The European Commission and Norway reached, on Friday 8 November, an agreement on a number of fisheries-related issues, including a quota of Svalbard cod to the EU at the level of 2,8274% of the total allowable catch (TAC) for the next and following years.
This will allow EU vessels to fish the quota (9,217 tonnes in 2025) in both Svalbard and international waters (see EUROPE 13277/33).
The agreement is an outcome of the newly-established High-Level Dialogue at the initiative of President von der Leyen and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, with the first meeting co-chaired by Executive Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič and Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide on 15 July.
This dialogue arose following the UK’s exit from the EU and Norway’s subsequent decision to set a quota of Svalbard cod for the EU below the Union’s historical fishing rights – thus affecting livelihood of fisheries communities in several Member States.
The agreement was confirmed through two letters between Executive Vice-President Šefčovič and Minister Eide. In the letters, the Commission commits to supporting a proposal by Norway on a quota of redfish in international waters in the Norwegian Sea. This proposal is to be adopted at the next meeting of the North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC), and then implemented in EU law in 2025.
To see the details: https://aeur.eu/f/e9g (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)