REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT in respect of the delegation of powers under Article 29(2) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1241 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on the conservation of fisheries resources and the protection of marine ecosystems through technical measures
Date: 2023-09-11
Institutions: Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, European Commission
Subjects: European Commission, common fisheries policy, conservation of fish stocks, delegated legislation, fishery resources, fishing regulations, marine ecosystem, powers of the institutions (EU), sea fishing, transfer of competence

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  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 11.9.2023  COM(2023) 520 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT in respect of the delegation of powers under Article 29(2) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1241 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on the conservation of fisheries resources and the protection of marine ecosystems through technical measures  
 
 
1. Introduction 

The  Technical  Measures  Regulation  (Regulation  (EU)  2019/1241)1,  entered  in  force  on 
14 August 2019, introducing the design of new technical measures for the governance process 
set out in the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) Regulation (Regulation (EU) 1380/2013)2. 

Technical measures support the implementation of the CFP, and as such, should contribute to 
the objectives set out in Article 2 of the CFP Regulation. The spirit of technical measures is to 
control  the  catch  that  can  be  taken  with  a  given  amount  of  effort,  while  minimising  the 
impacts of fishing on the ecosystem and thereby to contribute to the objectives of: 

•  optimising exploitation patterns;  
•  ensuring that incidental catches of sensitive marine species are minimised and where 

possible eliminated; 

•  ensuring  that  the  negative  environmental  impacts  of  fishing  on  marine  habitats  are 

minimised; 

•  having  in  place  fisheries  management  measures  in  order  to  comply  with  Directives 
92/43/EEC, 2000/60/EC and 2008/56/EC, in particular with a view to achieving good 
environmental  status  in  line  with  Article  9(1)  of  Directive  2008/56/EC  and  with 
Directive 2009/147/EC. 

The  power  to  adopt  delegated  acts  is  conferred  on  the  Commission  for  a  period  of  5  years 
from  14 August 2019  subject  to  the  conditions  laid  down  in  Article  29  of  the  Technical 
Measures Regulation.  

2. Legal basis 

The Commission is required to prepare a report on the delegation of powers no later than 9 
months  before  the  end  of  the  five-year  period.  As  this  first  report  covers  the  period  from 
14 August  2019  to  30  June  2023,  the  deadline  for  the  Commission  to  prepare  it  is 
13 November 2023.  

The delegated powers are automatically extended for  five-year periods, unless the European 
Parliament  or  the  Council  opposes  such  an  extension  in  accordance  with  Article  46  of  the 
CFP Regulation.  

The  Technical  Measures  Regulation  empowers  the  Commission  to  adopt  delegated  acts  for 
the following:  

(a)  Article 10 (4): to amend the list of prohibited species as set out in Annex I; 

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Regulation  (EU)  2019/1241  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  20  June  2019  on  the 
conservation  of  fisheries  resources  and  the  protection  of  marine  ecosystems  through  technical  measures, 
amending Council Regulations (EC) No 1967/2006, (EC) No 1224/2009 and Regulations (EU) No 1380/2013, 
(EU)  2016/1139,  (EU)  2018/973,  (EU)  2019/472  and  (EU)  2019/1022  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council,  and  repealing  Council  Regulations  (EC)  No  894/97,  (EC)  No  850/98,  (EC)  No  2549/2000,  (EC)  No 
254/2002, (EC) No 812/2004 and (EC) No 2187/2005.  
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 Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 
on the Common Fisheries Policy, amending Council Regulations (EC) No 1954/2003 and (EC) No 1224/2009 
and repealing Council Regulations (EC) No 2371/2002 and (EC) No 639/2004 and Council Decision 
2004/585/EC (OJ L 354, 28.12.2013, p. 22). 

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(b) Article  15  (2):  to  amend  the  provisions  of  Annexes  V,  VI,  VII,  VIII,  IX,  X,  XI  and 

XIII on:  

a.  gear modifications to increase the size and species selectivity (Article 16), 

b.  closed  or  restricted  areas  to  protect  juveniles  and  spawning  aggregations 

(Article 17), 

c.  minimum conservation reference sizes (Article 18); 

(c)  Article 19: for the introduction of real-time closures and moving on provisions;  

(d) Article 20: for the use of innovative fishing gear;  

(e)  Article 21: for the introduction of measures to protect sensitive species and habitats; 

(f)  Article  23:  for  the  adoption  of  pilot  projects  on  full  documentation  of  catches  and 

discards; 

(g) Article 27 (7): to further define the term ‘directed fishing’.  

3. Exercise of the delegation of powers 

3.1. Procedural aspects  

The Commission’s delegated powers, granted under Article 12(2) and Article 15(2) and (3) of 
the  Technical  Measures  Regulation,  are  subject  to  regionalisation  provided  for  under 
Article 18  of  the  CFP  Regulation.  Member  States  having  a  direct  management  interest 
affected  by  the  measures  concerned  may  agree  to  submit  joint  recommendations.  When 
shaping joint recommendations for Commission delegated acts under regionalisation, Member 
States have to consult the relevant Advisory Councils. If Member States do not agree on joint 
recommendations  or  if  the  joint  recommendations  are  deemed  incompatible  with  the 
objectives and quantifiable targets of the conservation measures in question, the Commission 
may submit a proposal for appropriate measures in accordance with the Treaty.  

The  Technical  Measures  Regulation  sets  out  the  regionalisation  process  for  the  first  time 
when adopting technical measures, following the CFP: while setting the baseline standards for 
each  sea  basin,  derived  from  existing  technical  measures,  taking  account  of  STECF 
(Scientific,  Technical  and  Economic  Committee  for  Fisheries)  advice  and  the  opinions  of 
stakeholders. Those standards should consist of baseline mesh sizes for towed gear and static 
nets,  minimum  conservation  reference  sizes,  closed  or  restricted  areas,  as  well  as  nature 
conservation  measures  to  mitigate  against  catches  of  sensitive  species  in  certain  areas  and 
any other existing regionally specific technical measures3.  

The  aim  is  to  combine  flexibility  to  adapt  to  regional  specificities  with  the  principle  that 
minimum  standards  of  conservation  should  be  kept,  i.e.  changes  to  technical  measures 
through regionalisation cannot lead to a deterioration in conservation or selectivity standards.  
This  not  only  includes  the  possibility  to  introduce  alternative  approaches  to  regulating 
selectivity, and how fisheries are defined, but also to amend minimum conservation reference 

3 See recital (23) of the Technical Measures Regulation.  

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sizes, to adapt or amend areas and seasonal limits, to promote innovative fishing methods and 
to incorporate mitigation techniques to minimise the negative impact on the ecosystems.  

In line with the requirements, the joint recommendations to modify different provisions of the 
Technical  Measures  Regulation  have  been  submitted  to  the  Scientific,  Technical  and 
Economic  Committee  for  Fisheries  (STECF)  established  by  Commission  Decision 
2005/629/EC4 to take into account the best available scientific advice. 

Member  States  also  consulted  the  relevant  Advisory  Councils  when  formulating  the  joint 
recommendations.  Some  acts  were  also  discussed  during  the  Commission’s  regular 
coordination meetings with all Advisory Councils. 

Finally, the draft delegated acts based on the empowerments included in the CFP Regulation 
have all been submitted to the Expert Group for Fisheries and Aquaculture that was set up to 
ensure  appropriate  expert  consultation  for  the  preparation  of  delegated  acts.  The  European 
Parliament  and  the  European  Fisheries  Control  Agency  are  invited  to  the  meetings  of  this 
Expert  Group  as  observers.  The  documents  relevant  to  these  consultations  were  submitted 
simultaneously  to  the  European  Parliament  and  to  the  Council  in  line  with  the  Common 
Understanding  on  delegated  acts.  After  adoption,  the  delegated  acts  were  all  notified  to  the 
European Parliament and to the Council. 

3.2. List of delegated acts adopted under the Technical Measures Regulation  

All delegated acts adopted by the Commission since 25 July 2019 are listed below. They are 
classified by legal status (in force, adopted not yet in force and repealed or expired). The list 
was last updated and reflects the state of play on 30 June 2023.  

3.2.1. DELEGATED ACTS IN FORCE 

-  Commission  Delegated  Regulation  (EU)  2020/2013,  as  regards  technical 
measures  for  certain  demersal  and  pelagic  fisheries  in  the  North  Sea  and  in 
the Southwestern Waters5 

-  Commission Delegated Regulation (EU)  2021/1160 as regards the sprat  box 

and the plaice box in the North Sea6 

-  Commission  Delegated  Regulation  (EU)  2021/1473  of  30  June  2021 
correcting Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/2201 as regards certain rules for 
the implementation of real-time closures for Northern prawn fisheries in the 
Skagerrak7 

-  Commission  Delegated  Regulation  (EU)  2021/2324  as  regards  technical 
measures for certain demersal and pelagic fisheries in the Celtic Sea, the Irish 
Sea and the West of Scotland8 

-  Commission  Delegated  Regulation  (EU)  2022/199  as  regards  the  use  of 

excluder devices in the North Sea fishery for Norway pout9 

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Commission Decision 2005/629/EC of 26 August 2005 establishing a Scientific, Technical and Economic  
Committee for Fisheries (OJ L 225, 31.8.2005, p. 18) 
OJ L 415, 10.12.2020, p. 3. 
OJ L 250, 15.7.2021, p. 4.  
OJ L 325, 15.9.2021, p. 1. 
OJ L 465, 29.12.2021, p. 1.  

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-  Commission  Delegated  Regulation  (EU)  2022/200  as  regards  certain 
technical measures on mesh sizes and the overall maximum length for certain 
beam trawls in the North Sea10 

-  Commission  Delegated  Regulation  (EU)  2022/303  as  regards  measures  to 
reduce  incidental  catches  of  the  resident  population  of  the  Baltic  Proper 
harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) in the Baltic Sea11 

-  Commission  Delegated  Regulation  (EU)  2022/826  as  regards  exemptions 

from the plaice box12 

-  Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/1357 as regards king scallops 

(Pecten maximus) in the English Channel13 

-  Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/2587 as regards the minimum 
conservation  reference  size  of  Venus  shells  (Venus  spp.)  in  certain  Italian 
territorial waters14 

-  Commission  Delegated  Regulation  (EU)  2022/2588  as  regards  technical 
measures for certain demersal and pelagic fisheries in the Celtic Sea, the Irish 
Sea and the West of Scotland15 

-  Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/56 as regards specific technical 
measures for red seabream (Pagellus bogaraveo) in ICES subareas 6 to 816. 

3.2.2. DELEGATED ACT ADOPTED NOT YET IN FORCE  

-  Commission  Delegated  Regulation  amending  Regulation  (EU)  2019/1241  as 

regards technical measures to reduce by-catches of cod in the Baltic Sea.  

3.2.3. DELEGATED ACTS REPEALED OR EXPIRED 

None 

4. Conclusion  

The Commission considers that it has exercised its delegated powers within the remit  of the 
Technical Measures Regulation. 

The Commission invites the European Parliament and the Council to take note of this report.  

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OJ L 33, 15.2.2022, p. 1.  
OJ L 33, 15.2.2022, p. 4.  
OJ L 46, 25.2.2022, p. 67. 
OJ L 147, 30.5.2022, p. 22. 
OJ L 205, 5.8.2022, p. 4. 
OJ L 338, 30.12.2022, p. 40. 
OJ L 338, 30.12.2022, p. 44. 
OJ L 5, 6.1.2023, p. 1. 

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