Transparency in negotiations on fishing opportunities between the UK and the EU and stakeholder participation in the work of the Specialised Committee on Fisheries

Environmental NGOs are calling for formal observer status and improved documentation to ensure equal access for all stakeholders in fisheries negotiations between the UK, EU, and Norway, arguing that current access is inconsistent and depends on the goodwill of parties.

• While environmental NGOs (eNGOs) have been included in bilateral UK-EU negotiations, they have been excluded from trilateral negotiations involving the UK, EU, and Norway, despite industry representatives being present in both.
• The signatories argue that current access to negotiations is inconsistent and relies on the goodwill of individual EU Member States and Parties, creating an uneven playing field.
• The NGOs request the creation of a formal observer status for stakeholders, similar to mechanisms used by ICCAT, NEAFC, or OSPAR, to ensure equal participation for NGOs and industry.
• The letter demands comprehensive and timely publication of all fisheries-related negotiation documentation to enable stakeholders to scrutinise the decision-making process.
• The authors state that these transparency measures are necessary to align fisheries management with the obligations of the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters.

APA

Weiss, A. (2021). Transparency in negotiations on fishing opportunities between the UK and the EU and stakeholder participation in the work of the Specialised Committee on Fisheries. ClientEarth. https://www.clientearth.org/media/xuxaaqj0/joint-ngo-letter-to-minister-prentis_19-mar-2021.pdf

Chicago

Weiss, Adam. Transparency in negotiations on fishing opportunities between the UK and the EU and stakeholder participation in the work of the Specialised Committee on Fisheries. ClientEarth, 2021. https://www.clientearth.org/media/xuxaaqj0/joint-ngo-letter-to-minister-prentis_19-mar-2021.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Weiss |first1=Adam |title=Transparency in negotiations on fishing opportunities between the UK and the EU and stakeholder participation in the work of the Specialised Committee on Fisheries |publisher=ClientEarth |date=19 March 2021 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/xuxaaqj0/joint-ngo-letter-to-minister-prentis_19-mar-2021.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{weiss2021transparency, author = {Weiss, Adam}, title = {{Transparency in negotiations on fishing opportunities between the UK and the EU and stakeholder participation in the work of the Specialised Committee on Fisheries}}, publisher = {ClientEarth}, year = {2021}, month = mar, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/xuxaaqj0/joint-ngo-letter-to-minister-prentis_19-mar-2021.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }