Regulation (EU) 2022/2495 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2022 amending Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 as regards restrictions to the access to Union waters

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 43(2) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (1),

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure (2),

Whereas:

(1) Union fishing vessels have equal access to Union waters and resources subject to the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).

(2) Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3) provides for derogations from the equal access rule.

(3) In accordance with that Regulation, Member States are authorised to restrict fishing to fishing vessels that traditionally fish in those waters from ports on the adjacent coast in waters up to 12 nautical miles from their baselines.

(4) Member States are also authorised to restrict access to waters up to 100 nautical miles from the baselines of the Union outermost regions referred to in Article 349, first paragraph, of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) to vessels registered in the ports of those regions.

(5) Existing rules restricting access to resources within the 12 nautical mile zones of Member States have benefitted conservation by restricting fishing effort in the most sensitive part of Union waters. Those rules have also preserved traditional fishing activities on which the social and economic development of certain coastal communities is highly dependent.

(6) Existing rules restricting access to marine biological resources around the Union outermost regions referred to in Article 349, first paragraph, TFEU have contributed to the preservation of the local economy of those regions, having regard to their structural, social and economic situation.

(7) The existing derogations concerning restrictions to access to Union waters will expire on 31 December 2022. Those derogations should, however, be extended for a period of 10 years beyond that date, in order to ensure continuity of the current protection measures and to avoid disrupting the balance that has been achieved since the introduction of this special regime. Those derogations are an integral part of the CFP and the duration and scope of that extension may be revised in the framework of any review of the CFP.

(8) In accordance with Article 510 of 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 (4), a review of the implementation of Heading Five of that Agreement, including of the provisions in relation to access to waters, is to be carried out four years after the end of the adjustment period, which ends on 30 June 2026.

(9) The Commission should report to the European Parliament and to the Council on the application of the general rules on access to waters referred to in Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 before the expiry of the derogations. That report should be submitted by 30 June 2031.

(10) Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 should be amended following the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union. That Annex should also be amended following a joint request by Italy and Greece regarding the access of Italian fishing vessels to the 6-12 n.m. area of Greek territorial waters in the Ionian Sea and a proposal by Greece for access of Italian fishing vessels to the 6-12 n.m. area of the Greek exclusive economic zone (EEZ), in line with the Annex to this Regulation.

(11) Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 should therefore be amended accordingly,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 is amended as follows:

(2) Annex I is replaced by the text set out in the Annex to this Regulation.

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the seventh day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States from 1 January 2023.

Done at Strasbourg, 14 December 2022.

For the European Parliament The President R. METSOLA

For the Council The President M. BEK

(1) OJ C 517, 22.12.2021, p. 123.

(2) Position of the European Parliament of 22 November 2022 (not yet published in the Official Journal) and decision of the Council of 8 December 2022.

(3) Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 on the Common Fisheries Policy, amending Council Regulations (EC) No 1954/2003 and (EC) No 1224/2009 and repealing Council Regulations (EC) No 2371/2002 and (EC) No 639/2004 and Council Decision 2004/585/EC (OJ L 354, 28.12.2013, p. 22).

(4) OJ L 149, 30.4.2021, p. 10.