Brussels, 08/11/2012 (Agence Europe) - The European Parliament fisheries committee vote on the draft regulation on Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), a key component part of CFP reform, will not take place on 28 November. MEPs decided on Tuesday 6 November that this would now take place on 18 December. There is not yet, however, any date planned for the plenary vote in 2013.
The report by Ulrike Rodust (S&D, Germany) on the basic CFP regulation, currently includes more than 2,500 amendments and Parliament fisheries committee members want more time to obtain a quality compromise on certain major subjects causing division at the parliament, such as the timetable for reaching Maximum Sustainable Yields (MSY) for the management of fish species (2015 if possible, 2020 at the latest according to Council orientations); the dates and modalities for ending the practice of discards (2018/2019, according to the Council's principled agreement); and marine reserves (ban on fishing in certain zones to protect sensitive stocks and habitats). Three proposals on the reform were already voted on last December. The Parliament is the co-legislator with the Council on CFP reform. (LC/transl.fl)