Legal shenanigans over tuna.

The European Commission will can an action in the European Court of Justice that it was going to bring against the Netherlands and the UK for voting to protect endangered bluefin tuna.

The legal shenanigans arose after a global conservation conference in March at which the EU failed to win enough support from other countries for a ban on international trade in the prized fish. The Dutch and UK governments then departed from the official position and voted for tougher protection for bluefin tuna – something that had not been agreed in advance by all the EU’s 27 member states.

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The Commission was planning to launch legal action, citing its duty to challenge member states that fail to vote in line with agreed EU positions.

So the Commission, which was in favour of a trade ban, found itself in the absurd situation of taking two national governments to court for trying to protect an endangered species that the EU has pledged (and failed) to protect. 

The UK has made an official apology and the Netherlands is expected to follow suit, which is apparently enough to get the Commission, if not the tuna, off the hook.