Europees Parlement akkoord met modernisering Visserijorganisatie voor het noordwestelijk deel van de Atlantische Oceaan (en)

Plans to modernise the North-West Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (NAFO) and create a new dispute settlement procedure were approved on Tuesday by Parliament. This was the first time MEPs were able to make use of their new power, acquired under the Lisbon Treaty, to approve or reject an international fisheries agreement concluded by the EU.

The resolution by Walesa Jaroslaw Leszek i (EPP, PL) on the amended convention on the Northwest Atlantic fisheries region was approved by show of hands.

MEPs also voted in favour of a resolution by Carmen Fraga Estévez i (EPP, ES) to allow the transposition into EU rules of a fisheries accord on control and enforcement measures in the North-East Atlantic. The resolution was adopted by 636 votes to 21, with 5 abstentions.

Northwest Atlantic

First, Parliament approved changes to the convention on co-operation in the NAFO-area, which encompasses a large portion of the Atlantic, including areas near the USA, Canada, Greenland and St Pierre and Miquelon (France). The main aim of the convention is to improve the utilisation and conservation of fishery resources. Parliament's amendments seek to modernise the organisation, streamline decision-making and establish a new dispute settlement procedure.

North East Atlantic

MEPs also gave their go-ahead on rules transposing into EU law the new control and enforcement scheme of the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC), designed to monitor vessels engaged in illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, thus making them effective in the whole Union. The approved text reflects a compromise agreed with the Council on 15 September.