07/06/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 3 June, the EU Council of Ministers adopted a decision which allows the provisional application of the understanding (concluded in 2008 and finalised in 2009) between the EU and Chile on the conservation of swordfish stocks in the South-Eastern Pacific Ocean. The agreement, which will be applied provisionally until such time as the necessary procedures are completed, allows EU vessels fishing for swordfish in the high seas of the South-Eastern Pacific to have access to designated Chilean ports (the ports of Arica, Antofagasta and Punta Arenas). The aim of the understanding is to settle any disputes over swordfish fisheries between Chile and the European Community amicably within the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLS) and the World Trade Organisation (WTO). (L.C./transl.rt)