Introductory text

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and in particular Article 43(2) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee^f1,

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure^f2,

Whereas:

The Union is a Contracting Party to the United Nations Convention of 10 December 1982 on the Law of the Sea approved by Council Decision 98/392/EC^f3, to the Agreement on the implementation of the provisions of that Convention relating to the conservation and management of straddling stocks and highly migratory fish stocks ratified by Council Decision 98/414/EC^f4 and to the Agreement to promote compliance with international conservation and management measures by fishing vessels on the high seas accepted by Council Decision 96/428/EC^f5. In the framework of those international obligations, the Union participates in efforts made to ensure sustainable management of highly migratory fish stocks.

The Union is a Contracting Party to the International Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas pursuant to Council Decision 86/238/EEC^f6 (ICCAT Convention). The ICCAT Convention provides for a framework for regional cooperation on the conservation and management of tuna and tuna-like species in the Atlantic Ocean and adjacent seas through an International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), and for the adoption of recommendations applicable in the ICCAT Convention area which become binding on the Contracting Parties, cooperating non-contracting Parties, entities and fishing entities (CPCs).

ICCAT Recommendations 1992-01, 1993-03, 1996-10, 1997-04, 1998-12, 03-19 and 06-15 and Resolutions 1993-02, 1994-04 and 1994-05 on a statistical document programme for bluefin tuna have been implemented by Council Regulation (EC) No 1984/2003 of 8 April 2003 introducing a system for the statistical monitoring of trade in bluefin tuna, swordfish and bigeye tuna within the Community^f7.

As part of the measures to regulate stocks of bluefin tuna, to improve the quality and reliability of statistical data and in order to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal fishing, ICCAT adopted at its annual meeting in Recife (Brazil), on 15 November 2009, Recommendation 09-11 amending Recommendation 08-12 on an ICCAT bluefin tuna catch documentation programme. That Recommendation entered into force on 1 June 2010 and needs to be implemented by the Union.

In order to ensure that the provisions on an ICCAT bluefin tuna catch documentation programme are easily readable and applied uniformly, the relevant provisions of Regulation (EC) No 1984/2003 related to the ICCAT bluefin tuna statistical document and re-export certificate should be deleted. Therefore, Regulation (EC) No 1984/2003 should be amended accordingly.

The Commission should be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union in respect of the transposition of new conservation measures adopted by ICCAT, thus updating and supplementing the Annexes to this Regulation. It is of particular importance that the Commission carry out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: