Evaluation of the Baltic Sea Multiannual Plan Regulation

This European implementation assessment of Regulation (EU) 2016/1139 establishing a multiannual plan for the stocks of cod, herring and sprat in the Baltic Sea and the fisheries exploiting those stocks aims to inform the ongoing work of the European Parliament's committee on Fisheries (PECH) on an own-initiative implementation report, 'The multiannual plan for the Baltic Sea and ways forward' (2024/2127(INI)). This European implementation assessment is composed of two parts. First, an introduction by the EPRS provides essential historical and institutional background to the Baltic Sea multiannual plan and sets out the scope and the limitations of the attached evaluation study for clarity on the weight and bearing of the findings and recommendations. Second, an evaluation study undertaken by a team of external experts that covers all Member States concerned over the 2016 to 2025 period. Based on interviews and desk research, it provides up-to-date and original sources on the status of the regulation's implementation over the past decade, allowing an evidence-based assessment of the effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, coherence and EU added value of the Baltic Sea multiannual plan. It also offers recommendations for making the current system work better and for possible legal revisions.