On Monday 10 October, the European Commission demonstrated that it was not willing to back down in the face of MEPs’ protests against measures closing access in 87 sensitive areas to all bottom fishing gear in EU waters in the North East Atlantic (see EUROPE B13022A13).
The representative of the European Commission justified the merits of the regulation, which entered into force on 9 October, and noted that an annual review is planned for areas that contain vulnerable marine ecosystems....