Regulation 850/98 on the conservation of fishery resources through technical measures for the protection of marine organisms: Implementation Appraisal

Briefing 01-10-2015

Since its entry into force, Regulation 850/98 has been amended several times and there is widespread agreement on the fact that the resulting text is particularly complex and difficult to implement and to enforce. In a recent evaluation carried out for the European Commission, the Regulation and existing technical measures more generally, were found to be ineffective in reaching their conservation objectives, display room for improvement on efficiency, policy coherence as well as in terms of acceptability by the fishing sector. In the wake of the recent overhaul of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and the introduction of the landing obligation, Regulation 850/98 will also need to be revised so as to ensure consistency with these rules and the goals of the reformed CFP. Following the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, the Regulation should also reflect the new powers of the European Parliament on fisheries matters.