On Thursday 14 June, the European Parliament in Strasbourg decided (by 484 votes to 77, with 15 abstentions) to object to a delegated act aimed in particular at authorising electric pulse fishing in the North Sea. Parliament had already voted in favour of banning this fishing practice (see EUROPE 12035).
The delegated regulation concerns conservation measures for the protection of the marine environment in the North Sea. The European Parliament considers that the definition of “alternative seabed-impacting fishing gear” should be further specified and that, if it covers electric pulse fishing, “such a definition would be in contradiction with the mandate for negotiations adopted by Parliament” on the “technical measures” regulation.
“The request set out in the delegated act was unacceptable. Rather than try to push through the window, I call on the European Commission to uphold the MEPs’ vote aimed at banning electric fishing. The matter should not be the subject of a delegated act”, said Alain Cadec (EPP, France), Chairman of Parliament's fisheries committee.
“The massive vote of objection is a major setback for the Commission. It will find it increasingly difficult to make Parliament swallow its little arrangements with states in order to decide on the European rules of the game on its own”, said Isabelle Thomas (S&D, France). (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)