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THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 43(2) thereof, in conjunction with Article 218(9) thereof,Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,Whereas:
(1)The Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, of the one part, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of the other part (‘the Trade and Cooperation Agreement’ or ‘the Agreement’) was concluded by the Union by means of Council Decision (EU) 2021/689note and entered into force on 1 May 2021, having been provisionally applied since 1 January 2021.
(2)The adjustment period provided for Annex 38 to the Agreement, during which each Party grants full access to vessels of the other Party to its waters to fish, ends on 30 June 2026.
(3)In accordance with Article 500(1) of the Agreement, which applies as of 1 July 2026, each Party is to grant access to vessels of the other Party to fish in its waters in the relevant ICES sub-areas for the relevant year at a level and on conditions determined in the annual consultations, provided that TACs have been agreed.
(4)The Parties wish to set out arrangements concerning the level and conditions of access from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2038, which are to be considered as the level and conditions of access determined for the purposes of Article 500(1), (4) and (5) of the Agreement and providing full access to waters to fish during that period, including in the event of provisional TACs set pursuant to Article 499 of the Agreement.
(5)Article 508(2)(d) of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement provides that the Specialised Committee on Fisheries may adopt measures, including decisions and recommendations, in relation to any other aspect of cooperation on sustainable fisheries management under Heading Five of Part Two of the Agreement.
(6)Pursuant to Decision No 1/2025 of the Partnership Council interpreting Article 508(2)(d) of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, the term ‘cooperation on sustainable fisheries management’ in Article 508(2)(d) of the Agreement shall be interpreted as including the adopting of a Decision by the Specialised Committee on Fisheries to provide for multiannual full access to waters to fish for a specified time period which is to be considered for the purposes of Article 500(1) and (4) of the Agreement as the agreed outcome of annual consultations (including in the case of access under Article 500(5) of the Agreement in the event that provisional TACs are set under Article 499 of the Agreement).
(7)It is appropriate to establish the position to be taken on the Union’s behalf in the Specialised Committee on Fisheries on this matter,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1#
The position to be taken on the Union’s behalf in the Specialised Committee on Fisheries established by the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, of the one part, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of the other part, as regards the arrangements on the level and conditions of access granted by each Party to vessels of the other Party to fish in its waters, which are to be considered as the level and conditions of access determined for the purposes of Article 500(1), (4) and (5) of the Agreement for the period from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2038, is set out in the draft Decision of the Specialised Committee on Fisheries attached to this Decision.
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