Disentangling the legal basis of multiannual fisheries plans

The document discusses a legal dispute between the European Parliament, the European Commission, and the Council of the European Union over whether multiannual fisheries plans require co-decision. It highlights a Court ruling that such plans involve policy choices and must therefore be adopted by both the Parliament and the Council under Article 43(2) TFEU, rather than by the Council alone under Article 43(3) TFEU.

• The European Court ruled that amendments to the 2008 multiannual cod plan for the Atlantic and North Sea went beyond merely fixing fishing opportunities and instead defined the legal framework for establishing and allocating those opportunities, constituting a policy choice with long-term impacts.
• The Court determined that the Council acted beyond its powers by adopting the 2012 amending regulation single-handedly, as multiannual plans fall under the ordinary legislative procedure of Article 43(2) TFEU rather than the exclusive competence of the Council under Article 43(3) TFEU.
• While the 2008 regulation was ordered to be annulled, the Court allowed it to remain in effect for 12 months starting 1 January 2016 to maintain legal certainty and prevent serious economic consequences for operators.

APA

Hamilton, H. (2015). Disentangling the legal basis of multiannual fisheries plans. ClientEarth. https://www.clientearth.org/media/gjvfniir/2015-12-16-disentangling-the-legal-basis-of-multiannual-fisheries-plans-ce-en.pdf

Chicago

Hamilton, Heather. Disentangling the legal basis of multiannual fisheries plans. ClientEarth, 2015. https://www.clientearth.org/media/gjvfniir/2015-12-16-disentangling-the-legal-basis-of-multiannual-fisheries-plans-ce-en.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Hamilton |first1=Heather |title=Disentangling the legal basis of multiannual fisheries plans |publisher=ClientEarth |date=December 2015 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/gjvfniir/2015-12-16-disentangling-the-legal-basis-of-multiannual-fisheries-plans-ce-en.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{hamilton2015disentangling, author = {Hamilton, Heather}, title = {{Disentangling the legal basis of multiannual fisheries plans}}, institution = {ClientEarth}, year = {2015}, month = dec, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/gjvfniir/2015-12-16-disentangling-the-legal-basis-of-multiannual-fisheries-plans-ce-en.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }