Proposal for a Council Implementing Decision amending the list of non-cooperating third countries in fighting IUU fishing pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008 establishing a Community system to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing

This proposal concerns the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008 of 29 September 2008 on establishing a Community system to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU fishing), amending Regulations (EEC) No 2847/93, (EC) No 1936/2001 and (EC) No 601/2004 and repealing Regulations (EC) No 1093/94 and (EC) No 1447/1999 (the IUU Regulation).

This proposal is made in the context of the implementation of the IUU Regulation and is the result of investigation and dialogue procedures which were carried out in line with the substantive and procedural requirements laid out in the IUU Regulation foreseeing inter alia that all countries should discharge the duties incumbent upon them under international law as flag, port, coastal or market State to prevent, deter and eliminate IUU fishing.

On 15 November 2012 the Commission, by Commission Decision, notified eight third countries (Belize, the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Republic of Fiji, the Republic of Guinea, the Republic of Panama, the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, the Togolese Republic and the Republic of Vanuatu) that the Commission considered the possibility of identifying them as non-cooperating countries pursuant to the IUU Regulation.

The Commission initiated démarches in respect of the eight countries. These démarches consisted inter alia of actions providing reasons of these démarches, its actions, opportunity for the countries to respond and refute, right to ask for and provide additional information, proposed actions plans to remedy the situation as well as adequate time to answer and reasonable time to remedy the situation.

On 14 October 2014 the Commission, by Commission Implementing Decision, identified the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (hereinafter Sri Lanka) as a third country that the Commission considers as a non-cooperating third country pursuant to the IUU Regulation. On 26 January 2015 the Council, by Council Implementing Decision, amended the existing list of non-cooperating third countries, by including Sri Lanka, in fighting IUU fishing.

The attached proposal for a Council Implementing Decision is based on the findings which have confirmed that Sri Lanka has demonstrated that the situation that warranted its listing has been rectified and that Sri Lanka has taken concrete measures capable of achieving a lasting improvement of the situation. It is therefore proposed that the Council adopts the attached proposal for a Decision.

EUR-Lex: COM(2016)225: Follow the progress of this proposal through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2016:225:FIN

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