Brussels, 26/01/2015 (Agence Europe) - EU fisheries ministers, meeting on Monday 26 January, welcomed only some of the suggestions for a compromise put by rapporteur Alain Cadec (EPP, France) with a view to concluding the regulation implementing the end of discarding fish at sea (landing obligation).
Those ministers who spoke were critical of the additional bureaucracy that would result from the suggestion that countries should submit an annual report on implementation of the discard ban.
The Council and the European Commission had been hoping for a swift conclusion of the negotiations of the so-called “omnibus” regulation. Fishermen need legal security on the rules over the requirement to land all catches. The reformed common fisheries policy (CFP) provides for implementation from 1 January 2015 of the discard ban for pelagic species but the regulation setting out the arrangements (the “omnibus” regulation) has yet to be adopted. An inter-institutional negotiating trialogue is scheduled for 29 January and the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the EU wanted to sound out the views of the countries on the concessions made by the rapporteur to try to facilitate agreement.
A major difference has been separating the positions of the Council and the Parliament. Parliament wanted the regulation to relate only to the species affected by the discard ban in 2015, and not the following years, whereas the Council wanted the timetable to go until 2019. Cadec proposed accepting the Council position but, in return, the member states would have to report every year on how the landing obligation was working. This opening was welcomed by the fisheries ministers, as was the rapporteur's idea that small-scale fishing vessels each be allowed to sell up to 30 kilogrammes of small fish.
However, the Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Spanish, Portuguese, British, Italian, French, Irish, Maltese and Belgian ministers felt that asking countries to submit a report to the Commission every year detailing how the landing obligation was working was going too far.
The rapporteur suggested, too, that the member states be responsible for the outlets and storage of under-size fish landed. This idea was criticised by Spain, Ireland and Belgium in particular. Spain and Italy also called for technical work to be carried out by the Council to evaluate Cadec's suggestions.
The Dutch minister stated that her country could not implement a discards ban because of the contradictory rules in place. Sweden made a short statement on the limits on by-catches and the phasing in of the landing obligation. Denmark raised the issue of the electronic monitoring of vessels.
The Latvian Presidency said at a press conference on Monday that a compromise proposal would be presented on Wednesday 28 January at the Committee of Permanent Representatives of the Member States to the EU (Coreper), taking account of the member states' comments on the additional bureaucracy. The trialogue will take place the next day. (LC)