On Friday, 21 November, the European Commission decided to send the Netherlands an additional letter of formal notice for failure to comply, specifically, with the Fisheries Control Regulation (1224/2009) and the Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fisheries (IUU) Regulation (1005/2008).
The Netherlands has not taken appropriate measures to enforce the basic requirements as regards weighing and recording catches when pelagic and demersal fish, fresh or frozen, are landed by EU fishing vessels and third-country fishing vessels operating in its ports. In addition, the country is not fully complying with the inspection protocols set out in the Fisheries Control Implementing Regulation and the IUU Regulation.
The European Commission had previously sent the Netherlands a letter of formal notice on 30 October 2020, which was followed by a reasoned opinion on 9 February 2022 (see EUROPE 12887/22). While certain shortcomings have been corrected, others remain, and new deficiencies have been identified since.
The European Commission is now giving the Netherlands two months to respond to this formal notice before it decides whether it is necessary to issue a reasoned opinion. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)