that  period  if  the  European 
Parliament  and  the  Council  have  both  informed  the  Commission  of  their 
intention not to raise objections. 

3. If the European Parliament or the Council objects to a delegated act, it shall 
not  enter  into  force.  The  institution  which  objects  shall  state  the  reasons  for 
objecting to the delegated act.” 

(7) 

Annex I is amended as follows:  

(a)  The first paragraph is replaced by the following: 

"Wherever  possible,  information  is  to  be  supported  with  references  from  the 
scientific  literature,  and  notations  to  personal  communications  with  scientific 
authorities and fisheries experts". 

(b)  Section D (Interaction with native species) is amended as follows:  

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- 

point 1 is replaced by the following: 

"(1)  What  is  the  potential  for  survival  and  establishment  of  the 

introduced organism if it escapes?" 

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point 6 is replaced by the following:  

"(6) Will the introduced organisms survive and successfully reproduce in 
the  proposed  area  of  introduction  or  will  annual  stocking  be 
required?" 

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

Article 2 

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

Done at Brussels,  

For the European Parliament 
The President 

For the Council 
The President 

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