Brussels, 24/04/2012 (Agence Europe) - With its adoption of the report by Pat the Cope Gallagher (ALDE, Ireland) on Tuesday 24 April, the European Parliament fisheries committee approved measures to impose sanctions (through trade measures) on third countries which engage in overfishing. This raft of measures could be used for the first time (after the text has been adopted by the EP and the Council) against Iceland and the Faroe Islands, for their overfishing of mackerel. Gallagher believes that the amendments in his report bring an improvement to the European Commission proposal which, he said, “was too limited in scope”. He described his report as “an excellent basis for a final agreement with the Council of Ministers”. He said he hoped that there never be any need to use the sanctions, and he encouraged all sides to resume talks immediately to resolve the dispute over mackerel in the North-East Atlantic. (LC/transl.rt)