REPORT on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 on the Common Fisheries Policy
14.9.2017 - (COM(2017)0424 – C8‑0239/2017 – 2017/0190(COD)) - ***I
Committee on Fisheries
Rapporteur: Alain Cadec
(Simplified procedure - Rule 50(1) of the Rules of Procedure)
DRAFT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION
on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 on the Common Fisheries Policy
(COM(2017)0424 – C8‑0239/2017 – 2017/0190(COD))
(Ordinary legislative procedure: first reading)
The European Parliament,
– having regard to the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2017)0424),
– having regard to Article 294(2) and Article 43(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C8‑0239/2017),
– having regard to Article 294(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
– after consulting the European Economic and Social Committee,
– having regard to Rule 59 of its Rules of Procedure,
– having regard to the report of the Committee on Fisheries (A8-0285/2017),
1. Adopts its position at first reading, taking over the Commission proposal;
2. Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it replaces, substantially amends or intends to substantially amend its proposal;
3. Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013[1] introduced the obligation to land all catches for species subject to catch limits or a minimum conservation reference size. The detailed arrangements for implementing the landing obligation are to be laid down in regional multiannual management plans adopted by means of codecision. Because the adoption of the multiannual plans was expected to take some time, however, as a temporary solution Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 provided for the adoption of Commission delegated acts establishing discard plans, to be valid for no more than three years, drawn up on the basis of a joint recommendation issued by the Member States concerned. The discard plans may incorporate provisions concerning fisheries or species to which the landing obligation already applies and may provide, in particular, for de minimis exemptions based on high survival rates and include provisions on catch documents and, where appropriate, on the fixing of minimum conservation reference sizes.
The first Commission delegated regulations establishing discard plans entered into force on the 1 January 2015 and will expire at the end of 2017. The multiannual plans should be used to achieve the objective of sustainable exploitation of marine biological resources in a manner consistent with the specific characteristics of fisheries and empower the authorities to adopt delegated acts incorporating the other rule-relaxation measures required for the smooth implementation of the landing obligation. Following the expiry of the initial three-year period, therefore, the Commission alone would be empowered to adopt delegated acts setting out only de minimis exemptions.
To date, only the Baltic multiannual plan is in place[2], whilst two Commission proposals for a multiannual plan for demersals in the North Sea and for small pelagics in the Adriatic are currently under negotiation between the co-legislators[3].
Substance of the proposal
The proposal is that the Commission should be empowered to adopt discard plans for a further total period of up to three years, in order to facilitate the implementation of the landing obligation.
Rapporteur’s position
Your rapporteur welcomes the Commission proposal, which will facilitate the implementation of the landing obligation pending the adoption of regional multiannual management plans.
The Commission proposal should be adopted by means of the simplified procedure under Rule 50 of Parliament's Rules of Procedure.
- [1] 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).
- [2] Regulation (EU) 2016/1139 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 July 2016 establishing a multiannual plan for the stocks of cod, herring and sprat in the Baltic Sea and the fisheries exploiting those stocks, amending Council Regulation (EC) No 2187/2005 and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1098/2007 (OJ L 191, 15.7.2016, p. 1).
- [3] COM(2016) 0493 final – 2016/0238 (COD) – COM(2017) 097 final – 2017/043 (COD).
PROCEDURE – COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE
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Title |
Amendment to Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 on the Common Fisheries Policy |
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References |
COM(2017)0424 – C8-0239/2017 – 2017/0190(COD) |
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Date submitted to Parliament |
11.8.2017 |
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Committee responsible Date announced in plenary |
PECH 11.9.2017 |
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Rapporteurs Date appointed |
Alain Cadec 12.7.2017 |
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Simplified procedure - date of decision |
12.7.2017 |
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Discussed in committee |
30.8.2017 |
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Date adopted |
30.8.2017 |
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Date tabled |
14.9.2017 |
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