The Council adopted its position at first reading in view of the adoption of a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) No 1343/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 on certain provisions for fishing in the GFCM (General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean) Agreement Area.
The proposal aims at updating the Regulation (EU) No 1343/2011, by incorporating into Union law obligations resulting from conservation and control measures adopted by the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) between 2011 and 2014.
The Council has introduced amendments to the proposal that aim to:
- implement conservation measures as close as possible to the internationally agreed recommendations;
- simplify and modernise the delegated decision-making.
The European Parliament voted 25 amendments that addressed similar concerns. The Council moved its position in order to meet a number of Parliament's amendments on the substance, and reformulated procedural provisions on delegated decision-making in order to find compromises.
Rules for the Black Sea and the Adriatic Sea: the Council amended the ban on coastal trawling in the Black Sea in order to allow specific derogations justified by particular circumstances that are listed in the relevant GFCM Recommendation. The Commission scrutinises the Member States' derogations.
As regards the protection measures for small pelagic species in the Adriatic Sea, the Council and the Parliament coincided in a technical amendment to the scope of the measure.
Exploitation of red coral: the Council met the Parliament's concern in listing the various transitional provisions for the phasing out of remotely operated under-water vehicles.
As regards the application of derogations, the amended proposal foresees a delegated act developed through a regionalisation process, a concept introduced by the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy.
In addition, the Parliament's concern of safeguarding national measures was reflected through a transitional mechanism.
Protection of non-targeted marine species: the Council's amendments largely coincided with those of the Parliament. They add a few practical elements to the avoidance of protected species and to their specific treatment if accidentally caught.
Recording and Reporting: the Council's amendments make a distinction between minimum information to be recorded by the fishermen, and aggregated statistical information that the Member States will provide to the GFCM.