CELEX: 51982PC0593(02)
Language: en
Date: 1982-09-23 00:00:00
Title: RECOMMENDATION FOR A COUNCIL DECISION CONCLUDING THE PROTOCOL TO THE BARCELONA CONVENTION OF 1976 CONCERNING MEDITERRANEAN SPECIALLY-PROTECTED AREAS

No C 278/4                          Official Journal of the European Communities                                    21. 10.82
                                                          II
                                                   (Preparatory Acts)
                                             COMMISSION
              Recommendation for a Council Decision concluding the Protocol to the Barcelona
                        Convention of 1976 concerning Mediterranean specially-protected areas
                          (Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 28 September 1982)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN                                    the fauna and flora protected by it and could,
COMMUNITIES,                                                   therefore, affect the free circulation of goods between
                                                               Member States;
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the
European Economic Community, and in particular                 Whereas some provisions of the said draft Protocol
Article 235 thereof,                                           could affect Council Directive 76/464/EEC of 4 May
                                                                1976 on pollution caused by certain dangerous sub-
Having regard to the recommendation from             the       stances discharged into the aquatic environment of
Commission,                                                    the Community (3), Council Directive 79/409/EEC
                                                               of 2 April 1979 on the conservation of wild birds (4),
Having regard to the opinion of the European
                                                               Directive 79/923/EEC 30 October 1979 on the
Parliament,
                                                               quality required of shellfish waters (5) and Council
Whereas the action programme of the European                   Regulation (EEC) No 348/81 of 20 January 1981 on
Communities on the environment (') stresses the need           common rules for imports of cetacean products ( 6 );
to protect and to purify the sea, in order that it might
continue to play its part in the preservation and              Whereas the said Protocol concerning Mediterranean
development of species, and to maintain the vital              specially-protected areas sets out to safeguard the
ecological balance;                                            common natural resources of that region, to preserve
                                                               the diversity of the endemic species and to protect
Whereas the said action programme underlines the               certain natural habitats by setting up a number of
urgent need for international solutions to the problem         specially protected areas;
of the development and ecological management of
coastal regions;                                               Whereas most of the signatories to the Barcelona
                                                               Convention and to the annexed Protocols enjoy a
Whereas cooperation with the developing countries,             special relationship with the Community within the
in particular with the Community's Mediterranean               framework          of its overall approach to the
partners, on environmental matters is one of the               Mediterranean, particularly as regards cooperation;
objectives of the said action programme;                       whereas the Protocol concerning Mediterranean
                                                               specially-protected areas lays down detailed rules for
Whereas Article 4 of the Barcelona Convention                  such cooperation in the sectors which it covers;
concluded on behalf of the Community on 25 July
1977 (2) empowers the Contracting Parties to adopt             Whereas the Community                   participated  in   the
additional Protocols prescribing measures, procedures          negotiations on the Protocol;
and standards for the implementation of the said
Convention; whereas in application of that Article the         Whereas the Community signed the Protocol
Mediterranean States represented at a conference of            concerning Mediterranean specially-protected areas
plenipotentiaries held in Geneva on 2 and 3 April              on          ;
1982 signed the Protocol to the said Convention
concerning Mediterranean specially-protected areas;            Whereas the Community should conclude the
                                                               Protocol to the Barcelona Convention concerning
Whereas the Protocol concerning Mediterranean                  areas in order to attain, in the course of the operation
specially-protected areas provides for the adoption of
measures concerning trade, imports and exports of
                                                               (3)  OJ No L 129, 18. 5. 1976, p. 23.
                                                               (4)  OJ No L 103, 25. 4. 1979, p. 1.
O OJ No C 112, 20. 12. 1973; OJ No C 139, 13. 6. 1977.         (5). OJ No L 281, 10. 11. 1979, p. 47. -
(2) OJ No L 240, 19. 9. 1977, p. 3.                            (6)  O J N o L 3 9 , 12. 2. 1981, p. 1.
 ---pagebreak--- 21. 10.82                          Official Journal of the European Communities                             No C 278/5
of the common market, one of the objectives of the              hereby approved on         behalf  of   the    European
Community in the field of the protection of the                 Economic Community.
environment and of the quality of life, and whereas
no provision is made in the Treaty for the powers
necessary to this end,                                          The text of the Protocol is annexed to this Decision.
HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:
                         Article 1                                                      Article 2
The Protocol to the Barcelona Convention of 1976                The President of the Council shall deposit the acts as
concerning Mediterranean specially-protected areas is           provided for in Article 18 of the Protocol.
                                                     PROTOCOL
                                   concerning Mediterranean specially-protected areas
                                                   United Nations 1982
THE CONTRACTING PARTIES TO THE PRESENT                          2.    Nothing in this Protocol shall prejudice the
PROTOCOL,                                                       codification and development of the law of the sea by
                                                                the United Nations Conference on the Law of the
being parties to the convention for the Protection of
                                                                Sea convened pursuant to Resolution 2750 C (XXV)
the Mediterranean Sea against Pollution, adopted at
                                                                of the General Assembly of the United Nations, nor
Barcelona on 16 February 1976,
                                                                the present or future claims and legal views of any
conscious of the danger threatening the environment             State concerning the law of the sea and the nature
of the Mediterranean Sea Area as a whole, in view of            and extent of coastal and flag State jurisdiction.
the increasing human activities in the region,
taking into account the special hydrographic and
ecological characteristics of the Mediterranean Sea                                     Article 2
Area,                                                           For the purposes of the designation of specially
stressing the importance of protecting and, as appro-           protected areas (hereinafter referred to as 'protected
priate, improving the state of the natural resources            areas'), the area to which this Protocol applies shall
and natural sites of the Mediterranean Sea, as well as          be the Mediterranean Sea Area as defined in Article 1
of their cultural heritage in the region, among other           of the Convention for the Protection of the
means by the establishment of specially protected               Mediterranean Sea against Pollution (hereinafter
areas including marine areas and their environment,             referred to as 'the Convention'); it being understood
                                                                that, for the purposes of the present Protocol, it shall
desirous of establishing close cooperation         among        be limited to the territorial waters of the Parties and
themselves in order to achieve that objective,                  may include waters on the landward side of the
                                                                baseline from which the breadth of the territorial sea
HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:                                         is measured and extending, in the case of water-
                                                                courses, up to the freshwater limit. It may also
                         Article 1                              include wetlands or coastal areas designated by each
 1.   The Contracting Parties to this Protocol (here-           of the Parties.
inafter referred to as 'the Parties') shall take all
appropriate measures with a view to protecting those
marine areas which are important for the safeguard of                                   Article 3
the natural resources and natural sites of the
Mediterranean Sea Area, as well as for the safeguard             1.   The Parties shall, to the extent possible,
of their cultural heritage in the region.                       establish protected areas and shall endeavour to