Brussels, 26/02/2013 (Agence Europe) - In the evening of Tuesday 26 February, EU fisheries ministers were finding it tough to reach agreement on ending the process of discarding fish at sea. Agreement was getting increasingly difficult because two blocks of country oppose each other, each comprising a veto minority, over the timing of putting an end to discards. One the one hand, the fish-friendly countries like the United Kingdom, Germany and Scandinavia, which want discards to end soon (starting in 2014 or 2015) and on the other, fisherman-friendly countries like Spain, France, Italy, Portugal and Belgium, which want to leave fishermen time to adjust to the changes to the common fisheries policy (CFP).
As we were going to press, the Irish fisheries minister, Simon Coveney, had arranged a number of talks with delegations with a view to unveiling a new draft compromise later that evening. The talks will be lengthy and laborious…
In June 2012, the Council of Ministers agreed on a partial general guideline on reform of the CFP that did not include the toughest aspect, namely the timing and details of the phase-out of discards. Earlier this month, the European Parliament adopted a radical overhaul of the CFP, with the ban on discards starting in 2014.
On Tuesday, the Irish Presidency of the EU Council of Ministers suggested postponing the entry into force of the new CFP to 2015, explaining that the ministers had to reach agreement that same day because otherwise it would not be possible to reach agreement with the EP by the end of June. The Council in March will be dealing with reform of the common agricultural policy and the next fisheries-specific meeting will be in April. Coveney said he didn't see how agreement could be reached by the end of June if the three-way talks didn't begin until May.
The French and Spanish ministers said ambitious reform of the CFP would only work if it were simple, feasible and had the support of fishermen. French Fisheries Minister Frédéric Cuvillier said the specific nature of different fisheries had to be taken into account.
Timing of discards phase-out. France suggested that the phase-out should leave fishermen enough time to make the new measures effective. The Irish Presidency has suggested postponing the date of entry of the regulation by a year to 2015 and France and Belgium say the same logic should apply to discards. Spain wants the ban on discards to start in 2016 for hake and 2018 for other deep sea fish. Portugal, like Slovenia, wants the ban to start in 2016.
The United Kingdom warned against postponing the start of the phase-out. Sweden agrees with the EP's ambitious timeline (with the ban starting to apply in 2014), as does Germany, arguing that 2018 or 2019 for the end of discards is too late.
The United Kingdom and Sweden are against the Irish Presidency's suggested three-year transition period.
De minimis exemptions. The Irish compromise suggests 7% for the actual discard percentage. Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, Belgium, Lithuania and Slovenia want 10% and for the EU to follow some of its neighbours. Norway has a discard rate of over 10%.
The United Kingdom, Denmark, Germany and Austria recommend 5%. Sweden is against any type of exemption that could shatter the Council of Ministers' credibility and its desire to put an end to discards entirely.
Exemptions for some species. The draft Irish compromise suggests exemptions to the rule of compulsory landing that derives from the ban on discards for two species - boarfish and blue whiting. Sweden opposes the exemptions, feeling they would open a Pandora's box. Denmark and the Netherlands are also opposed, but the idea is favoured by Spain and Germany.
By-catch quotas. Unlike Spain, Poland and the Irish delegation, which want by-catch quotas to be possible, France and Lithuania oppose the idea, not wanting member states to be forced to exchange some of their quotas for fear of losing them. France and Lithuania are open to the idea of an optional quota exchange system among countries.
Germany and France say that relative stability must remain the guiding force. (LC/transl.fl)