-in the Black Sea, where the October 2016 Bucharest Declaration should be used to tackle serious problems, including IUU fishing.

1. Points out that a viable, stable and sustainable fisheries sector should be established at European level and that, more specifically, the Black Sea needs a special policy to preserve and improve the situation of fisheries resources and ensure that the fisheries sector is suited to the Black Sea basin, bearing in mind the specificities of the Black Sea region, as well as the fact that the Black Sea fisheries policy should be integral part of the upcoming reform of the CFP;

15. Expresses its satisfaction with the Commission's efforts to establish working groups in the field of fisheries management with Turkey and the Russian Federation, providing the basis for further debate on cooperation; calls on the Commission to extend its efforts and dialogue with all countries bordering the Black Sea; calls on the Commission to make full use of the existing organisations, as well as the relevant tools, in order to make progress towards better policy coordination; takes the view, meanwhile, that a separate regional fisheries management organisation (RFMO) for the Black Sea could in the long term foster and promote ...[+++]communication between scientific institutes and professional organisations of fishermen, producers and processors with a view to settling issues and deepening cooperation in the Black Sea; encourages the Commission to work with the Black Sea countries at a bilateral level, bearing in mind that many of them are not members of the European Union;

10. Takes the view that the Black Sea should have an appropriate status in Community policies, and that to this end appropriate diplomatic and scientific efforts should be undertaken and adequate financial resources made available for sustainable fisheries in the basin; believes that EU budgetary resources should be flexible, accessible and transparent, so as to enable the EU to ensure the sustainability of the Black Sea fisheries;

25. Underlines the need to encourage scientific research on Black Sea issues, so that the decisions taken by the European, regional and national authorities responsible can take account of their economic, social and environmental consequences; believes it is necessary to conduct detailed, coordinated research in order to give a clear and unequivocal answer to the questions of fisheries management and the possible impact of fishing methods (e.g. trawling on the seabed), since in the absence of studies on their effects no serious conclusions can be drawn; takes the view that research programmes and projects in the field of Black Sea fish ...[+++]eries, such as SESAME, KNOWSEAS, WISER and BlackSeaFish, should be further encouraged;

O. whereas a large part of the problems of the Black Sea is the result of the lack of an appropriate institutional structure that coordinates and carries out the management of Black Sea fisheries at a professional and specialised level; whereas negotiations have been ongoing between the national administrations involved in fisheries policy implementation for the past ten years on the creation of such an institutional structure, as well as on its form and responsibilities, and whereas these negotiations have not yet been successful; whereas, for this reason, no adequate measures have been taken to control catches and, in particular, cr ...[+++]oss-border fishing,