The Council today approved a mandate to enter into negotiations with the European Parliament on a regulation establishing a new European framework for fisheries and aquaculture statistics.
The new framework will modernise the collection and use of statistical data on fisheries and aquaculture across the European Union, allowing the use of reliable and up-to-date data, which are essential for the design, implementation and evaluation of EU policies, including the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), and for supporting the sustainable management of marine resources and the development of the Blue Economy.
Once adopted, the new framework will help ensure that policy makers, researchers and stakeholders have access to high-quality data to support sustainable fisheries, responsible aquaculture and evidence-based policy across the European Union.
Maria Panagiotou, Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment of the Republic of Cyprus
The future regulation will replace five existing regulations that currently govern data collection on fish catches, landings, EU fishing fleet and aquaculture production, and will create a single and coherent legal framework. By consolidating these regulations, the new framework should improve the coherence and efficiency of data collection and communication across the EU.
The updated framework also aims to make better use of modern data sources and digital technologies, including administrative data and electronic databases and registries. At the same time, it aims to ensure high standards of quality, comparability and reliability for European statistics.
In the negotiating mandate approved today, the EU Member States have clarified several elements of the Commission’s proposal, including the reporting requirements, the scope of data collection and the balance between additional statistical information and the need to limit the administrative burden on national authorities and economic operators.
source : consilium
