European Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans, and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevičius announced on Thursday, 16 July, that the Commission is going to increase transparency in the negotiating process for total allowable catches (TACs) and quotas.
In future, all Commission documents accompanying proposals on fishing opportunities, such as working documents, will be made public when they are sent to the EU Council.
These documents complement the Commission’s original proposals on new scientific advice or the results of international negotiations, which were not yet available when the original proposal was adopted. According to the Commission, “This will make the negotiating process more transparent from the Commission’s side.”
Commissioner Sinkevičius considered it important that decisions on fishing quotas be taken in a transparent manner.
The announcement was made at a meeting that the Commissioner held with a group of NGOs, including Pew Charitable Trusts, Fisheries Secretariat, Oceana, Seas at Risk, and WWF.
The European Ombudsman recently called on the EU Council to make the documents on fishing quotas public (see EUROPE 12478/19). (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)