The multiannual plan for the Baltic Sea and ways forward

Wording as published by the EP, in English.

1. Amendment 1Rejected

   Paragraph 36 a (new)

   Tabled by Anja Hazekamp, Sebastian Everding, Emma Fourreau · The Left

   Added: 36a. Highlights the recent case of the stranded humpback whale, ‘Timmy’; notes that an extensive rescue operation had to rely on private donations and that measures were mostly taken on ad hoc basis; encourages the Commission and the Member States to establish a coordinated emergency response and funding mechanism for whale and dolphin strandings;

2. Amendment 2Rejected

   Paragraph 36 b (new)

   Tabled by Anja Hazekamp, Sebastian Everding, Emma Fourreau · The Left

   Added: 36b. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to fully uphold and where necessary strengthen measures to protect marine mammals against negative impacts;

3. Amendment 3Rejected

   Paragraph 36 c (new)

   Tabled by Anja Hazekamp, Sebastian Everding, Emma Fourreau · The Left

   Added: 36c. Highlights the fact that seabirds are prone to becoming entangled in various types of static nets and that, according to the Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission, seabird bycatch numbers are often significantly higher than those reported in official reports; calls on the Commission and the Member States to fully uphold and where necessary strengthen measures to protect seabirds against negative impacts;

4. Amendment 4Adopted

   Paragraph 36 d (new)

   Tabled by Anja Hazekamp, Sebastian Everding, Emma Fourreau · The Left

   Added: 36d. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to closely monitor whether measures for the recovery of the critically endangered Baltic harbour porpoise are being effectively implemented and where necessary to take additional measures to avert the main threats to their survival;

5. Amendment 5Adopted

   Paragraph 36 e (new)

   Tabled by Anja Hazekamp, Sebastian Everding, Emma Fourreau · The Left

   Added: 36e. Recalls that Baltic seal populations were brought to the brink of extinction in the 1970s; points out that environmental and anthropogenic factors still pose a risk to the long-term survival of Baltic seal populations, despite their partial recovery; calls on the Commission and the Member States to uphold seal protection measures;

6. Amendment 5Rejected

   Paragraph 36 e (new)

   Tabled by Anja Hazekamp, Sebastian Everding, Emma Fourreau · The Left

   Added: 36e. Recalls that Baltic seal populations were brought to the brink of extinction in the 1970s; points out that environmental and anthropogenic factors still pose a risk to the long-term survival of Baltic seal populations, despite their partial recovery; calls on the Commission and the Member States to uphold seal protection measures;

7. Amendment 6Rejected

   Recital Y

   Tabled by Sarah Knafo · ESN

   … caught as ‘bycatch’, from environmental contaminants, prey depletion and disturbance from underwater Removed: noise; Added: noise, including impulsive noise generated during the construction of offshore wind farms, which, according to the ICES workshop on the impacts of offshore renewable energy on fisheries and marine ecosystems, has the potential to cause irreversible damage to this critically endangered population and could contribute to its extinction; 19 https://helcom.fi/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Red-List-II-species-2025.pdf.

8. Amendment 7Rejected

   Recital AY

   Tabled by Sarah Knafo · ESN

   … pressures are transboundary and cumulative in nature and therefore require coordinated action Removed: at international and EU level; whereas transitioning to low-impact and low-carbon economic activities Added: among Member States, supported, where appropriate, by the Union within its existing competences; whereas technological innovation and industrial progress can contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation;

9. Amendment 12Adopted

   Paragraph 43

   Tabled by Niclas Herbst · PPE

   … stresses the potential harm to marine ecosystems, local fisheries and human health; Added: further notes concerns that Russian fishery products continue to reach the EU market through existing trade channels, highlighting the need to ensure the effective closure of any loopholes that may undermine the objectives of EU restrictive measures; calls on the Commission to explore further measures to combat Russia’s shadow …

10. Amendment 13Adopted

    Recital A

    Tabled by Piotr Müller, Stephen Nikola Bartulica · ECR

    … a context of increasing environmental pressures on the Baltic Sea ecosystem, has Removed: not delivered on its overarching ecological and socio-economic objectives; whereas it has not achieved the restoration and maintenance of populations of harvested species above levels which can produce the Added: helped maintain fishing pressure in line with maximum sustainable yield Removed: (MSY), despite its 2020 legal deadline, and has not contributed sufficiently to resolving particularly complex stock situations such as those of the eastern and western Baltic cod stocks, nor has it consistently supported the effective implementation of the ecosystem-based approach to fisheries management, or implemented the precautionary approach, Added: (MSY) levels; whereas, despite significant fishing effort reductions in the past few years, some fish stocks have deteriorated due to a combination of pressures beyond fishing activity, including eutrophication, offshore energy, predator impacts, pollution, habitat degradation and climate-driven ecosystem changes, resulting in significant socio-economic Removed: challenges for parts of Added: consequences for the fisheries sector;

11. Amendment 25Rejected

    Paragraph 3

    Tabled by Piotr Müller, Stephen Nikola Bartulica · ECR

    3. Urges the Commission and Removed: the Member States when implementing the Baltic MAP Regulation to move to a recovery and rebuilding phase for fish stocks, taking measures and actions based on the best available scientific advice, as well as taking other potential interlinked actions related to other EU or national legislation to address all stressors on fish stocks; calls on the Commission and the Member States, when implementing the above-mentionned recovery and rebuilding phase, to consider remedial measures based on the best available science such as suspending targeted fisheries for some stocks Added: Member States to commit to a comprehensive and cross-sectoral plan that addresses all major stressors in the Baltic Sea Removed: as provided for in the MAP, avoiding Added: – including nutrient pollution, chemical contaminants, offshore energy, climate change and predator impacts – while ensuring inclusive governance and maritime spatial planning that involves the fisheries sector; emphasises that these pressures are transboundary and cumulative, requiring EU-level coordination and the avoidance of measures that could undermine the socio-economic stability of coastal Removed: communities so as to ensure that fishing activities for human consumption remain sustainable; Added: communities;

12. Amendment 27Rejected

    Paragraph 6

    Tabled by Piotr Müller, Stephen Nikola Bartulica · ECR

    6. Calls Removed: on the Council to adopt TACs that are fully aligned with the precautionary approach, taking into account the vulnerability of the Baltic Sea ecosystem, socio-economic factors, and the slow recovery rates of stocks as well as the scientific uncertainty of advice; calls on the Commission to carefully consider socio-economic aspects when evaluating the current …

13. Amendment 29Rejected

    Paragraph 8

    Tabled by Piotr Müller, Stephen Nikola Bartulica · ECR

    Removed: 8. Calls on the Member States and the Commission, taking into account the shortcomings of the Baltic MAP Regulation in terms of reaching its ecological and socio-economic objectives, to consider launching measures in accordance with Articles 12 and 13 of the CFP whenever best available scientific advice indicates the need for such measures, and to prepare action by analysing the costs and benefits of closing relevant fisheries, including for recreational fisheries, noting lost revenues, livelihoods, food security and the future cost of inaction; Added: deleted

14. Amendment 30Rejected

    Paragraph 9

    Tabled by Piotr Müller, Stephen Nikola Bartulica · ECR

    Removed: 9. Calls for the prevention of irreversible ecological damage to herring and sprat populations in the Baltic Sea in order to secure the long-term viability of coastal and small-scale fisheries targeting those species and safeguarding marine food webs; believes that, based on scientific advice, recovery pauses for the respective stocks must be urgently considered, until scientific evidence demonstrates a clear and sustained recovery of the stocks; Added: deleted

15. Amendment 34Rejected

    Paragraph 18

    Tabled by Piotr Müller, Stephen Nikola Bartulica · ECR

    Removed: 18. Calls on the Member States to ensure the full and effective implementation of the EU fisheries control regulation, including provisions addressing misreporting of catches and strengthening the accuracy and reliability of catch reporting in the region; Added: deleted

16. Amendment 35Rejected

    Paragraph 21

    Tabled by Piotr Müller, Stephen Nikola Bartulica · ECR

    … that MSY remains an important tool for adaptive and responsible management; calls Added: on the Commission and the Member States to apply the upper ranges within FMSY (fishing mortality consistent with achieving MSY) when setting TACs for Baltic Sea stocks wherever the best available scientific advice permits, in order to give effect to the balanced objectives of Article 2 CFP, protect employment and processing capacity, uphold EU food security and reduce dependence on fish imports; calls furthermore on the Commission to request from STECF relevant socio-economic analyses for …

17. Amendment 36Rejected

    Paragraph 22

    Tabled by Piotr Müller, Stephen Nikola Bartulica · ECR

    … Commission to base all stock assessments used for implementing EU law on Removed: BMSY biomass reference points, as Added: FMSY, as this is reflected in the objectives of Article 3(1) of the Baltic MAP Regulation …

18. Amendment 42Rejected

    Paragraph 55

    Tabled by Piotr Müller, Stephen Nikola Bartulica · ECR

    Removed: 55. Notes that some Member States in the Baltic Sea region such as Germany and Sweden have introduced national measures to restrict or prohibit bottom trawling in certain marine areas; Added: deleted

19. Amendment 43Rejected

    Paragraph 56

    Tabled by Piotr Müller, Stephen Nikola Bartulica · ECR

    56. Removed: Calls on the Commission and the Member States for the Baltic Sea to propose halting trawling for fish meal and fish oil during a rebuilding phase, and limiting extractive activities in MPAs; recognises that approaches differ across the Union in the light of specific ecological, legal and socio-economic contexts; encourages Added: Encourages the Member States to continue developing proportionate, science-based solutions in cooperation with …