Council Decision (EU) 2021/1765 of 5 October 2021 on the position to be adopted on behalf of the European Union, for the period 2021–2026, within the Specialised Committee on Fisheries established by the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, of the one part, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of the other part

Article 1

The position to be adopted on behalf of the Union within the Specialised Committee on Fisheries established by Article 8(1), point (q), of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement is set out in Annexes I and II to this Decision.

Article 2

The Union position referred to in Article 1 shall be further specified in accordance with Annex III.

Article 3

This Decision shall apply until 31 December 2026. It shall be assessed as necessary and, where appropriate, revised by the Council upon a proposal from the Commission. A review shall in any event take place by 31 December 2022.

Article 4

This Decision shall enter into force on the date of its adoption.

Principles

ANNEX ISupplementary provisions

ANNEX I Principles The Union’s position within the Specialised Committee on Fisheries established by Article 8(1), point (q), of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement shall respect the following principles: (a) the Union shall act in accordance with the objectives and principles pursued by the Union within the common fisheries policy (CFP) to ensure that fisheries are environmentally sustainable in the long term and are managed in a way that is consistent with the objectives of achieving economic, social and employment benefits, in particular through the aims related to the MSY as laid down in Article 2(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 and the applicable multiannual plans, and in line with the precautionary approach, to promote the implementation of an ecosystem-based approach to fisheries management, to avoid and reduce, as far as possible, unwanted catches, and gradually eliminate discards, and to minimise the impact of fishing activities on marine ecosystems and their habitats, as well as to provide, through the promotion of economically viable and competitive Union fisheries, for a fair standard of living for those who depend on fishing activities while taking account of the interests of consumers; and shall act in accordance with Articles 28 and 33 of that Regulation as regards the management of stocks of common interest; (b) the Union shall ensure the operationalisation of the Specialised Committee on Fisheries, including the preparation or amendment of its rules of procedure; (c) the Union shall aim to ensure that acts or measures having legal effects adopted by the Specialised Committee on Fisheries are consistent with international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the United Nations Agreement on Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks and the FAO Agreement on Port State Measures and with the Union’s international commitments; (d) the Union shall ensure that acts or measures having legal effects adopted by the Specialised Committee on Fisheries are consistent with Article 494 of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, including the promotion of the long-term sustainability and optimum use of shared stocks, the use of the best available scientific advice principally provided by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) as the basis for conservation and management decisions, and the application of proportionate and non-discriminatory measures for the conservation of marine living resources and the management of fisheries resources, while preserving the regulatory autonomy of the Parties, pursuing a level playing field between the EU and UK fleets and seeking a shared approach between the Parties’ rules; (e) the Union shall promote positions consistent with best practices and with positions taken in other forums and multilateral and bilateral consultations in the north-east Atlantic, and promote coordination with other Parties and with the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC); (f) the Union shall act in line with the Council conclusions of 19 March 2012 on the Commission communication on the external dimension of the common fisheries policy; (g) the Union shall aim to promote timely implementation by the Parties of measures adopted under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement into their respective legal frameworks, taking into account their respective internal procedures.

Orientations for the Union position

ANNEX IISupplementary provisions

ANNEX II Orientations for the Union position 1.    The Union shall pursue the following actions within the Specialised Committee on Fisheries: (a) discussion and cooperation in relation to sustainable fisheries management; (b) consideration of measures for fisheries management and conservation, including emergency measures and measures to ensure selectivity of fishing activities. This should include seeking a shared approach on technical measures and, where appropriate, discussions on any measures notified by one Party to the other Party; (c) consideration of approaches to the collection of data for science and fisheries management purposes, the sharing of such data, including information relevant to monitoring, controlling and enforcing compliance, and the consultation of scientific bodies regarding the best available scientific advice; (d) consideration of measures to ensure compliance with the applicable rules, including joint control, monitoring and surveillance programmes and the exchange of data to facilitate monitoring uptake of fishing opportunities and control and enforcement; (e) development and adoption of guidelines for setting the provisional total allowable catches (TACs) for special stocks as referred to in Article 499(6) of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement on provisional TACs, taking into account the difficulty of fishing all stocks in a mixed fishery at the MSY level at the same time, in particular where it is very difficult to avoid the phenomenon of choke species, and, where necessary, considering how a specific approach might need to be developed to delivering results that contribute to the overall objective of sustainable management of the fisheries and marine biological resources in its three dimensions, in line with the objectives of the CFP, including flexibilities available under multiannual plans; (f) consideration of matters relating to the designation of ports for landings, including the facilitation of the timely notification by the Parties of such designations and of any changes to those designations; (g) establishment of timelines for the notification of measures referred to in Article 496(3), the communication of the lists of vessels referred to in Article 497(1) and the notice referred to in Article 498(7) of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement; (h) provision of a forum for consultations under Article 501(2) and Article 506(4) of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement; (i) development and adoption of a mechanism for voluntary in-year transfers of fishing opportunities between the Parties, as provided for in Article 498(8) of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, built on voluntary contributions by Member States and ensuring that the Member States that contribute to the swaps also benefit from them proportionally; (j) consideration of the application and implementation of Articles 502 and 503 of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement; (k) supervise and coordinate Working Groups in accordance with Article 8(4), point (f), of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, which will be established and dissolved through a separate decision under Article 218(9) TFEU; (l) seek agreement on the issues referred to the Specialised Committee on Fisheries in any written record resulting from annual consultations on fishing opportunities, on the basis of the Union position established for those consultations as further specified under this Decision, including that signed between the Parties on 11 June 2021; (m) seek agreement on the modalities of a review under Article 510 of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement. 2.    The Union may pursue the following actions within the Specialised Committee on Fisheries: (a) consideration of development of multi-year strategies for conservation and management as the basis for the setting of TACs and other management measures; (b) the development of multi-year strategies for the conservation and management of non-quota stocks as provided for in the Trade and Cooperation Agreement; (c) recording matters agreed by the Parties following consultations under Article 498 of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement; (d) amending the list of pre-existing international obligations referred to in the third subparagraph of Article 496(2) of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement; (e) matters related to any other aspect of cooperation on sustainable fisheries management under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement. 3.    The Union shall, where appropriate, support the adoption by the Specialised Committee on Fisheries of the decisions or recommendations having legal effects in relation to the matters referred to in points 1 and 2 of this Annex.

Specification of the Union’s position to be adopted within the Specialised Committee on Fisheries

ANNEX IIISupplementary provisions

ANNEX III Specification of the Union’s position to be adopted within the Specialised Committee on Fisheries Before the Specialised Committee on Fisheries adopts acts or measures having legal effects, the necessary steps shall be taken so that the position to be expressed on the Union’s behalf takes account of the latest scientific and other relevant information transmitted to the Commission, in accordance with the principles and orientations set out in Annexes I and II. To this effect, and based on that information, the Commission shall transmit to the Council, sufficiently in advance of each meeting of the Specialised Committee on Fisheries or of any written procedure in the Specialised Committee on Fisheries, and in any case not later than eight working days prior to that meeting or usage of written procedure, a written document setting out the particulars of the proposed specification of the Union’s position for discussion and endorsement of the details of the position to be expressed on the Union’s behalf. The European Parliament shall be informed in accordance with Article 218(10) TFEU. The principles set out in this Annex shall continue to guide the work of the Commission during the Specialised Committee on Fisheries meetings. If in the course of a meeting of the Specialised Committee on Fisheries it is impossible to reach an agreement, in order for the Union’s position to take account of new elements, the matter shall be referred to the Council in accordance with the procedure set out in this Annex.