L 34744 Official Journal of the European Union 30.12.2011 REGULATION (EU) No 1343/2011 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 13 December 2011 on certain provisions for fishing in the GFCM (General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean) Agreement area and amending Council Regulation (EC) No 1967/2006 concerning management measures for the sustainable exploitation of fishery resources in the Mediterranean Sea THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 43(2) thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee ('), Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure (2), Whereas: (1) The European Community acceded to the Agreement for the establishment of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM Agreement) pursuant to Council Decision 98/416/EC of 16 June 1998 on the accession of the European Community to the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (?) (GFCM). (2)  The GFCM Agreement provides an appropriate framework for multilateral cooperation to promote the development, conservation, rational management and best utilisation of living marine resources in the Medi- terranean and the Black Sea at levels which are considered sustainable and at low risk of collapse. (3) The European Union, as well as Bulgaria, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Malta, Romania and Slovenia are contracting parties to the GFCM Agreement. (4)  Recommendations adopted by the GFCM are binding on its contracting parties. As the Union is a contracting party to the GFCM Agreement, these recommendations are binding on the Union and should therefore be imple- mented in Union law unless their content is already covered thereby. (5) At its Annual Sessions in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 the GFCM adopted a number of recommendations and () O] C 354, 28.12.2010, p. 71. (%) Position of the European Parliament of 8 March 2011 (not yet published in the Official Journal) and position of the Council at first reading of 20 October 2011. Position of the European Parliament of 13 December 2011. () OJ L 190, 4.7.1998, p. 34. resolutions for certain fisheries in the GFCM Agreement area which have been temporarily implemented in Union law by the annual Regulations on fishing opportunities or, in the case of GFCM Recommendations 2005/1 and 2005/2, by Article 4(3) and Article 24 of Council Regu- lation (EC) No 1967/2006 (4. (6)  For reasons of clarity, simplification and legal certainty, and since the permanent character of recommendations requires also a permanent legal instrument for their implementation in Union law, it is appropriate to implement these recommendations via a single legislative act, where future recommendations can be added by way of amendments to that act. (7)  GFCM recommendations apply to the entire GFCM Agreement area, that is the Mediterranean and the Black Sea and connecting waters, as defined in the preamble to the GFCM Agreement, and therefore, for reasons of clarity and legal certainty, they should be implemented in a single separate Regulation rather than through amendments to Regulation (EC) No 1967/2006 which covers only the Mediterranean Sea. (8)  Certain provisions contained in Regulation (EC) No 1967/2006 should apply not only to the Mediterranean Sea but to the entire GFCM Agreement area. Those provisions should therefore be deleted from Regulation (EC) No 1967/2006 and included in this Regulation. In addition, certain provisions regarding minimum mesh size that are laid down in that Regulation should be further clarified. (9)  The ‘fisheries restricted areas’ established by GFCM recommendations for spatial management measures are equivalent to the ‘fishing protected areas’ as used in Regulation (EC) No 1967/2006. (10) At its Annual Session of 23 to 27 March 2009 the GFCM adopted, on the basis of scientific advice by the Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC), contained in the report of its 11th session (FAO report No 890), a recom- mendation on the establishment of a fisheries restricted area in the Gulf of Lions. It is appropriate to implement this measure by means of a fishing effort management system. (11)  In Mediterranean mixed fisheries, the selectivity of some fishing gears cannot be permitted to go beyond a certain level. In addition to the overall control and limitation of (% OJ L 409, 30.12.2006, p. 11; as replaced by corrigendum, O] L 36, 8.2.2007, p. 6.