(1)

Council Regulation (EU) No 53/2010 of 14 January 2010 (1) fixes for 2010 the fishing opportunities for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks, applicable in EU waters and, for EU vessels, in waters where catch limitations are required.

(2)

In the context of the fisheries agreement with Norway, a further 521 tonnes of cod in Norwegian waters of ICES zones I and II, as well as 150 tonnes of whiting and 100 tonnes of plaice in the North Sea have been made available to the Union. In addition, the arrangements for licences for EU vessels fishing for mackerel in Norwegian waters have been amended. These measures should be implemented in the law of the Union.

(3)

At its annual meeting in 2009, the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (NAFO) decided to reopen the fishery for cod in zone NAFO 3M and for redfish in zone NAFO 3LN after having set a moratorium for over ten years. The by-catch rules established in Regulation (EU) No 53/2010 for the two reopened fisheries should be amended to ensure consistency with the general by-catch rules applicable in the NAFO Regulatory Area pursuant to Article 4(1) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1386/2007 of 22 October 2007 laying down conservation and enforcement measures applicable in the Regulatory Area of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (2).

(4)

In the context of the fisheries agreement with Greenland, the conditions for fishing cod in Greenlandic waters have been amended. These amendments should be implemented into the law of the Union.

(5)

At its special meeting in Madrid on 24-26 February 2010, the compliance committee of The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) reduced the quota for bluefin tuna allocated to the European Union. It is therefore necessary to implement those new provisions into the law of the Union.

(6)

Having regard to paragraphs 5 and 8 of Article 5 and paragraph 4 of Article 6 of Council Regulation (EC) No 302/2009 of 6 April 2009 concerning a multiannual recovery plan for bluefin tuna in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean (3) it is necessary to establish the maximum number and total capacity in gross tonnage of fishing vessels of each Member State that may be authorised to fish for, retain on board, tranship, transport, or land bluefin tuna, the maximum number of tuna traps that may be authorised by each Member State, the maximum tuna farming and fattening capacity for each Member State and the maximum input of wild caught bluefin tuna that each Member State may allocate to its farms.

(7)

Within the context of establishing fishing opportunities and in accordance with Article 11 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1342/2008 of 18 December 2008 establishing a long-term plan for cod stocks and the fisheries exploiting those stocks (4), the Council may, on the basis of information provided by Member States and assessed by the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF), exclude certain groups of vessels from the fishing effort regime established in that Regulation, provided that appropriate data is available on cod catches and discards of the vessels concerned, that the percentage of cod catches does not exceed 1,5 % of the total catches of the group of vessels and that the inclusion of the group in the effort regime would constitute an administrative burden disproportionate to its overall impact on cod stocks. Germany provided information on the cod catches by a group of vessels targeting saithe in the North Sea and in the area to the West of Scotland with bottom trawls of mesh size equal to or larger than 120 mm.

Ireland provided information on the cod catches by a group of vessels targeting Nephrops in the Irish Sea with a selective sorting grid similar to that defined in Appendix 2 to Annex III to Council Regulation (EC) No 43/2009 of 16 January 2009 fixing for 2009 the fishing opportunities and associated conditions for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks, applicable in Community waters and, for Community vessels, in waters where catch limitations are required (5). France provided information on the cod catches by a group of vessels targeting deep-sea species in the West of Scotland with bottom trawls of mesh size larger than 110 mm. On the basis of that information as assessed by STECF, it can be established that the cod catches, including discards, of those groups of vessels do not exceed 1,5 % of their total catches. Moreover, having regard to control and monitoring measures in place ensuring the monitoring and control of the fishing activities of those groups of vessels and considering that the inclusion of those groups would constitute an administrative burden disproportionate to the overall impact of that inclusion on cod stocks, it is appropriate to exclude those groups of vessels from the fishing effort regime laid down in Chapter III of Regulation (EC) No 1342/2008, thus allowing to establish the effort limits for the Member States concerned accordingly.

(8)

Article 16(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1342/2008 allowed Member States to modify their effort allocations in 2009 by transferring their fishing effort and capacity between geographical areas, provided that certain conditions were met. On the basis of the information provided by the Netherlands regarding the transfer of a certain amount of effort and capacity from the North Sea to the Irish Sea in 2009, it is appropriate to adjust the maximum allowable effort allocated to the Netherlands, which is set out in Appendix 1 to Annex IIA to Regulation (EU) No 53/2010.

(9)

Regulation (EU) No 53/2010 and Council Regulation (EC) No 754/2009 of 27 July 2009 excluding certain groups of vessels from the fishing effort regime laid down in Chapter III of Regulation (EC) No 1342/2008 (6) should therefore be amended accordingly.

(10)

Regulation (EU) No 53/2010 applies from 1 January 2010. However, the fishing effort limits are laid down for a one-year period starting from 1 February 2010. In order to follow the year-to-year regime of reporting on fishing opportunities, the provisions of this Regulation concerning catch limits and allocations should apply from 1 January 2010 and the provisions concerning fishing effort limits from 1 February 2010. Such retroactive application would be without prejudice to the principle of legal certainty as the fishing opportunities to be reduced have not yet been exhausted,

1.

Article 15 is replaced by the following:

2.

Annex IA is amended as follows:

3.

Annex IB is amended as follows:

4.

Annex IC is amended as follows:

5.

In Annex ID, the entry for bluefin tuna in zone Atlantic Ocean, east of 45° W, and Mediterranean is replaced by the following:

6.

Appendix 1 to Annex IIA is amended as follows:

7.

Annex III is replaced by the following:

8.

Annex IV is amended as follows:

‘(f)

the group of high sea vessels flying the flag of Germany, participating in the fishery indicated in the request from Germany dated 26 March 2010, as completed by correspondence dated 9 April and 20 May 2010, targeting saithe in the North Sea, the EU waters of ICES Zone IIa and in the area to the West of Scotland with bottom trawls of mesh size equal to or larger than 120 mm;

(g)

the group of vessels flying the flag of Ireland, participating in the fishery indicated in the request from Ireland dated 26 March 2010, fishing in the Irish Sea during the period in which these vessels are fishing solely with a selective sorting grid similar to that defined in Appendix 2 to Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 43/2009 and targeting Norway lobster;

(h)

the group of vessels flying the flag of France, participating in the fishery indicated in the request from France dated 24 March 2010, as completed by correspondence dated 25 March, 29 March, 8 April and 20 May 2010, targeting deep sea species in the area to the West of Scotland with bottom trawls of mesh size larger than 110 mm.’.

(1)

Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 881/2002 lists the persons, groups and entities covered by the freezing of funds and economic resources under that Regulation.

(2)

On 27 and 29 July 2010 the Sanctions Committee of the United Nations Security Council decided to remove five persons and eight entities from its list of persons, groups and entities to whom the freezing of funds and economic resources should apply.

(3)

Annex I should therefore be amended accordingly,

(1)

Directive 2003/85/EC sets out minimum control measures to be applied in the event of an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease and certain preventive measures aimed at increasing the awareness and preparedness of the competent authorities and the farming community concerning that disease.

(2)

Those preventive measures include an obligation on Member States to ensure that the handling of live foot-and-mouth disease virus for research and diagnosis is carried out only in the approved laboratories listed in Part A and the manufacturing of either inactivated antigens for the production of vaccines or vaccines and related research is carried out only in the approved establishments and laboratories listed in Part B of Annex XI to Directive 2003/85/EC.

(3)

Bulgaria has officially informed the Commission that following the checks carried out in accordance with Article 66 of Directive 2003/85/EC, their national reference laboratory is no longer considered to meet the bio-security standards provided for in Article 65(d) of Directive 2003/85/EC.

(4)

The Netherlands have officially informed the Commission of certain changes relating to the name of a laboratory listed in Part B of Annex XI to Directive 2003/85/EC situated in the Netherlands.

(5)

For security reasons, it is important to keep the list of laboratories set out in Annex XI to Directive 2003/85/EC updated.

(6)

Accordingly, it is necessary to delete the entry for Bulgaria in the list of laboratories set out in Part A and to replace the entry for the Netherlands in the list of laboratories set out in Part B of Annex XI to Directive 2003/85/EC. Annex XI to Directive 2003/85/EC should therefore be amended accordingly.

(7)

The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health,

1.

in Part A, the entry for Bulgaria is deleted;

2.

in Part B, the entry for the Netherlands is replaced by the following:

(1)

Decision 2000/258/EC designates the laboratory of the Agence française de sécurité sanitaire des aliments de Nancy (‘AFSSA, Nancy’), as the specific institute responsible for establishing the criteria necessary for standardising the serological tests to monitor the effectiveness of rabies vaccines. That Decision also lays down the duties of that laboratory.

(2)

In particular, AFSSA, Nancy is to appraise the laboratories in Member States and third countries for the purposes of their authorisation to carry out serological tests to monitor the effectiveness of rabies vaccines. In addition, AFSSA, Nancy is to organise inter-laboratory aptitude tests (proficiency tests).

(3)

In view of maintaining the authorisation granted to such laboratories, AFSSA, Nancy has, since the year 2000, been organising proficiency tests at least once per year.

(4)

Experience has shown that those proficiency tests provide an effective system of monitoring the laboratories which carry out serological tests to monitor the effectiveness of rabies vaccines.

(5)

Article 3 of Decision 2000/258/EC does not include any provisions concerning the maintenance of authorisations already granted to laboratories in Member States or in third countries to carry out such serological tests.

(6)

In order to ensure the uniform application of that Article, it is appropriate to make the maintenance of those authorisations dependant on appraisal reports established by AFSSA, Nancy following the proficiency tests of the laboratories concerned.

(7)

It is therefore appropriate to lay down rules for the regular carrying out of the proficiency tests by AFSSA, Nancy, as well as for the drawing up of the appraisal reports.

(8)

The carrying out of the proficiency tests by AFSSA, Nancy is currently included in the yearly approved work programme for that laboratory. That work programme benefits from financial aid from the Union, granted pursuant to Council Decision 2009/470/EC of 25 May 2009 on expenditure in the veterinary field (2).

(9)

From 1 January 2011, the costs incurred by AFSSA, Nancy for carrying out proficiency tests should no longer be covered by such financial aid from the Union. However, in order to ensure that it has adequate resources to carry out proficiency tests, AFSSA, Nancy should charge certain fees to the laboratories which take part in those tests.

(10)

Those fees should be fixed by AFSSA, Nancy taking into account the criteria laid down in Annex VI to Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on official controls performed to ensure the verification of compliance with feed and food law, animal health and animal welfare rules (3).

(11)

The laboratories in the Member States authorised to perform analysis to check the effectiveness of vaccination against rabies in certain domestic carnivores have been listed in Annex I to Commission Decision 2004/233/EC (4).

(12)

However, Decision 2000/258/EC, as amended by Council Directive 2008/73/EC (5), provides that the competent authorities of the Member States may, from 1 January 2010, authorise laboratories to carry out serological tests to monitor the effectiveness of rabies vaccines. That Decision also provides that Member States are to draw up and keep up to date a list of those laboratories that they have authorised and make it available to the other Member States and to the public.

(13)

Decision 2004/233/EC has therefore become obsolete and should be repealed for the sake of clarity of Union legislation.

(14)

The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health,