Recommendation for a Council Decision authorising the Commission to open negotiations on behalf of the European Union for the renewal of the Protocol setting out the fishing opportunities and the financial contribution provided for by the Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the Gabonese Republic

The European Union and the Gabonese Republic have concluded a Fisheries Partnership Agreement (FPA), which entered into force on 7 July 2007. Its protocol, granting fishing opportunities for EU vessels and setting the financial compensation due to Gabon, will expire on 23 July 2016. For the sake of continuity it is necessary to have a new protocol to implement the existing FPA, which requires an authorisation to open negotiations. The negotiations will seek to make the new protocol consistent with the provisions of the Basic Regulation relating to Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements.

The Commission has carried out an ex-post evaluation of the 2013-2016 protocol and an ex-ante evaluation of a possible new protocol. The resulting report concluded that the EU tuna fishing sector has a keen interest in fishing in Gabon as part of the regional strategy and that a new protocol for the FPA with Gabon would help strengthen monitoring, control and surveillance, and contribute to improved governance of fisheries in the region. Gabon has expressed its interest in opening negotiations with the EU on a possible new protocol.

Therefore the Commission recommends that the Council should authorise the Commission to open and conduct negotiations for renewal of the Protocol setting out the fishing opportunities and the financial contribution provided for by the Fisheries Partnership Agreement (FPA) between the European Union and the Gabonese Republic.