On Wednesday 7 December, the committee of member states’ permanent representatives to the EU (Coreper) approved the inter-institutional agreement reached a few days previously on the proposal for a regulation on establishing EU rules for the collection, management and use of data in fisheries (see EUROPE 11535).
Thanks to the agreement, there will be an improved framework for gathering extensive and reliable information and for making it available at regional and European levels. Reliable data are essential for the implementation of the common fisheries policy (CFP) and will allow for a better evaluation of essential issues in fisheries management, says the Commission in a press release.
The regulation will update and simplify the current rules on data collection to take account of the new CFP rules (achieving maximum sustainable yield and landing obligation). The new rules will ensure that all the relevant data are collected following a cost/benefit approach and without duplication of effort, thus reducing the administrative burden. The European Parliament still has to adopt the text in plenary session. The new legislation should come into force in mid-2017 following the definitive green light from the Council (adoption of the text at first reading). (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)