On Thursday 25 July, the European Commission decided to close the infringement procedures brought against five EU Member States (Spain, France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Ireland) for failing to implement the rules on landing obligations (ending the discarding of fish at sea).
This end to the procedures has provoked the ire of NGOs, including the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) and ClientEarth, which believes that “this decision risks compromising the EU’s important zero-tolerance approach to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing”.
These closed procedures are numbered INFR(2021)2118 (France), INFR(2021)2117 (Spain), INFR(2021)2165 (Netherlands) and INFR(2021)2163 (Belgium). The Commission had asked these countries in 2021 to ensure compliance with the control and enforcement obligations set out in the Common Fisheries Policy Regulation [Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013] and the Fisheries Control Regulation [Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009]. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)