This Section shall apply to fishing operations carried out by Union fishing vessels in third-country waters under an SFPA.
A Union fishing vessel may only carry out fishing operations in waters of a third country on stocks managed by an RFMO if that third country is a contracting party to that RFMO.
A flag Member State may only issue a fishing authorisation for fishing operations carried out in third-country waters under an SFPA if:
the eligibility criteria set out in Article 5 are fulfilled;
the conditions set out in the relevant SFPA are complied with;
the operator has paid all fees due under the relevant agreements, and where applicable, related financial sanctions established by a judicial or administrative decision having final and binding effect; and
the fishing vessel has a valid fishing authorisation issued by the third country with sovereignty or jurisdiction over the waters where the fishing operations take place.
1.For the purpose of point (d) of Article 10, a flag Member State that has verified that the conditions set out in points (a) to (c) of Article 10 are complied with shall send to the Commission the corresponding application for the authorisation of the third country.
2.The application referred to in paragraph 1 shall contain the information required under the SFPA.
3.The flag Member State shall send the application to the Commission at least 10 calendar days before the deadline for the transmission of applications laid down in the SFPA. The Commission may send a duly justified request to the flag Member State for any additional information necessary for verifying the conditions.
4.Upon receipt of the application or any additional information requested pursuant to paragraph 3 of this Article, the Commission shall conduct a preliminary examination to determine whether the conditions set out in points (a) to (c) of Article 10 are met. The Commission shall then:
(a)send the application to the third country without delay and, in any event, before the expiry of the deadline for the transmission of applications laid down in the SFPA, provided that the deadline set out in paragraph 3 of this Article has been met; or
(b)notify the Member State that the application is refused.
5.If a third country informs the Commission that it has decided to issue, refuse, suspend or withdraw a fishing authorisation for a Union fishing vessel under the agreement, the Commission shall immediately inform the flag Member State accordingly, if possible by electronic means.
1.During a specific year or any other relevant period of the implementation of a protocol to an SFPA taking into account validity periods of the fishing authorisations and fishing seasons, the Commission may identify unused fishing opportunities and inform Member States benefiting from the corresponding shares of the allocation accordingly.
2.Within 10 calendar days of receipt of this information from the Commission, the Member States referred to in paragraph 1 may:
(a)inform the Commission that they will use their fishing opportunities later in the relevant period of implementation by providing a fishing plan with detailed information on the number of fishing authorisations requested, the estimated catches, area and period of fishing; or
(b)notify the Commission of the use of their fishing opportunities through exchanges of fishing opportunities, pursuant to Article 16(8) of the Basic Regulation.
3.If certain Member States have not informed the Commission of one of the actions referred to in paragraph 2, or have informed it of a partial use of their fishing opportunities only, and, if as a result, fishing opportunities remain unused, the Commission may launch a call for interest for the available unused fishing opportunities among the other Member States benefiting from a share of the allocation. The Commission shall at the same time inform all Member States of the launch of the call for interest.
4.Within 10 calendar days of receipt of the call for interest referred to in paragraph 3, Member States benefiting from a share of the allocation may communicate their interest in the available unused fishing opportunities to the Commission. In support for their request, they shall provide a fishing plan with detailed information on the number of fishing authorisations requested, the estimated catches, area and period of fishing.
5.If deemed necessary for the assessment of the request, the Commission may ask the Member States concerned for additional information.
6.In the absence of interest in the total amount of the available unused fishing opportunities by the Member States benefiting from a share of the allocation at the end of the 10-day period referred to in paragraph 4, the Commission may extend the call for interest to all Member States. A Member State may communicate its interest in the unused fishing opportunities under the conditions referred to in that paragraph.
7.On the basis of the information provided by Member States in accordance with paragraph 4 or 6 of this Article, the unused fishing opportunities shall be reallocated by the Council in accordance with Article 43(3) TFEU, solely on a temporary basis for the relevant period of time referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article.
The Commission shall inform the Member States of the Member States to which the reallocation has been made and the quantities reallocated.
8.The temporary reallocation of fishing opportunities shall be based on transparent and objective criteria including, where applicable, those of an environmental, social and economic nature. Those criteria may include:
(a)the fishing opportunities available for reallocation;
(b)the number of requesting Member States;
(c)the share assigned to each requesting Member State in the initial allocation of fishing opportunities;
(d)the historic catch and effort levels of each requesting Member State, where applicable;
(e)the viability of the fishing plans provided by the requesting Member States, in light of the number, type and characteristics of vessels and gear used.
1.Where a protocol to an SFPA sets monthly or quarterly catch limits or other subdivisions of the fishing opportunities available for the relevant year, and where the fishing opportunities allocated are not all used during the same monthly, quarterly or otherwise applicable period of time, the corresponding available fishing opportunities shall be sub-allocated by the Council in accordance with Article 43(3) TFEU among the Member States concerned for the relevant periods of time.
2.The sub-allocation of the available fishing opportunities shall be carried out using transparent and objective criteria. It shall be consistent with the annual fishing opportunities allocated to Member States under the relevant Council Regulation.