European Union
The European Union (EU) plans to exercise the authority of its policies by categorizing them into five in the Lisbon Treaty. These are namely: 1) The zones in which the EU has exclusive authority; 2) The zones in which the EU shares authority with member states; 3) The zones in which member states regulate policies within the limits of the EU; 4) The zones in which the EU provides support for, regulates and reinforces actions of member states, and 5) The zones which do not follow legislative power by the EU*1. Regarding the policies for living marine resources and fisheries, a section in the "Conservation of Living Marine Resources Based on the Common Fisheries Policy" is the area over which the EU retains exclusive authority (Article 3, Section 1 (d) of the Lisbon Treaty), and a section in Agriculture and Fisheries Excluding the Conservation of Living Marine Organisms is the area in which the EU shares authority with member states and where EU legislations take precedence (Article 4, Section 2 (d) of the Lisbon Treaty).
From 2012 to 2013, regarding policies for the conservation of living marine resources and fisheries in the EU, two important legislative measures were adopted. Namely, they are the "Regulation on certain measures for the purpose of the conservation of fish stocks in relation to countries allowing non-sustainable fishing"*2 (2012) and the (revised) "Regulation on the Common Fisheries Policy"*3 (2013).
- *1Refer to page 26 of the 255th edition of Europe: Jurisdiction of the EU and Member States (2008) by the Delegation of the European Union to Japan.
- *2This regulation was adopted on September 25, 2012, ratified on October 25, 2012, and came into effect on November 17, 2012. Its formal title is "REGULATION (EU) No 1026/2012 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 25 October 2012 on certain measures for the purpose of the conservation of fish stocks in relation to countries allowing non-sustainable fishing."
- *3This regulation was adopted on December 10, 2013, ratified on December 11, 2013, came into effect on December 29, 2013 and has been applied since January 1, 2014. Its formal title is REGULATION (EU) No 1380/2013 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 11 December 2013 on the Common Fisheries Policy, amending Council Regulations (EC) No 1954/2003 and (EC) No 1224/2009 and repealing Council Regulations (EC) No 2371/2002 and (EC) No 639/2004 and Council Decision 2004/585/EC.