(1)

The Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (the ‘Agreement’), negotiated under the aegis of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), of which the Union is a Member, was approved by the Union by means of Council Decision 2011/443/EU (1). The Agreement entered into force on 5 June 2016.

(2)

The meeting of the Parties is the decision-making body under the Agreement and has the authority to adopt measures to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing that are binding on the Parties. It meets every two years, or more frequently if it so decides.

(3)

Article 24(2) of the Agreement provides that, four years after the entry into force of the Agreement, FAO is to convene a meeting of the Parties to review and assess the effectiveness of the Agreement in achieving its objective (‘the first review meeting’). The Parties are then to decide on further such meetings as necessary. Special meetings of the Parties can also be held at such other times as may be deemed necessary by the Parties, or at the written request of any Party.

(4)

It is appropriate to establish the position to be adopted on the Union’s behalf for the first review meeting, which is due to take place from 31 May to 4 June 2021, as well as for the three subsequent biennial meetings of the Parties and any related intersessional meetings, as measures under the Agreement will be binding on the Union and capable of decisively influencing the content of Union law, namely Council Regulations (EC) No 1005/2008 (2) and (EC) No 1224/2009 (3), Regulation (EU) 2017/2403 of the European Parliament and of the Council (4) and Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 404/2011 (5).

(5)

In view of the need for the position of the Union to take account of new developments, based on relevant information presented before or during the meeting of the Parties, procedures should also be established, in line with the principle of sincere cooperation among the Union institutions enshrined in Article 13(2) of the Treaty on European Union, for the year-to-year specification of the position to be adopted on the Union’s behalf in the meeting of the Parties.

(6)

The objective of the Agreement is to prevent, deter and eliminate IUU fishing through the implementation of effective port State measures. The Agreement reduces the incentives for vessels engaged in IUU fishing to continue to operate, while preventing fishery products derived from such fishing from reaching national and international markets.

(7)

IUU fishing constitutes one of the most serious threats to the sustainable exploitation of living aquatic resources and jeopardises the very foundation of the Union common fisheries policy as well as international efforts to promote better ocean governance.

(8)

The meeting of the Parties is responsible for the adoption of measures designed to ensure the implementation of the Agreement and thereby the long-term conservation and sustainable use of living marine resources and marine ecosystems. The Union should play an active, effective and constructive role in the meeting of the Parties in order to ensure the implementation of the Agreement and foster international cooperation on IUU fishing,