Decision 2023/1974 - Signing of the Agreement under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction

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1.

Current status

This decision has been published on September 25, 2023 and entered into force on September 18, 2023.

2.

Key information

official title

Council Decision (EU) 2023/1974 of 18 September 2023 on the signing, on behalf of the European Union, of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction
 
Legal instrument Decision
Number legal act Decision 2023/1974
Regdoc number ST(2023)12416
Original proposal COM(2023)353 EN
CELEX number i 32023D1974

3.

Key dates

Document 18-09-2023; Date of adoption
Publication in Official Journal 25-09-2023; OJ L 235 p. 1-3
Effect 18-09-2023; Entry into force Date of document See Art 3
End of validity 31-12-9999

4.

Legislative text

25.9.2023   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 235/1

 

COUNCIL DECISION (EU) 2023/1974

of 18 September 2023

on the signing, on behalf of the European Union, of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 192(1), in conjunction with Article 218(5) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

Whereas:

 

(1)

By way of Council Decision 98/392/EC (1), the European Community concluded the United Nations Convention of 10 December 1982 on the Law of the Sea (‘UNCLOS’) and the Agreement of 28 July 1994 relating to the implementation of Part XI thereof in respect of those matters governed by it for which competence has been transferred to the Community by its Member States. The Union is thus far the only international organisation which is a Party to UNCLOS within the meaning of Article 305(1)(f) of UNCLOS and Article 1 of Annex IX thereto.

 

(2)

In its resolution 72/249 of 24 December 2017, the UN General Assembly decided to convene an intergovernmental conference, under the auspices of the United Nations, to elaborate the text of an international legally binding instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction.

 

(3)

On 19 March 2018, the Council authorised the Commission to negotiate, on behalf of the Union, as regards matters falling within the Union’s competence and in respect of which the Union has adopted rules, an international legally binding instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction.

 

(4)

Both the Union and its Member States are parties to UNCLOS and have competence in the fields covered by the negotiations; the Union therefore participated in the negotiations of the text of that Instrument alongside its Member States.

 

(5)

The negotiations were successfully completed, at the further resumed fifth session of the intergovernmental conference that took place in New York from 19 to 20 June 2023 where the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (‘BBNJ Agreement’) was adopted.

 

(6)

The Union and its Member States took an active part in the successful outcome of the negotiations.

 

(7)

The BBNJ Agreement covers four areas: marine genetic resources including the fair and equitable sharing of benefits (Part II of the BBNJ Agreement), measures such as area-based management tools, including marine protected areas (Part III of the BBNJ Agreement), environmental impact assessments; (Part IV of the BBNJ Agreement), as well as capacity building and the transfer of marine technology (Part V of the BBNJ Agreement). The BBNJ Agreement will further support the achievement of the 2030 UN Agenda for Sustainable Development, in particular its Sustainable Development Goal 14 (‘Life Below Water’) and contribute to meeting the goals and targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

 

(8)

The BBNJ Agreement is in conformity with the environmental objectives of the Union as referred to in Article 191 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, namely preserving, protecting and improving the quality of environment; protecting human health; prudent and rational utilisation of natural resources; and promoting measures at...


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This text has been adopted from EUR-Lex.

5.

Original proposal

 

6.

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