Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION on the allocation of the fishing opportunities under the Protocol agreed between the European Union and the Republic of Madagascar setting out fishing opportunities and the financial contribution provided for in the Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the two parties currently in force
Date: 2012-09-19
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Madagascar, financial compensation of an agreement, fishing agreement, protocol to an agreement

EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 19.9.2012  
COM(2012) 519 final 

2012/0248 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION 

on the allocation of the fishing opportunities under the Protocol agreed between the 
European Union and the Republic of Madagascar setting out fishing opportunities and 
the financial contribution provided for in the Fisheries Partnership Agreement between 
the two parties currently in force 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

On  the  basis  of  a  mandate  from  the  Council1,  the  European  Commission  has  conducted 
negotiations  with  the  Republic  of  Madagascar  with  a  view  to  renewing  the  Protocol  to  the 
Fisheries  Partnership  Agreement  between  the  European  Community  and  the  Republic  of 
Madagascar. At the end of those negotiations, a new Protocol was initialled on 10 May 2012. 
The new protocol covers a period of two years from the date of its signature. 

Specifically, the protocol provides for fishing opportunities for 96 vessels, divided as follows: 

40 tuna seiners 

34 surface longliners with a tonnage greater than 100 GT 

22 surface longliners with a tonnage less than 100 GT  

The  method  for  allocating  the  fishing  opportunities  among  the  Member  States  should  be 
defined. 

The Commission proposes, on this basis, that the Council adopt this Regulation. 

2. 

RESULTS OF CONSULTATIONS WITH THE INTERESTED PARTIES AND 
IMPACT ASSESSMENTS 

The Member States were consulted ahead of the negotiations in the framework of the Council 
Working  Party  on  Fisheries  and  also  in  the  framework  of  technical  meetings.  These 
consultations  concluded  that  it  would  be  beneficial  to  maintain  a  fishing  protocol  with 
Madagascar. The Commission has also based its work on, inter alia, the results of an ex-post 
assessment by independent external experts, which was finalised in November 2011.  

3. 

LEGAL ELEMENTS OF THE PROPOSAL 

The new Protocol to the Partnership Agreement was forwarded to the Council for approval of 
its signing and provisional application. It was also forwarded to the Council and Parliament 
with a view to its conclusion. 

1 

Adopted on 24 April 2012 by the General Affairs Council.  

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2012/0248 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION 

on the allocation of the fishing opportunities under the Protocol agreed between the 
European Union and the Republic of Madagascar setting out fishing opportunities and 
the financial contribution provided for in the Fisheries Partnership Agreement between 
the two parties currently in force 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  particular 
Article 43(3) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

On  15  November  2007,  the  Council  adopted  Regulation  (EC)  No 31/2008  on  the 
conclusion of the Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the European Community 
and  the  Republic  of  Madagascar  (hereinafter  referred  to  as  the  ‘Partnership 
Agreement’).  

A  new  Protocol  to  the  Partnership  Agreement  was  initialled  on  10 May  2012 
(hereinafter  referred  to  as  the  ‘new  Protocol’).  The  new  Protocol  grants  EU  vessels 
fishing  opportunities  in  waters  in  which  Madagascar  exercises  its  sovereignty  or 
jurisdiction as regards fishing.  

On  […]  the  Council  adopted  Decision  No …/2012/EU2,  on  the  signature  and 
provisional application of the new Protocol.  

The method for allocating the fishing opportunities among the Member States should 
be defined for the period in which the new Protocol applies.  

Article  10(1)  of  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No 1006/2008  of 29  September 2008 
concerning authorisations for fishing activities of Community fishing vessels outside 
Community  waters  and  the  access  of  third  country  vessels  to  Community  waters3 
provides that the Commission will inform the Member States concerned if it appears 
that  the  fishing  opportunities  allocated  to  the  Union  under  the  new  Protocol  are  not 
fully  utilised.  The  absence  of  a  reply  within  a  time  limit  to  be  set  by  the  Council  is 
considered to be confirmation that the vessels of the Member State concerned are not 
making full use of their fishing opportunities during the period concerned. This time 
limit should be set.  

2 
3 

OJ C …* 
OJ L 286, 29.10.2008, p. 33. 

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(6) 

Given  that  the  Protocol  in  force  will  expire  on  31 December 2012,  this  Regulation 
must apply as from the date the new Protocol is signed, 

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:  

Article 1 

1. 

The  fishing  opportunities  fixed  under  the  Protocol  agreed  between  the  European 
Union  and  the  Republic  of  Madagascar  setting  out  fishing  opportunities  and  the 
financial  contribution  provided  for  in  the Fisheries  Partnership  Agreement  between 
the two  parties currently  in  force (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Protocol’) shall be 
allocated among the Member States as follows: 

Member State 

Fishing opportunities 

Type of 
Vessel 

seiners 

longliners 
(over 100 GT) 

Spain 

France 

Italy 

Total seiners 

Spain 

France 

Portugal 

United Kingdom 

Total longliners > 
100 GT 

longliners 
(less than or 
equal to 100 
GT) 

France 

Total longliners 
</= 100 GT 

21 

18 

1 

40 

17 

9 

5 

3 

34 

22 

22 

2. 

3. 

Regulation  (EC)  No 1006/2008  shall  apply  without  prejudice  to  the  Fisheries 
the  Republic  of 
Partnership  Agreement  between 
Madagascar.  

the  European  Union  and 

If  applications  for  fishing  authorisations  from  the  Member  States  referred  to  in 
paragraph 1 do not exhaust the fishing opportunities established by the Protocol, the 

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Commission  shall  consider  applications  for  fishing  authorisations  from  any  other 
Member State, pursuant to Article 10 of Regulation (EC) No 1006/2008. 

4. 

The time limit within which the Member States must confirm that they are not fully 
exhausting  the  fishing  opportunities  granted  to  them  under  the  Agreement,  as 
provided  by  Article  10(1)  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  1006/2008,  is  set  at  ten  working 
days  as  from  the  date  on  which  the  Commission  communicates  this  information  to 
them. 

Article 2 

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

It  shall  apply  from  the  date  of  the  signature  of  the  new  protocol  and  at  the  earliest  from 
1 January 2013. 

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

Done at Brussels,  

For the Council 
The President 

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