(fra kommisjonsforslaget)

(1) Reliable, comprehensive, and timely European statistics are essential for designing, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating Union policies and legislation related to fisheries and aquaculture, particularly under the scope of the common fisheries policy (‘CFP’) 20 . Those statistics also help to assess the impact of fisheries and aquaculture on business development, food security, water quality, sensitive species, habitats, climate change and public health, as well as to assess the market functioning and achievement of the UN Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

(2) European fisheries and aquaculture statistics should be designed to support evidence-based decision-making and to monitor progress towards Union strategic objectives, such as the European Green Deal 21 .

(3) European fisheries and aquaculture statistics are currently collected on the basis of five legal acts that do not provide full consistency across the statistical domains. A common legal framework is needed to ensure consistency, streamline statistical processes and enable a more holistic approach.

(4) There is a growing need for more detailed and timely European statistics to support implementing EU policies, legislation 22 , as well as various Commission initiatives, including the action plans for organic production 23 , sustainable aquaculture 24 , 25 , a sustainable blue economy 26 , algae sector development 27 , energy transition in fisheries and aquaculture 28 , and marine ecosystem protection 29.

(5) The Resolutions from the Parliament also highlighted the importance for European statistics on fisheries and aquaculture 30 , 31 .

(6) The Union, as a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 32 , is committed to promoting sustainable fishing, and exercises its powers in the conservation of marine biological resources and fishing that are set under Articles 3(1), point (d) and 4(2), point (d) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

(7) The FAO Coordinating Working Party on Fishery Statistics (CWP) 33 sets international standards for fisheries statistics, including concepts and classifications, such as the fishing areas for statistical purposes and the Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Information System (ASFIS) list of species. European fisheries and aquaculture statistics should follow these standards where applicable.

(8) Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council 34  sets up a common framework for European statistics, emphasising quality criteria, and minimising respondent and administrative burden.

(9) The coherence, comparability and interoperability of data, as well as uniform reporting formats, are essential for the efficiency of the data collection and the quality of the European fisheries and aquaculture statistics.

(10) This Regulation should align its data requests, definitions, methodologies, and reporting formats with those of the FAO and the OECD to enhance coherence, comparability and interoperability, and to reduce the administrative burden.

(11) European aquaculture statistics should be based on a clear definition of ‘aquaculture establishments’ that: (i) further distinguishes them from statistics under Union Animal Health Law 35 ; and (ii) takes the unique characteristics of aquaculture (including the production of plants, algae and cyanobacteria) and the coexistence of various production lines into account.

(12) Statistics on organic aquaculture production are essential to monitor the progress of the EU action plan for organic production. To ensure coherence and comparability, administrative data from Regulation (EU) 2018/848 of the European Parliament and of the Council 36 should be used to the maximum extent possible.

(13) Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council 37 should be applied to data on terrestrial territorial units.

(14) To meet emerging information demands, ad hoc data on fisheries and aquaculture can be collected. Such an additional data request should be duly substantiated and should not impose a disproportionate burden on respondents and national authorities.

(15) The data structure used in this Regulation should be comparable with the data collection framework (DCF) set out in Regulation (EU) No 2017/1004 of the European Parliament and of the Council 38 .

(16) Data collection methods should minimise costs and the administrative burden on respondents, including small and medium-sized enterprises and Member States.

(17) To avoid multiple reporting by Member States, statistics on catches and Union fishing fleet should be produced by the Commission (Eurostat) from EU-level administrative data collected under Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 39 and Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/218) 40 , as far as possible.

(18) To make producing statistics more efficient, Member States should be allowed to use various data sources and methods, including administrative sources, surveys, imputation, estimation, and modelling. Digital solutions, monitoring tools 41 and remote sensors should also be promoted, while ensuring the quality, accuracy, timeliness and comparability of the statistics.

(19) Measures should be set out under this Regulation to ensure that confidential data are used in accordance with Articles 21 and 22 of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009.

(20) The Commission (Eurostat) may transmit aggregated data to international organisations strictly for statistical or scientific purposes, with the aim of reducing the reporting burden.

(21) Statistics and quality reports compiled under this Regulation should be disseminated by the Commission (Eurostat) in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 223/2009.

(22) The European Statistical System Committee (‘ESSC’) has endorsed the Single Integrated Metadata Structure (‘SIMS’) 42 as the European statistical system (ESS) standard for quality reporting, contributing to uniform standards and harmonised methods.

(23) Commission Recommendation (EU) 2023/397 43 invites Member States to apply the SIMS statistical concepts when compiling reference metadata and quality reports, and to implement the Recommendation insofar as it is relevant for fisheries and aquaculture statistics.

(24) The Commission evaluation of European fishery statistics (from 2019) 44 recommended revising the existing legal framework to meet current and future statistical needs.

(25) The Commission impact assessment on European fishery statistics (from 2021) recommended that the new legal framework should prioritise the effectiveness and relevance of fisheries and aquaculture statistics.

(26) Since the objective of this Regulation, namely the establishment of a common framework for European statistics on fisheries and aquaculture, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States, a coordinated and harmonised approach is required. Therefore, for reasons of coherence and comparability, the objective can be better achieved at Union level, where the Union should be able to adopt measures in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, as set out in Article 5 TFEU. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in the same Article, this Regulation should not exceed what is necessary to achieve that objective.

(27) To address emerging data needs in fisheries and aquaculture, and changing policy priorities, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 TFEU should be delegated to the Commission in respect of amending the detailed topics listed in this Regulation and in respect of specifying data requirements for ad hoc data collections. When adopting delegated acts, the Commission should consider the costs and administrative burdens. It is of particular importance that the Commission carries out appropriate consultations during preparatory work, including at expert level, and that those consultations are conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement on Better Law-Making of 13 April 2016 45 . In particular, to ensure equal participation in the preparation of delegated acts, the European Parliament and the Council should receive all documents at the same time as the Member States’ experts, and their experts should systematically have access to the meetings of the Commission expert groups dealing with the preparation of delegated acts.

(28) To ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Regulation, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission in respect of specifying, for both regular data and ad hoc data: (i) the technical elements of the datasets to be transmitted and their technical formats; (ii) the list of variables; (iii) the descriptions of the variables; (iv) the measurement units; (v) the variables on sensitive species; (vi) the variables on organic production; (vii) the variables at regional level; (viii) the thresholds for identifying exempted variables; (ix) the observation units; (x) the precision requirements; (xi) the methodological rules; and (xii) and the deadlines for transmitting the data. In addition, to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Regulation, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission for specifying practical arrangements for the quality reports and their contents and for granting derogations to Member States. Those powers should be exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council 46 . When exercising those powers, the Commission should take into account aspects such as the cost and administrative burden on respondents and Member States.

(29) In duly substantiated cases, the Commission should be able to grant derogations to Member States for a limited period of time if significant adjustments to their national statistical systems are necessary to implement this Regulation and, in particular, to adapt data collection systems to new requirements, including the use of administrative sources.

(30) To support the implementation of this Regulation, both Member States and the Union should be required to provide funding. Provision should therefore be made for a Union financial contribution in the form of grants.

(31) Coordination within the ESS should be strengthened to ensure the coherence and comparability of fisheries and aquaculture statistics.

(32) The measures set out in this Regulation should replace those set by Regulations (EC) No 1921/2006 47 , (EC) No 762/2008 48 , (EC) No 216/2009 49 , (EC) No 217/2009 50  and (EC) No 218/2009 51 of the European Parliament and of the Council. Those regulations should therefore be repealed.

(33) The ESSC has been consulted,