Where the law stands, Dossier 2024/2127(INI)
The multiannual plan for the Baltic Sea and ways forward
Own-initiative report (INI): Parliament’s own position on a topic. It is not binding. · First reading
Parliament sets out its own position on a topic. The resolution is not binding but signals what Parliament wants.
Where it stands
Parliament’s position
Parliament adopted the text on 21 May 2026. This is its final position on the matter.
- Referred to committee(done) 23 January 2025
- Committee work(done) Report adopted 15 April 2026
- Tabled for plenary(done) 23 April 2026
- Plenary vote(done) Adopted 21 May 2026
- Parliament’s position(done) Final
Decided in plenary
21 May 2026 · decision 8
Agriculture, food & fisheries, Resolution
The multiannual plan for the Baltic Sea and ways forward
Adopted 337 for · 178 against · 44 abstained by a clear majority
AI summary:The resolution sets out immediate actions within current rules, steps to improve scientific advice, and a new management approach requiring legal changes to the Baltic MAP.
What changed
Latest Tabled for plenary → Adopted by Parliament
AI summary:Adds calls for a Baltic fisheries recovery fund, differentiated access rules, and action on cormorants and harbour porpoises. Rewrites recitals to broaden pressures on fish stocks beyond fishing and to balance sustainability with socio-economic needs. Drops criticism of the Council's 2026 catch limits and a statement on limited scientific data on predator impacts. Adds concerns about Russian fishery products and emphasizes generational renewal and socio-economic losses. The other changes are formal or wording: a decimal separator and a typo fix.
Committee draft → Tabled for plenary
AI summary:The new version substantially expands the report, adding many new recitals and paragraphs on environmental pressures, Russia, scientific advice, and socio-economic concerns. It shifts from urgent calls for quota cuts and closures to calls for assessments, recovery phases, and support for small-scale fisheries. It adds extensive new sections on improving scientific advice and addressing other factors like pollution, climate change, and Russia's shadow fleet. The changes are substantive, altering the report's focus and recommendations significantly.
Who works on it
- Lead committee
- Fisheries
- The MEP who drafts the report and negotiates it on behalf of the committee.
- Isabella Lövin (Greens)
- An MEP who follows a report on behalf of their own group when another group holds the rapporteur.
- Niclas Herbst (EPP), Sofie Eriksson (S&D), Piotr Müller (ECR), Emma Wiesner (Renew), Anja Hazekamp (The Left)
The text, version by version
Newest first.
Adopted by Parliament· 21 May 2026
AI summary:Parliament's resolution on the Baltic Sea multiannual plan calls for urgent actions to recover fish stocks, improve scientific advice, address environmental pressures, and consider legal changes, including a possible revision of the Baltic MAP Regulation.
Tabled for plenary· 23 Apr 2026
AI summary:Parliament's resolution on the Baltic Sea multiannual plan calls for urgent action to recover fish stocks, improve scientific advice, and address environmental pressures.
Committee draft· 17 Oct 2025
AI summary:This draft report on the multiannual plan for the Baltic Sea calls for urgent action to recover fish stocks, including precautionary buffers, ecosystem-based advice, and legal changes to the Baltic MAP Regulation.
Timeline
Newest first.
Plenary stage 4 steps
21 May 2026
Plenary vote
Sitting of 21 May 2026 Report A10-0121/2026Adopted text TA10-0189/2026
18 May 2026
Debated in plenary
MEPs debated the text in the chamber ahead of the vote.
11 May – 12 May 2026
43 amendments tabled for the plenary vote
Groups propose changes to the tabled text; each is voted on before the final vote.
Amendments 1–5Amendments 6–7Amendments 8–9Amendments 10–12Amendments 13–22Amendments 23–32Amendments 33–42Amendment 43
23 April 2026
Report tabled for plenary
This is the text all MEPs vote on. Political groups can still table amendments to it.
Committee stage 4 steps
15 April 2026
Committee vote: report adopted
PECH (Fisheries) voted on the amendments and adopted the report that goes to plenary.
19 November 2025
Amendments tabled in committee (2 batches)
Members of PECH (Fisheries) proposed changes to the draft.
Amendments in committee (PECH)Amendments in committee (PECH)
17 October 2025
Draft report published
The rapporteur’s first text in PECH (Fisheries). Members can table amendments before the committee votes.
23 January 2025
Referred to the PECH (Fisheries) committee
The lead committee prepares Parliament’s report.
Official record: Legislative Observatory, 2024/2127(INI)