Brussels, 10/05/2011 (Agence Europe) - European Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki, speaking in Strasbourg late on Monday afternoon 9 May, poured cold water on the hopes of those calling for an increase in the ceiling for de minimis aid to help fishermen cope with the high cost of fuel. The move had been called for by a number of MEPs (mainly French and Spanish) but was roundly criticised by the ALDE and Greens/EFA Groups in particular. The European Parliament (EP) hopes to adopt a resolution on the issue of the crisis within the fisheries sector on Thursday 12 May.
“Fishermen in all of Europe's coastal regions have been hit hard by oil price rises”, said Alain Cadec (EPP, France) during Monday's debate. He said that operating costs in the fisheries sector were rocketing as a result of rising oil prices. “I am calling for the ceiling on de minimis aid to be increased from €30,000 to €60,000 per enterprise” (over three years). This would not increase the European budget as de minimis aid is aid which can be granted by states to fisheries enterprises without its being considered to distort competition, Cadec pointed out. “I am calling for a little more flexibility for member states”, he said. Carmen Fraga Estévez (EPP, Spain) also called for the ceiling on de minimis aid to be increased. “Subsidising unsustainable practices will not reduce overfishing”, countered Chris Davies (ALDE, UK), determined in his opposition to any increase in de minimis ceilings.
“The situation in the fisheries sector is serious. Fuel prices are high and fish prices low”, argued Baastian Belder (EFD, Netherlands). He spoke of problems facing plaice fishermen. Plaice prices are exceptionally low as a result of duty-free imports from third countries. “This plaice fillet dumping has to be stopped”, he exclaimed.
Ulrike Rodust (S&D, Germany) cited three factors to which fishermen's loss of income could be accounted: falls in stocks of certain fish, the fall in fish prices, in particular those where the resource is plentiful (and supply great) and increases in running costs brought about by the high price of fuel. “Political action is needed, but we have to do what we can to help”. She expressed reservations about the increase from €30,000 to €60,000 in the de minimis ceiling. “Many countries will not be able to afford this. Most fishermen would not be helped by such a measure. And furthermore, the problems of overfishing and prices will remain”, she said. She also reproached EU countries for not making use of the European Fisheries Fund. Before Thursday, “let us try to find less ostentatious and more sustainable solutions for the fisheries sector”, she urged.
Isabella Lövin (Greens/EFA, Sweden) noted that there were two sectors which were exempted from all energy taxes: aviation and the maritime sector, which includes fisheries. The impact on fishermen of oil price rises was, therefore, not as severe as on others, she argued, adding that this was, in her opinion, a kind of “hidden subsidy”. She warned of the signal the EU would be sending out if it brought in new fuel subsidies for fisheries. Leave the market to deal with this increase in prices, she counselled.
Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki said she was aware of the current situation in the sector. To address the issue of oil price rises, the Commission encourages member states to make full use of what is offered by the European Fisheries Fund (EFF), she said, noting that, hitherto, less than 20% of the sums available had been used. She called for adoption of EFF measures to help restructure fleets and to increase the value of fisheries products. The Commission expects oil prices to remain high over the coming years. As part of the reform of the common fisheries policy (CFP), the Commission is giving thought to financial instruments to incentivise less fuel-intensive fishing. “The objective will be to encourage the adjustment of the sector and to raise its resilience to fuel price increases”, the commissioner said, warning, however, that financial assistance must not, under any circumstances, increase fishing effort. With regard to the rise in the de minimis aid ceiling, the Commission published a report in 2008 on the effect of increasing this aid from €30,000 to €100,000. “The report concluded that we cannot accept” this proposal for a number of reasons: - it would encourage the shift to more fuel-intensive technologies, thereby impacting negatively on the marine environment; - larger vessels using more fuel would receive more funding than smaller vessels which were lighter on fuel (“and no one wants to encourage that”, the commissioner said); - many countries are putting austerity measures in place, and so might not give political support to a measure that would increase public spending; - if the de minimis threshold were to be increased, several EU countries would not have the money to take advantage of the new situation, and if only some member states paid the higher de minimis aid, this could lead to distortion of competition with fleets no longer competing on a fair basis.
As for the Greens' idea of taxing the fuel used by fishermen, “we cannot accept that. We cannot settle this issue through Community legislation alone. There has to be discussion at global level”, the commissioner said. Taxing fuel only in the EU would lead to competition distortion that would disadvantage EU fleets and would hurt European ports, as people would buy their fuel outside the EU. (L.C./transl.rt)