Although progress has been made under the German Presidency of the EU Council on the proposal to reform the controls on fishing activities, it is not sufficient to enable the Member States to reach a common position on this sensitive dossier by the end of the year.
It is therefore up to the future Portuguese Presidency, which will begin on 1 January 2021, to bring the EU Council to a general approach on this text.
A progress report on the negotiations in the EU Council shows that a compromise proposal by the German Presidency received “broad support” from delegations on a large number of provisions.
However, some issues remain outstanding, including the extension of the Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) to smaller fleets.
The compromise text introduces the possibility for Member States to ask the Commission to develop a VMS for vessels under 12 metres (m) and the possibility to exclude vessels under 8 metres from the obligation to use VMS. A significant number of Member States welcomed these changes. Nevertheless, some delegations considered that this derogation should be granted to vessels of less than 12 metres.
Another controversial subject is remote electronic monitoring. The German Presidency ruled out the possibility for the Commission to determine, by means of an implementing act, the use of these arrangements for the monitoring and control of compliance with other rules than the landing obligation. However, some countries have called for a legal basis for all vessels to be obliged to use remote electronic monitoring (not only vessels over 24 m).
As many delegations were opposed to the inclusion of cameras on board (CCTV) as a requirement for remote electronic monitoring, the compromise text provided that remote electronic monitoring systems did not necessarily have to include CCTV, but must be able to effectively monitor and control the landing obligation. One delegation insisted that video surveillance should be mandatory.
Electronic catch reporting. The use of electronic reporting tools by small fleets is contested by several countries. The text introduces flexibilities. For example, Member States that do not wish to develop an electronic logbook system for vessels under 12 m could ask the Commission to develop it at EU level.
Recreational fishing. The text removes not only the requirement for a registration and licensing system for ‘recreational’ fishing, but also the Commission’s power to lay down detailed rules on the reporting obligation for anglers (the details would only be defined in the national legislation of each Member State).
Link to the report: https://bit.ly/39vQWhD (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)