The European parliament voted on February 6th 2013 on its report concerning the future CFP legislation (the ‘basic regulation’). The final report was supported by an important majority of parliamentarians (502 in favor; 137 against – a qualified majority is 377). This means that the Parliament is in a relatively strong position to now go and discuss with the Council and EC to get a final agreement about what the future fisheries policy will look like.

In a briefing note, CFFA highlights the elements of the report that will affect the future EU fisheries relations with third countries (click here for CFFA note), whether they are related to future Sustainable Fishing Agreements (SFAs), fishing operations taking place under RFOs or outside the framework of SFAs and RFOs. Important progress are also registered in terms of good governance, transparency in particular.