Proposal for a Council Decision concerning the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, of the amended Agreement for the establishment of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean

The Agreement for the establishment of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM), under the provisions of Article XIV of the FAO constitution, was approved by the FAO Conference in 1949 and entered into force in 1952. Amendments to this Agreement were approved in 1963, 1976 and 1997. The European Community acceded to the GFCM on 16 June 1998 through Decision 98/416/EC. Mediterranean and Black Sea EU Member States are also parties to this Agreement.

The GFCM is a so-called Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (RFMO), with the aim of promoting the development, conservation, rational management and best utilization of living marine resources, as well as the sustainable development of aquaculture in the Mediterranean and Black Sea.

An amendment of the GFCM Agreement was launched in 2013 following a performance review finalised in 2011, which concluded that the Agreement should be amended to clarify the objectives and functions of the GFCM, and strengthen its efficiency. The Contracting Parties to the GFCM endorsed the "Amended Agreement for the establishment of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean" at the GFCM 38 Annual Session on 19-24 May 2014.

The proposal intends to conclude the amended GFCM Agreement on behalf of the European Union.

• Primary Source

EUR-Lex: COM(2014)580: Follow the progress of this proposal through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2014:580:FIN

---