Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 1 June 2023
295. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide an update on current negotiations and his Department's approach to negotiations with the EU institutions on The Fisheries Control Regulation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26885/23]
View answerAs the Deputy may be aware, the European Parliament and the EU Council reached provisional political agreement on the proposal to amend the Fisheries Control Regulation on 30th May 2023.
Council Regulation 1224/2009, known as the Control Regulation, establishes a Community control system for ensuring compliance with the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy and establishing a level-playing field across the EU on fisheries control.
In 2018, the Commission adopted a proposal to amend the Control Regulation. The main provisions of the proposal cover enforcement, sanctions, Remote Electronic Monitoring (such as CCTV cameras on board vessels), data management (vessel tracking and reporting, weighing and transport of catches), control of recreational fisheries, control of the landing obligation, monitoring of engine power, alignment with existing policies and illegal, unreported and unregulated fisheries.
The Council agreed its negotiating position, known as the "General Approach", on the proposal in June 2021. The Council's General Approach took on board a number of Ireland's key concerns, including retaining the derogation allowing for weighing of catch away from the quayside under certain conditions, and the application of a rigorous control plan. I am supportive of many of the proposed changes in the proposal that strengthen the EU arrangements for control, inspection and enforcement. Given the control obligations that Ireland has in respect of all vessels operating in our 200 mile zone, it is essential that the proposal creates a workable and fair system.
Trilateral negotiations involving the EU Council, the European Parliament and the Commission have been ongoing since July 2021 and, as advised already, provisional political agreement between the Parliament and the Council was reached on 30th May 2023. The final agreed text has not yet been published and my Department will analyse this once it is available. The Parliament and Council will have to formally adopt the new regulation before it can enter into force.
My Department has been intensely engaged in these negotiations since the outset in order to protect Ireland's interests and priorities and ensure a level-playing field on control issues.
