Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION amending Council Decision 2021/1765 of 5 October 2021 on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union, for the period 2021-2026, in the Specialised Committee on Fisheries established by the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, of the one part, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of the other part
Date: 2026-06-23
Institutions: Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, European Commission
Subjects: United Kingdom, cooperation agreement (EU), fisheries policy, joint committee (EU), specialised committee, trade agreement (EU)

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 23.6.2026  COM(2026) 293 final 2026/0158 (NLE)  Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION amending Council Decision 2021/1765 of 5 October 2021 on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union, for the period 2021-2026, in the Specialised Committee on Fisheries established by the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, of the one part, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of the other part  
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

SUBJECT MATTER OF THE PROPOSAL 

1. 
This proposal concerns an amendment to Council Decision (EU) 2021/17651 on the position 
to  be  adopted  on  behalf  of  the  European Union,  for  the  period 2021–2026,  within  the 
Specialised  Committee  on  Fisheries  established  by  the  Trade  and  Cooperation  Agreement 
between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, of the one part, 
and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of the other part. 

This proposal seeks to amend Decision (EU) 2021/1765 by extending its application until 30 
June 2038. 

2. 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

2.1. 

The EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement 

The  Trade  and  Cooperation  Agreement  between  the  European  Union  and  the  European 
Atomic  Energy  Community,  of  the  one  part,  and  the  United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and 
Northern  Ireland,  of  the  other  part  (‘the  Trade  and  Cooperation  Agreement’)2  sets  out 
preferential  arrangements  in  areas  such  as  trade  in  goods  and  in  services,  digital  trade, 
intellectual property, public procurement, aviation and road transport, energy, fisheries, social 
security coordination, law enforcement and judicial cooperation in criminal matters, thematic 
cooperation  and  participation  in  Union  programmes.  Its  provisions  aim  to  ensure  a  level 
playing  field  and  respect  for  fundamental  rights.  The  Trade  and  Cooperation  Agreement 
applied provisionally from 1 January 2021 and entered into force on 1 May 2021. 

2.2. 

The Specialised Committee on Fisheries 

Article  8(1)(q)  of  the  Trade  and  Cooperation  Agreement  establishes  the  Specialised 
Committee on Fisheries. Article 8(4) of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement establishes the 
areas of competence of the Specialised Committees and Article 508lists, in a non-exhaustive 
manner, the tasks and areas of competence of the Specialised Committee on Fisheries. 

On  5  October  2021,  the  Council  adopted  Decision  (EU)  2021/1765,  which  sets  out  the 
position to be adopted on behalf of the Union within the Specialised Committee on Fisheries. 

Decision  (EU)  2021/1765  was  reviewed  in  July  2023  by  the  Commission  and  the  Council, 
with the aim of assessing whether the Decision had been made operational until that point and 
whether the  consultations and  the  meetings carried out  under the Specialised Committee on 
Fisheries  were  conducted  in  line  with  the  principles  and  orientations  established  under 
Decision  (EU)  2021/1765.  The  review  determined  that  no  revision  was  necessary  and  no 
implementation issues have been identified since this review.  

The discussions in the SCF and SCF Working Group are conducted in line with the principles 
and orientations outlined in Decision (EU) 2021/1765. The preparations of the SCF and SCF 
Working Group meetings take place in the Council Working Party on the UK on the basis of 

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Council  Decision  (EU) 2021/1765  of  5 October  2021  on  the  position  to  be  adopted  on  behalf  of  the 
European Union, for the period 2021–2026, within the Specialised Committee on Fisheries established 
by  the  Trade  and  Cooperation  Agreement  between  the  European Union  and  the  European  Atomic 
Energy Community, of the one part, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of 
the other part (OJ L 355, 7.10.2021, pp. 135–141; ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2021/1765/oj) 
Trade  and  Cooperation  Agreement  between  the  European  Union  and  the  European  Atomic  Energy 
Community,  of  the  one  part,  and  the  United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and  Northern  Ireland,  of  the 
other part (OJ L 149, , pp. 10–2539; ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/agree_internation/2021/689(1)/oj). 

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Commission services’ non-papers further specifying the suggested EU position to be taken in 
these fora in line with the process established under Annex III of Decision (EU) 2021/1765. 
Overall, it is considered that Decision (EU) 2021/1765 is still fit for purpose and would not 
require any revision at this stage. 

2.3. 

The envisaged acts of the Specialised Committee on Fisheries 

Under Article 508(2) of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, the Specialised Committee on 
Fisheries may adopt acts or measures, including decisions and recommendations:  

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

recording matters agreed by the Parties following consultations under Article 498 of 
the Trade and Cooperation Agreement; 

on any of the matters referred to in points (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (g), (i), (j), (l), (m) and 
(n) in paragraph 1 of Article 508 of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement;  

amending  the  list  of  pre-existing  international  obligations  referred  to  in  Article 
496(2) of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement; 

on  any  other  aspect  of  cooperation  on  sustainable  fisheries  management  under  the 
fisheries heading of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement; and 

on  the  modalities  of  a  review  under  Article  510  of  the  Trade  and  Cooperation 
Agreement Trade and Cooperation Agreement. 

Annex  II  of  Decision  (EU)  2021/1765,  sets  out  in  detail  the  actions  to  be  pursued  by  the 
Union  with  respect  to  the  competences  of  the  Specialised  Committee  on  Fisheries,  so  as  to 
establish the position to be adopted on behalf of the Union within the Specialised Committee 
on  Fisheries  under  the  Trade  and  Cooperation  Agreement  with  regards  to  acts  of  the  SCF 
having legal effects. 

Since 2023, by way of an example, the Specialised Committee on Fisheries has adopted the 
following  decisions  and/or  recommendations,  pursuant  to  Article  508(2)  of  the  Trade  and 
Cooperation Agreement and in line with Decision (EU) 2021/1765: 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Decision  1/2023  of  24  July  2023  as  regards  the  mechanism  for  voluntary  in-year 
transfers of fishing opportunities. 

Recommendation  1/2023  of  24  July  2023  as  regards  guidelines  for  notifications 
under Article 496(3) of the Agreement. 

Recommendation  2/2023  of  24  July  2023  as  regards  the  alignment  of  management 
areas for Lemon Sole, Witch, Turbot and Brill. 

Decision  1/2025  of  19  June  2025  as  regards  the  arrangements  on  the  level  and 
conditions of access granted by each Party to vessels of the other Party to fish in its 
waters from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2038. 

Recommendation 1/2026  of 22 April 2026 as regards  a joint  EU-UK agreement on 
monitoring, control and surveillance. 

3. 

POSITION TO BE TAKEN ON THE UNION'S BEHALF 

Pursuant to Article 218(9) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), 
the Council shall adopt, on a proposal from the Commission, positions to be adopted on the 
Union's behalf in a body set up by an agreement, when that body is called upon to adopt acts 
having  legal  effects,  with  the  exception  of  acts  supplementing  or  amending  the  institutional 
framework  of  the  agreement.  Therefore,  the  positions  to  be  adopted  on  the  Union’s  behalf 

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within the Specialised Committee on Fisheries, on decisions adopted under Article 508(2) of 
the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, are adopted pursuant to Article 218(9) TFEU.  

Decision  (EU)  2021/1765  established  a  two-tier  approach  in  establishing  the  position  to  be 
taken on the Union’s behalf within the Specialised Committee on Fisheries. First, Annexes I 
and II of Decision (EU) 2021/1765 set out the principles and orientations to be reflected in the 
position to be adopted on the Union's behalf. Second, for each meeting where the Specialised 
Committee on Fisheries may be called upon to adopt acts or measures having legal effects, the 
position  is  to  be  supplemented  by  ‘written  documents’  prepared  by  the  Commission  and 
discussed in the concerned Council Working Parties, in accordance with the procedure set out 
in Annex III of Decision (EU) 2021/1765. 

Given that Decision (EU) 2021/1765 proved to be fit for purpose, this proposal aims to extend 
the  Union’s  position  within  the  Specialised  Committee  on  Fisheries,  as  set  out  in  Decision 
(EU) 2021/1765, until 30 June 2038. 

The  proposal  implements  the  principles  and  orientations  of  the  common  fisheries  policy 
(CFP) as laid down in Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013, in particular its Articles 2, 28 and 33. 
It  also  implements  the  provisions  of  multi-annual  plans  as  laid  down  in  Regulation  (EU) 
2018/973  establishing  a  multiannual  plan  for  demersal  stocks  in  the  North  Sea3  and 
Regulation  (EU)  2019/472  establishing  a  multiannual  plan  for  stocks  fished  in  the  Western 
Waters4. 

As already provided in Decision (EU) 2021/1765 and in line with Article 218(10) TFEU and 
Council  Decision  (EU)  2021/689,  the  European  Parliament  is  to  be  immediately  and  fully 
informed of the activities of the Specialised Committee on Fisheries, subject to the necessary 
arrangements  in  order  to  preserve  confidentiality.  As  a  general  rule,  the  Commission  will 
provide  the  information  to  the  European  Parliament  through  the  responsible  parliamentary 
committee.  Such  information  should  include  the  briefing  and  debriefing  before  and  after 
meetings of the Specialised Committee on Fisheries, as well as all documents pertaining to its 
meetings at the same time the Commission shares them with the Council.  

These  working  modalities  are  to  be  based  on  the  principle  of  mutual  sincere  cooperation 
between the Union institutions, as enshrined in Article 13(2) TEU. 

4. 

LEGAL BASIS 

4.1. 

Procedural legal basis 

4.1.1. Principles 

Article 218(9) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) provides for 
decisions establishing ‘the positions to be adopted on the Union’s behalf in a body set up by 

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Regulation (EU) 2018/973 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 July 2018 establishing a 
multiannual  plan  for  demersal  stocks  in  the  North  Sea  and  the  fisheries  exploiting  those  stocks, 
specifying  details  of  the  implementation  of  the  landing  obligation  in  the  North  Sea  and  repealing 
Council  Regulations  (EC)  No  676/2007  and  (EC)  No  1342/2008  (OJ  L  179,  16.7.2018,  pp.  1–13; 
ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2018/973/oj).  
Regulation  (EU)  2019/472  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  19  March  2019 
establishing  a  multiannual  plan  for  stocks  fished  in  the  Western  Waters  and  adjacent  waters,  and  for 
fisheries  exploiting  those  stocks,  amending  Regulations  (EU)  2016/1139  and  (EU)  2018/973,  and 
repealing  Council  Regulations  (EC)  No  811/2004,  (EC)  No  2166/2005,  (EC)  No  388/2006,  (EC)  No 
1–17; 
(EC) 
509/2007 
ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2019/472/oj).  

1300/2008 

25.3.2019, 

and 

(OJ 

pp. 

83, 

No 

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an  agreement,  when  that  body  is  called  upon  to  adopt  acts  having  legal  effects,  with  the 
exception of acts supplementing or amending the institutional framework of the agreement.’ 

The concept of ‘acts having legal effects’ includes acts that have legal effects by virtue of the 
rules of international law governing the body in question. It also includes instruments that do 
not  have  a  binding  effect  under  international  law,  but  that  are  ‘capable  of  decisively 
influencing the content of the legislation adopted by the EU legislature’5. 

4.1.2. Application to the present case 

The Specialised Committee on Fisheries is a body set up by an agreement, namely the Trade 
and Cooperation Agreement. 

The measures adopted by the Specialised Committee on Fisheries are binding on the Parties, 
in accordance with Article 10 of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, which provides that: 
‘The decisions adopted by the Partnership Council, or, as the case may be, by a Committee, 
shall be binding on the Parties and on all the bodies set up under this Agreement and under 
any supplementing agreement, including the arbitration tribunal referred to in Title I of Part 
6. Recommendations shall have no binding force.’ 

The  measures  adopted  by  the  Specialised  Committee  on  Fisheries  will  not  supplement  or 
amend the institutional framework of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement. 

Therefore, the procedural legal basis for the proposed decision is Article 218(9) TFEU. 

4.2. 

Substantive legal basis 

4.2.1. Principles 

The  substantive  legal  basis  for  a  decision  under  Article  218(9)  TFEU  depends  primarily  on 
the objective and content of the envisaged act in respect of which a position is taken on the 
Union's  behalf.  If the  envisaged act  pursues two  aims or has two components  and if one of 
those  aims  or  components  is  identifiable  as  the  main  one,  whereas  the  other  is  merely 
incidental, the decision under Article 218(9) TFEU must be founded on a single substantive 
legal basis, namely that required by the main or predominant aim or component. 

With regard to an envisaged act that simultaneously pursues a number of objectives, or that 
has  several  components,  which  are  inseparably  linked  without  one  being  incidental  to  the 
other,  the  substantive  legal  basis  of  a  decision  under  Article  218(9)  TFEU  will  have  to 
include, exceptionally, the various corresponding legal bases. 

4.2.2. Application to the present case 

The envisaged decision falls within the area of the common fisheries policy. 

Therefore, the substantive legal basis of the proposed decision is based on Article 43 TFEU. 

4.3. 

Conclusion 

The  legal  basis  of  the  proposed  decision  should  be  Article  43  TFEU,  in  conjunction  with 
Article 218(9) TFEU. 

5 

Judgment  of 
ECLI:EU:C:2014:2258, paragraphs 61 to 64.  

the  Court  of  Justice  of  7  October  2014,  Germany  v  Council,  C-399/12, 

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2026/0158 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

amending Council Decision 2021/1765 of 5 October 2021 on the position to be taken on 
behalf of the European Union, for the period 2021-2026, in the Specialised Committee 
on Fisheries established by the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the 
European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, of the one part, and the 
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of the other part 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  particular 
Article 43, in conjunction with Article 218(9) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

On  5  October  2021,  the  Council  adopted  Decision  (EU)  2021/17651,  which  sets  out 
the principles and orientations  for the  position to be  adopted on behalf of the  Union 
within  the  Specialised  Committee  on  Fisheries  for  the  period  of  2021-2026.  In  this 
process, the Commission conducts the consultations on behalf of the Union based on 
Union positions specified by the Council under the relevant Treaty provisions, while 
ensuring close  coordination  with  the Council and its preparatory bodies, in  line with 
the principle of sincere  cooperation between the Union institutions set  out  in  Article 
13(2) of the Treaty on European Union. 

A review of Decision (EU) 2021/1765 took place in July 2023 and concluded that no 
amendments were necessary. Given the absence of any implementation issues having 
been identified since then, Decision (EU) 2021/1765 remains fit for purpose. 

Decision (EU) 2021/1765 expires on 31 December 2026. It is therefore appropriate to 
extend  its  application  with  regards  to  the  position  to  be  taken  on  the  Union's  behalf 
within  the  Specialised  Committee  on  Fisheries  concerning  acts  or  measures  having 
legal effect. 

The Commission should conduct a review on the effective implementation of Decision 
(EU) 2021/1765. The review should assess whether any revisions are necessary and if 
appropriate, the review should be accompanied by a proposal for a revision. 

The European Parliament is to be immediately and fully informed, as provided for in 
Article 218(10) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. 

(6) 

Decision (EU) 2021/1765 should therefore be amended accordingly,  

1 

Council  Decision  (EU) 2021/1765  of  5 October  2021  on  the  position  to  be  adopted  on  behalf  of  the 
European Union, for the period 2021–2026, within the Specialised Committee on Fisheries established 
by  the  Trade  and  Cooperation  Agreement  between  the  European Union  and  the  European  Atomic 
Energy Community, of the one part, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of 
the other part (OJ L 355, 7.10.2021, pp. 135, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2021/1765/oj). 

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HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: 

Article 1 

Decision (EU) 2021/1765 is hereby amended as follows: 

(1) 

Article 3 is replaced by the following: 

‘This Decision shall apply until 30 June 2038.  

It  shall  be  assessed  as  necessary  and,  where  appropriate,  revised  by  the  Council  upon  a 
proposal from the Commission. A review shall in any event take place by 31 December 
2036.’ 

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

Article 2 

Done at Brussels, 

For the Council 
The President 

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