The European Council has come to agreement on amendments to regulation of long-term plan for cod stocks, and to 2013 fishing opportunities for certain Black Sea fish stocks.
The agreements were reached on the first day of the 3212th Council meeting, on 18 December 2012, in Brussels, Belgium.
18 December 2012: The EU has announced the outcomes of the first day of its 3212th Council meeting, which addressed fisheries matters, noting the Council reached agreement on 2013 fishing opportunities for certain stocks in the Black Sea, and also agreed on an amendment to regulation for a long-term plan for cod stocks.
The report of the meeting indicates that ministers debated fisheries issues, with the agreements on a regulation for 2013 on fishing opportunities for certain Black Sea fish stocks including provisions related to: a roll-over in the EU total allowable catches (TACs) for turbot and sprat; control and monitoring measures to address misreporting and illegal fishing for turbot; and enhanced regional cooperation to promote sustainable stock management. On the long-term plan for cod stocks, after splitting proposed amendments into two legal acts, the Council reached agreement on one covering measures on the fixing and allocation of fishing opportunities, which allows the Council to introduce flexibility in setting TACs to reflect the scientific advice on a case-by-case basis and also to freeze effort allocations under certain conditions.
The Council also approved items on matters related to common security and defense policy, agriculture, transport, environment, nuclear energy and the European Economic Area such as, inter alia: 2013 Budget for the European Defence Agency; technical specification for interoperability of European railways; and secure supply of radioisotopes for medical use. [EU Press Release]