What changed

Recital 3: (3) In accordance with Regulation (EU) No 1026/2012 a country may be identified as allowing non-sustainable fishing if, among others, it fails to cooperate in the management of a stock of common interest in full compliance with the provisions of the UNCLOS and the UNFSA, or any other international agreement or norm of international law, or if it fails to adopt and comply with relevant fishery management measures.

Recital 4 a (new): (4a) ‘Best available scientific advice’ should be understood to refer to publicly available scientific advice that is supported by the most up-to-date scientific data and methods and that has either been issued or reviewed by an independent scientific body that is recognised at Union or international level.

Recital 4: (4) Definitions of “failure to cooperate” and “best available scientific advice” should be introduced, to better define, for the purposes of Regulation (EU) No 1026/2012, the scope and meaning of the requirement to cooperate pursuant to UNCLOS and UNFSA.

Recital 5: (5) It is also necessary to clarify that a country may be considered as allowing non-sustainable fishing if it does not implement, comply with or enforce the relevant fishery management, conservation or control measures, including those agreed in the framework of a RFMO.

Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point -1 a (new), Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point f: (-1a) in Article 2, point (f) is replaced by the following: / "(f) ‘unsustainable state’ means the condition where the stock is not continuously maintained at or above the levels that can produce maximum sustainable yield or, if these levels cannot be estimated, where the stock is not continuously maintained within safe biological limits in line with the precautionary approach to fisheries management as referred to in Article 6 of UNFSA; the stock levels determining whether the stock is in an unsustainable state are to be determined on the basis of best available scientific advice;";

Regulation (EU) No 1026/2012

Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 1, Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point i – point 4: (4) undue delays in replying to requests;requests or engaging in consultations;

Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 1, Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point i – point 10 a (new): (10a) adopting unilateral measures or quotas which are not in line with the measures or quotas agreed bilaterally or multilaterally.

Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 1, Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point i – point 8: (8) consistently maintaining their own positions over an extended period, regardless of the flexibilities and concessions offered by other parties during the consultations;

Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 1, Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point i a (new): (ia) ‘best available scientific advice’ means publicly available scientific advice that is supported by– thepoint most10 up-to-datea scientific(new): data(10a) andadopting methods,unreasonable and thatunjustified hasunilateral eithermeasures beenor issuedquotas orwhich reviewedare bynot anin independentline scientificwith bodythe thatmeasures isor recognisedquotas atagreed Unionbilaterally or international level.multilaterally;

Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2, Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point b – point i: deleted / (deleted)

Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 1, Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point i – point 10 b (new): (10b) implementing discriminatory measures that impact the fleets of third countries, while granting a partial or full exemption from those measures for their own fleet, leading to stocks being in an unsustainable state;

Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2 a (new), Article 3: (2a) Article 3 is replaced by the following : / “Article 3 / A country may be identified as a country allowing non-sustainable fishing where: / (a) it fails to cooperate in the management of a stock of common interest in full compliance with the provisions of the UNCLOS and the UNFSA, or any other international agreement or norm of international law; or / (b) it fails to adopt or implement the necessary fishery management measures, or those agreed bilaterally or multilaterally, including control measures ensuring the effective conservation and management of stocks of common interest; or / (deleted) / (c) it adopts fishery management measures without due regard to the rights, interests and duties of other countries and the Union, and those fishery management measures, when considered in conjunction with measures taken by other countries and the Union, lead to fishing activities which could result in the stock being in an unsustainable state. This condition is considered to be complied with also where the fishery management measures adopted by that country did not lead to the stock being in an unsustainable state solely due to measures adopted by others; or / (d) it systematically fails to comply with bilateral or multilateral agreements, by failing to take effective or timely action against its nationals or flagged vessels, which were deemed to have carried out illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing or acted contrary to the fishery management measures established by such …

Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 1, Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point i – point 10 c (new): (10c) lack of transparency in the consultations with all the relevant coastal States or fishing parties, including within RFMOs.

The rapporteur restructured Article 3 to establish equal criteria to ensure that each action listed is interpreted as a valid justification to determine a country as allowing non-sustainable fishing practices. Furthermore, a new criterion was added to specifically address inaction against vessels involved in illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 3 – point a a (new), Article 6 – paragraph 2 a (new): (aa) the following paragraph is inserted: / “2a. When the stock of common interest falls under the scope of an RFMO, prior to adopting measures referred to in Article 4, the Commission shall raise the matter of a third country allowing non-compliance within the relevant body, to seek timely rectification of the non-compliance. In the event of systematic non-compliance and failure to rectify, the Commission shall take action on the basis of the measures referred to in Article 4.”

Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2, Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point b – point i: (i) it fails to adopt, implement, comply with or enforce relevant fishery management measures, or those agreed bilaterally or multilaterally, including control measures ensuring the effective conservation and management of stocks of common interest or associated species, including measures adopted in the framework of an RFMO; or

Regulation (EU) No 1026/2012

Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2 a (new), Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point b – point i a (new): (2a) in Article 3, point (b), the following point is inserted: / “(ia) it systematically fails to comply with bilateral or multilateral agreements, by failing to take effective or timely action against its nationals or flagged vessels, which were deemed to have carried out illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing or acted contrary to the fishery management measures established by such agreements, leading to stocks being in an unsustainable state; or”

Regulation (EU) No 1026/2012

Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 3 – point a a (new), Article 6 – paragraph -1 (new): (aa) the following paragraph is inserted: / “-1. The Commission shall respond within 90 days of receiving a request, from a Member State or the European Parliament, to identify a country as a country allowing non-sustainable fishing and shall outline what actions it intends to take, if any.”;

Regulation (EU) No 1026/2012

Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 3 – point a b (new), Article 6 – paragraph 1: (ab) paragraph 1 is replaced by the following: / "1. Where the Commission considers that it is necessary to adopt measures referred to in Article 4, it shall notify the country concerned of the intention to identify it as a country allowing non-sustainable fishing. Prior to that notification, the Commission shall also register, as set out in Regulations (EU) 2016/10361a and (EU) 2016/10371b of the European Parliament and of the Council, all imports of products of the country under investigation that may be targeted pursuant to Article 4. In such cases, the European Parliament and the Council shall be immediately informed."; / 1a Regulation (EU) 2016/1036 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2016 on protection against dumped imports from countries not members of the European Union (codification) (OJ L 176, 30.6.2016, p. 21, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2016/1036/oj). / 1b Regulation (EU) 2016/1037 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2016 on protection against subsidised imports from countries not members of the European Union (codification) (OJ L 176, 30.6.2016, p. 55, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2016/1037/oj).

Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 3 – point a c (new), Article 6 – paragraph 2 a (new): (ac) the following paragraph is inserted: / “2a. When the stock of common interest falls under the scope of an RFMO and the non-compliance by a third country results in that country being identified as a country allowing non-sustainable fishing under Article 3, prior to adopting measures referred to in Article 4, the Commission shall raise the matter of a third country allowing non-compliance within the relevant body, to seek timely rectification of the non-compliance.”;

Regulation (EU) No 1026/2012

Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 3 – point a d (new), Article 6 – paragraph 2 b (new): (ad) the following paragraph is inserted: / 2b. In the event that, despite the actions taken under paragraph 2a, the country is still identified as a country allowing non-sustainable fishing in accordance with Article 3, the Commission shall take action on the basis of the measures referred to in Article 4.

Regulation (EU) No 1026/2012

Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 3 – point c, Article 6 – paragraph 5: 5. Following the adoption of measures pursuant to Article 4, the Commission shall continue to engage and maintain an open dialogue and shall promote cooperation bilaterally, multilaterally, or with the compliance body of the relevant RFMO, with a view to the country concerned ceasing to allow non-sustainable fishing.

Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 3 – point c, Article 6 – paragraph 6: 6. Where the country concerned enters into consultations with the Union in good faith, the Commission shall engage in such consultations promptly.

Regulation (EU) No 1026/2012