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Council Decision of 19 July 2004 establishing Regional Advisory Councils under the Common Fisheries Policy (2004/585/EC)

Council Decision of 19 July 2004 establishing Regional Advisory Councils under the Common Fisheries Policy (2004/585/EC)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 37 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal of the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament(1),

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee(2),

Whereas:

  1. Council Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002 of 20 December 2002 on the conservation and sustainable exploitation of fisheries resources under the Common Fisheries Policy(3) and in particular Articles 31 and 32 thereof, provides for new forms of participation by stakeholders in the Common Fisheries Policy through the establishment of Regional Advisory Councils.

  2. A consistent approach to the establishment of Regional Advisory Councils requires that they correspond to management units based on biological criteria and that they are limited in number in order to offer meaningful advice and for practical reasons.

  3. Since Regional Advisory Councils are stakeholder-led organisations, they should adapt their structure to the specific characteristics of the fisheries and regions concerned. Nevertheless, a general framework is necessary for the establishment of the Regional Advisory Councils.

  4. In the interests of efficiency, it is necessary to limit the size of Regional Advisory Councils whilst ensuring that they include all the interests affected by the Common Fisheries Policy and while recognising the primacy of fishing interests given the effects on them of management decisions and policies.

  5. In order to ensure consistency on issues of common interest to more than one Regional Advisory Council, it is essential to establish links between the different Regional Advisory Councils.

  6. In view of the tasks of the Advisory Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture renewed by Commission Decision 1999/478/EC(4), which is composed of representatives of a wide range of European organisations and interests, the work of the Regional Advisory Councils should be coordinated with that of the said Committee, to which they should also send their reports.

  7. In order to ensure the effective establishment of the Regional Advisory Councils, it is essential that public funds contribute to their costs in the start-up phase and to interpretation and translation costs.

  8. A financial reference amount, within the meaning of point 34 of the Interinstitutional Agreement of 6 May 1999 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline and improvement of the budgetary procedure(5), is included in this Decision for the entire duration of the financing provisions, without thereby affecting the powers of the budgetary authority as they are defined by the Treaty,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1 Definitions

For the purposes of this Decision the following definitions shall apply:

  1. ‘Member State concerned’ shall mean a Member State having a fishing interest in the area or fisheries covered by a Regional Advisory Council;

  2. ‘Fisheries sector’ shall mean the catching sub-sector, including shipowners, small-scale fishermen, employed fishermen, producer organisations as well as, amongst others, processors, traders and other market organisations and women's networks;

  3. ‘Other interest groups’ shall mean, amongst others, environmental organisations and groups, aquaculture producers, consumers and recreational or sport fishermen.

Article 2 Establishment of Regional Advisory Councils

1.

A Regional Advisory Council is established for each of the following:

  1. the Baltic Sea;

  2. the Mediterranean Sea;

  3. the North Sea;

  4. north-western waters;

  5. south-western waters;

  6. pelagic stocks;

  7. high seas/long distance fleet.

2.

The geographical areas covered by each Regional Advisory Council are set out in Annex I. Each Regional Advisory Council may create subdivisions to deal with issues that cover specific fisheries and biological regions.

Article 3 Procedure

1.

Representatives of the fisheries sector and other interest groups with an interest in one of the Regional Advisory Councils shall submit a request concerning the operation of that Regional Advisory Council to the Member States concerned and to the Commission. The request shall be compatible with the objectives, principles and guidelines of the Common Fisheries Policy as set out in Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002 and shall include:

  1. a statement of objectives;

  2. operating principles;

  3. initial rules of procedure;

  4. the budget estimate;

  5. a provisional list of organisations.

2.

The Member States concerned shall determine whether the application is representative and in accordance with the provisions laid down in this Decision, if necessary following discussions with stakeholder interests, and shall, by common agreement, transmit a recommendation to the Commission on that Regional Advisory Council.

3.

After evaluation of the recommendation and possible amendments to the request, the Commission shall adopt a decision as soon as possible and in any event shall aim to adopt it at the latest within three months, specifying the date from which the Regional Advisory Council shall become operational. The decision shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Article 4 Structure

1.

Each Regional Advisory Council shall consist of a general assembly and an executive committee.

2.

The general assembly shall meet at least once a year to approve the annual report and the annual strategic plan drawn up by the executive committee.

3.

The general assembly shall appoint an executive committee of up to 24 members. The executive committee shall manage the work of the Regional Advisory Council and adopt its recommendations.

Article 5 Membership

Article 6 Participation by non-members

Article 7 Functioning

Article 8 Coordination between Regional Advisory Councils

Article 9 Financing

Article 9a Commission verifications

Article 10 Annual report and audit

Article 11 Review

Article 12 Entry into force

ANNEX I

ANNEX II