Brussels, 22/02/2013 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 26 February, the European fisheries ministers will seek to finalise their general orientation of last June on the reform of the common fisheries policy (CFP). In order to do this, they will need to find common ground over the ban on discards and the environmental dimension of the CFP. The Fisheries Council will also discuss the state of negotiations for a new bilateral fishing agreement between the EU and Morocco.
Simon Coveney, the Irish fisheries Minister, is hoping for a compromise between the Community institutions by the end of June on an ambitious reform of the CFP. In April, the Council will seek to reach a general approach to the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF).
In June 2012, the Fisheries Council reached a partial general orientation on major issues such as: the end of discards at sea (with the timetable for this still to be determined), stock management under the principle of Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY), the optional use of transferable fishing concessions, the regionalisation of decisions and the reinforcement of the role of the producer organisations (see EUROPE 10633).
On 28 January of this year, the European fisheries ministers discussed the subjects which remained outstanding in the general orientation of 12 June 2012 on the CFP base regulation.
Monday's Council will discuss these subjects, which are still “open”:
1. The timetable to implement the ban on discards (in other words, the obligation for fishermen to land all catch). There are two opposing groups of countries: Germany, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Poland, Estonia and Sweden are calling for a rapid end to the practice of discards (starting in 2014) with no derogations to the practice of discards at sea. Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, Belgium, Slovenia and Malta, on the other hand, are calling for exemption measures and the greatest possible staggering of the timetable for ending discards. June's partial agreement provides for a ban in three stages (with dates still in pencil), starting with small pelagic fisheries (mackerel, herring, horse mackerel, blue whiting, anchovy, sardine, sprat, etc.), large pelagic fisheries (bluefin tuna, swordfish, white tuna), fisheries for industrial purposes (capelan, sand eels and Norway pout) and salmon in the Baltic Sea. The second phase would concern cod, haddock, whiting, saithe, lobster, sole and plaice, hake. The third phase would concern all other species subject to the landing obligation.
Another subject of disagreement is the management of by-catch. The Spanish and Polish idea of laying down European quotas for by-catch has been contested by France, the United Kingdom and Germany, amongst others.
2. Dovetailing the CFP with the environment. The “greenest” countries (Germany, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Denmark, the Netherlands, etc.) are calling for article 12 of the base regulation to be as ambitious as possible to protect marine zones and restrict fishing if necessary. A number of countries take the view that the CFP should not be subordinated to other thematic policies.
3. Definitions, acts delegated to the Commission and recitals.
Morocco. The Commission will report to the Council on the state of progress in bilateral negotiations between the EU and Morocco aiming to conclude a new protocol to the partnership agreement in the field of fisheries. The second protocol, proroguing the first by one year under essentially identical terms, was negotiated in February 2011 and applied provisionally until December 2011, when the European Parliament decided not to approve its conclusion. Further to this refusal, the Council made a decision in February 2012 to give the Commission a mandate to open negotiations with a view to a new agreement. The negotiations were opened in early November 2012 in Rabat. The fifth round of negotiations between the EU and Morocco took place in Rabat on 11 and 12 February. The parties agreed to meet again for a sixth round of negotiations, which will take place in the near future in Brussels. The first discussions focused mainly on the technical conditions to be applied to the EU's fleet in the framework of the new protocol, with the most recent discussion having been given over to financial aspects and political issues. (LC/transl.fl)