Brussels, 14/11/2011 (Agence Europe) - EU member states gave a rather positive response, in Brussels on Monday 14 November, to the Commission's proposals on the external dimension of the common fisheries policy (CFP).
Most European fisheries ministers said they wanted the CFP to have a “strong” external dimension and called for greater transparency in the conduct of negotiations with third countries so that there could be a clearer view of the overall fishing effort. There was general agreement within Council on the need to ensure fair conditions for European vessels and third country vessels operating in the same waters. Several countries, including Denmark and the Netherlands, argued that an exclusivity clause be inserted in fisheries partnership agreements (meaning that once a fisheries agreement is in place, European ship owners will not be allowed to conclude agreements with the authorities of the country).
Ministers, in general, backed the Commission proposal that, in bilateral fisheries agreements, a distinction be made between support for the sector and money paid for access to the resource.
Some delegations (including those of Germany, Ireland, France and Belgium) said that sight should not be lost of agreements with northern countries (the likes of Norway, the Faroe Isles, Iceland and Greenland). Too much attention is focused on agreements with southern countries, these states said.
Imported goods. The import of fisheries products must be made conditional on compliance with sustainable fisheries in order more effectively to tackle illegal fishing, several ministers said. The British, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Belgian and Cypriot ministers called for the maintenance of balanced competition between EU fisheries products and those of third countries.
Higher contributions from ship owners. As a way of combating over-fishing, the Commission suggested a fee to be paid by vessel owners for access to the resource in the high seas. This idea was not well received by some member states, which are calling for preference to be given to the adoption in regional fisheries organisations of management measures which are monitored to ensure they guarantee the sustainable exploitation of resources.
The Commission proposes that, in future, the financial contribution made by ship owners (the fee) be increased for access to the fish resources of third countries with which a partnership agreement has been signed. Most fisheries ministers (including those of Spain, France, Portugal and Ireland) did not oppose the idea of increased, though not excessively high, contributions by ship owners, on condition that this does not affect the competitiveness of the European fleet compared with the fleets of non-EU states. Only the United Kingdom called for aid paid by the EU for access to the waters of third countries to be phased out.
Trade measures. Several countries called for trade measures to be imposed on countries which did not cooperate on fisheries issues. The current dispute with Iceland and the Faroe Islands over mackerel was quoted as an example by Ireland, France, Germany and Belgium.
Spain called for provision to be made for funding to protect fishing vessels from piracy.
European Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki said that, as part of the reform of the CFP, the new generation of Sustainable Fisheries Agreements (SFAs) need to be based on best scientific advice and on the “surplus” rule which states that, in the waters of third countries, EU vessels can only fish the surplus of the stock not caught by the local fleet.
Furthermore, the overall fishing effort in third countries' waters “must become more transparent”, the commissioner said. A further important element in the reformed agreements is improving monitoring and observance of requirements resulting from (international) regional fisheries organisation rules. The Commission also suggests decoupling support for the sector and aid paid for access to the fishing grounds.
The principle of respect for human rights has already been introduced in all negotiations in 2010 and 2011: with Seychelles, Comores, Guinea-Bissau, São Tomé e Principe, Micronesia, Cap Verde and Mozambique. Only Gabon is so far refusing this clause, as it sees fisheries agreements as being purely commercial in nature, Damanaki said.
She also proposed gradually increasing the contribution paid by EU vessel owners to the purchase of fishing rights in the waters of third countries which have bilateral agreements with the EU.
The commissioner provided information on the state of play in negotiations with third countries:
Mauritania. The latest information is that Mauritania is likely to agree to the decoupling of sectoral support from payment to allow EU vessels to fish in its waters. Negotiations remain difficult, however, as the Mauritanian authorities have excessively high expectations on the issues of access rights and money. The amount requested by Mauritania could very well be disproportionate to the commercial value of the access, Damanaki said. “We should, therefore, be aware that a new protocol with Mauritania is not guaranteed”, she noted.
Guinea-Bissau. Negotiations here showed that third countries find it difficult to accept that the EU is negotiating fewer fishing possibilities, the commissioner stated. She made clear, however, that given the current economic situation in Europe, “we can't continue paying for fishing possibilities that are not used”. The case of Guinea-Bissau also shows that EU support for the third country's fishing sector is determined - and, indeed, limited - by the country's absorption capacity.
Morocco. The Commission will put a proposal to the Council on a negotiating mandate for a successor to the one-year protocol currently in force between the EU and Morocco. The European Parliament has yet, however, to agree to the extension of this protocol. The mandate for the new protocol should draw the lessons from current implementation and from the recent EP report. Future negotiations have, from the start, to take account of the need to ensure environmental sustainability, economic profitability political complexities and, in a reference to the Western Sahara, international legality, Damanaki argued. (LC/transl.rt)