In the early hours this morning, the Council and the European Parliament came to a hard-fought agreement on the basics for the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), after months of trilogue negotiations.
Many of the details remain to be sorted out, as several different versions of wording has been circulated during the last round of negotiations and the text will still need to be approved by COREPER and plenary. It is clear, however, that the European Parliament did manage to improve the Council position on a number of key issues.
The following areas have been highlighted in the political deal:
1. The aim to rebuild fish stocks to biomass levels supporting Maximum Sustainable Yields (MSY) is now included in the overarching objectives, together with a strict time table for applying fishing mortalities consistent with MSY.
2. A commitment to implement a discard ban – though still riddled with exemptions – and to increase selectivity.
3. A joint rejection of mandatory transferable fishing concessions, and use of environmental and social criteria when distributing fishing opportunities
4. A strengthening of control and transparency aspects.
5. A fundamental change to access agreements under the external dimension, restricting EU fishing activities that take place outside of the Union to surplus resources, as well as measures to prevent flag hopping.
– The agreement is a significant step forward, particularly in terms of the targets for rebuilding fish stocks, says Niki Sporrong, Director at FISH. We have been working hard for 5 years to secure a fundamental reform of the CFP. It could have been stronger, but we commend the parties for reaching this agreement.
Sweden has been a progressive force both through its MEP Isabella Lövin and Minister Eskil Erlandsson, who has refused to compromise on key aspects of the reform.
– This deal has demonstrated that Parliament and Council are able to fruitfully cooperate on fisheries management, says Christian Tsangarides, Policy Officer at FISH and Baltic coordinator for OCEAN2012. We now call on them to break the deadlock with regard to multiannual management plans (MAPs), and ensure that fishing limits, in line with this agreement, are set within such plans.
Once the details of the agreement become available, focus will shift to the financial instrument – the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) – another cornerstone of the reform that remains to be agreed. The European Parliament Fisheries Committee is scheduled to vote on its amendments on 10 July, while Council is expected to finalise its General Approach in October.