Proposal for a Council Decision to conclude, on behalf of the European Union, the Exchange of Letters to obtain membership of the Extended Commission of the Convention for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna

The Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT) is a Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (RFMO) responsible for the management of Southern Bluefin Tuna (SBF) throughout its distribution. The Convention for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna entered into force on 20 May 1994.

The European Union has been a Cooperating Non-Member of the CCSBT Extended Commission since 2006. Cooperating Non-Members participate fully in the activities of the CCSBT but are not entitled to vote. The status of Cooperating Non-Member requires adherence to the management and conservation objectives and measures of the CCSBT.

After several years of discussions, the CCSBT amended the Resolution governing the Extended Commission during its 20th meeting in October 2013 to allow Regional Economic Integration Organisations (REIOs) to become a Member of the Extended Commission through Exchange of Letters in which the applicant shall give the CCSBT its firm commitment to respect the terms of the Convention and comply with decisions of the CCSBT Extended Commission.

By its Proposal for a Council Decision on the signing, on behalf of the European Union, and provisional application of the Exchange of Letters to obtain membership of the Extended Commission of the Convention for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna, the European Commission recommended to the Council the signature and provisional application of the Exchange of Letters to obtain Membership of the CCSBT Extended Commission.

Upon completion of this procedure the EU would be entitled to membership and vote in the CCSBT Extended Commission and Extended Scientific Committee.

The main interest in the CCSBT for the EU lies in the similarities between the management of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT) and Atlantic Bluefin Tuna (ICCAT), and the wish to continue promoting consistency in the Union's conservation approach across oceans and reinforcing its commitment to the long-term conservation and sustainable use of fisheries resources globally.

• Primary Source

EUR-Lex: COM(2015)71: Follow the progress of this proposal through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2015:071:FIN

EUR-Lex: COM(2015)72: Proposal for a Council Decision on the signing, on behalf of the European Union, and provisional application of the Exchange of Letters to obtain membership of the Extended Commission of the Convention for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM:2015:072:FIN

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