The Minister of Sea, accompanied by the Secretary of State for Fisheries and the Deputy Directors-General of the Directorate-General for Natural Resources, Security and Maritime Services (DGRM), chaired the last Council of Fisheries Ministers under the Portuguese Presidency on 28 June, approving a General Guidance on the revision of the Control Regulation, which was one of the main objectives of the Portuguese Presidency, whose discussions had been ongoing for about 3 years.

The compromise expresses the best possible balance between the positions of all the Member States towards greater digitalisation, sustainability, traceability of fisheries products, harmonisation of control systems, transparency and legal certainty, and forms an excellent basis for future discussions with the European Parliament.

At the meeting a favourable opinion was obtained from a large majority of ministers, although some ministers argued that there should be no backtracking when negotiating with the Parliament, while others underlined the need to take into account the specificities of some fleets at regional level, such as small-scale fisheries.

As regards the fishing opportunities for 2022, ministers expressed their positions on the Commission's communication and generally recognised that the document presented by the Commission clearly reflected the state of resources, the evolution of fleets and their profitability. In their various interventions, Ministers underlined various aspects of this process, which will lead to the setting of Total Allowable Catches for 2022, of which the following should be highlighted:

• the need to treat the three pillars of the Common Fisheries Policy equally and to recognise the efforts made and the improvements achieved by the sector;
• the remaining uncertainties following the UK's exit from the European Union, given the need now to consult annually on most stocks in the Atlantic and the North Sea;
• the recognition that some stocks are in good environmental status and others need to be better studied and monitored.

Finally, fisheries ministers urged the Commission to intervene on behalf of the Union's fishermen in respect of the inappropriate procedures Norway has been taking with regard to both Svalbard cod and mackerel management.