Introductory text

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 37, in conjunction with Article 300(2) and the first subparagraph of Article 300(3) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament^f1,

Whereas:

Under the terms of Article 17 of the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau and the European Economic Community on fishing off the coast of Guinea-Bissau^f2, the contracting parties are to enter into negotiations, before the period of validity of the Protocol to the Agreement expires, to determine by mutual agreement the contents of the Protocol for the period that follows and any amendments or additions requiring to be made to the Annex.

The existing Protocol was approved by Council Regulation (EC) No 249/2002^f3 and amended under the Agreement approved by Council Regulation (EC) No 829/2004^f4. The two parties have now decided to extend its validity for one year by means of an Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters, pending negotiations on the changes to be made to the Protocol.

It is in the Community's interest to approve this extension.

The allocation of the fishing opportunities among the Member States under the expired Protocol should be confirmed,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: