| AGRICULTURE — Fisheries — Fishing licences — Obligation to withdraw licences of vessels “subject to definite withdrawal of fishing activities” — Whether applying to transfer of vessels to third country under international agreement — Whether obligation entailing non-reuse of licences withdrawn — Council Regulation (EC) No 3690/93, art 5
Commission of the European Communities v United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Case C-64/04)
ECJ: President of Chamber Rosas, Judges Tizzano, Borg Barthet, Malenovský and Ó Caoimh: 29 March 2007
The “definitive withdrawal from fishing activities” of a vessel, whose licence had in consequence to be withdrawn, under art 5 of Regulation 3690/93 on fishing licences (“art 5”), included the permanent transfer of the vessel to a non-EC state pursuant to an international agreement. The re-use of licences so withdrawn was not prohibited.
The Third Chamber of the Court of Justice of the European Communities so held when dismissing an application by the Commission of the European Communities for a declaration of failure to fulfil obligations.
Art 5 provides: “The flag Member State shall … withdraw the fishing licences of vessels which are subject to definitive withdrawal from fishing activities.” Art 8 of Council Regulation (EC) No 3699/93 on structural assistance in the fisheries and agriculture sector provides: “(1) … Where necessary, member states shall take measures to stop vessels’ fishing activities permanently … (2) [Such measures] may include … permanent transfer to a third country …”
The fishing vessels Cleopatra and Ocean Quest were definitively transferred to Argentina under an agreement of September 1993 between the EEC and Argentina, and those vessels were removed from the United Kingdom national register of fishing vessels. The vessels’ licences were withdrawn by the UK Government, but were used for other vessels. The Commission brought an action for a declaration that the United Kingdom had failed to fulfil its obligations under art 5.
THE COURT said that the first matter to be decided concerned the meaning of “definitive withdrawal from fishing activities” in art 5. That was not defined in Regulation 3690/93, but, although that Regulation and Regulation 3699/93 differed greatly in both subject matter and purpose, there was nothing to preclude the “measures to stop vessels’ fishing activities” in art 8 of the latter Regulation being applied in the context of art 5. The permanent transfer of a vessel to a non-member state under an international agreement therefore came within art 5. The Commission submitted, however, that it followed from art 5 that a member state which so transferred a vessel had not only to withdraw its licence but also to refrain from using the fishing capacity thus made available in the national register, to issue new licences. No obligation to that effect was imposed by the Community legislation, and it followed that the United Kingdom had complied with its duty to withdraw fishing licences.
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