Disentangling the legal basis of multiannual fisheries plans

Multiannual fisheries management plans will be central to the success of the new Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), which came into force in 2014. But for a long time these plans have been caught in a metaphorical net: a disagreement between the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers regarding the legal basis for their adoption. Central to this has been the question of the extent of the European Parliament’s co-legislative powers in fisheries decision-making. This document sets out the legal basis for multiannual fisheries plans.