The EU is at risk of violating its international obligations if efforts to reform the Common Fisheries Policy prove unsuccessful.

Recent months have seen renewed efforts to reform the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy. Alexander Proelss assesses the EU’s track record, noting that 81 per cent of European fish stocks are currently overfished by the EU’s own estimates, and that this figure may be even higher depending on the measurement used. A number of different obstacles will need to be overcome if the reform efforts are to be successful, not least finding a way around the significant political opposition within Member States to any reduction in fishing quotas.