Brussels, 04/04/2012 (Agence Europe) - On 2 April, the European Commission adopted a proposal aimed at amending Council Regulation 1098/2007 establishing a multi-annual plan (“the plan”) for cod stocks in the Baltic Sea and the fisheries exploiting these stocks. The changes proposed mainly allow the plan to work effectively within the new decision-making framework set in place by the Lisbon Treaty.
The core objective of the plan is to ensure that Baltic cod stocks can be exploited under sustainable economic, environmental and social conditions. To achieve this, the plan defines rules for the establishment of the annual fishing opportunities for this stock in terms of total allowable catch (TAC) and fishing effort.
Article 27 of the regulation stipulates that, although scientific advice indicates that the fishing mortality rates are incompatible with the objectives of the plan, the Council must, by qualified majority, revise mortality rates to ensure that the plan can attain its management objectives. The current text therefore empowers the Council to amend these non-essential elements of the plan. Such decision-making procedure is no longer possible under the TFEU. Similarly, Article 26 provides for modification by the Council of certain non-essential elements of the plan to ensure that the objectives are met.
Article 290 of the TFEU provides that a legislative act may delegate to the Commission the power to adopt non-legislative acts of general application to supplement or amend certain non-essential elements of the legislative act. Consequently, the Commission proposes that the decision-making procedure as set out under Articles 26 and 27 of the regulation should be converted into a system of delegated powers to be exercised by the Commission under the conditions set out in the plan itself. The plan should therefore be amended accordingly.
The plan requires evaluation of the impact of the management measures on the stocks concerned and on the fisheries concerned. According to scientific advice, a full evaluation of three years' performance of the plan cannot be conducted until five years from the commencement of the plan. Consequently, the timeline for evaluation of the plan should be modified.
Furthermore, the Commission and member states have set themselves the objective of achieving a maximum sustainable yield (MSY) for depleted stocks by 2015 at the latest, but this is not indicated as an objective of the plan. To avoid any ambiguities in the plan, the reference to the MSY should be included in the plan. (LC/transl.jl)