On Monday, 29 July, the European Commission decided to formally ask Ireland to conduct an administrative inquiry to assess the country’s ability to apply the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).
The Commission alludes to “severe and significant weaknesses” in the Irish fisheries control system. These deficiencies were detected during an audit carried out by the Commission in Ireland in 2018.
The Commission has identified the following problems: inadequate control of the weighing of catches of small pelagic species; underreporting of catches of these species; ineffectiveness of the Irish sanctioning system for offences committed by operators; and lack of control and monitoring of bluefin tuna catches by recreational vessels.
The Commission advises that the administrative inquiry should focus on collecting information on these specific findings in order “to enable the Commission to further evaluate Ireland’s capacity to apply the rules of the CFP and to assess the potential consequences of any failure to do so”.
According to Article 102 of Regulation 1224/2009 on the Community control system, the country concerned informs the Commission of the results of the inquiry and sends it a report within a maximum period of three months from the Commission’s request in order to ensure compliance with CFP rules. The Commission may—upon a duly reasoned request from a Member State—extend this period by a reasonable period of time.
Action plan? If the administrative inquiry does not lead to the elimination of the irregularities or if the Commission detects shortcomings in a Member State’s control system during inspections, the Commission establishes an action plan with that Member State. The Member State concerned must then take all necessary measures to ensure that action plan is implemented. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)