Parliament’s Committee on Fisheries is expected to adopt its position on Thursday 23 April on the proposal for restrictions on cod fisheries arrangements in the Eastern Baltic.
If it follows the advice of its rapporteur, Niclas Herbst (EPP, Germany), the Parliament committee could support the EU Council’s position in favour of extending compensation (permanent cessation of fisheries activities) to fishermen other than those targeting Eastern Baltic cod.
Indeed, professionals who catch cod and herring in the Western Baltic would also be eligible for this support.
Capacity reduction. A compromise amendment (EPP, Renew Europe and ECR), which will be put to the vote, provides that the capacity level of Member States in the fleet segments concerned should be “reduced to below the levels of active vessels in two of the five years immediately preceding the application of emergency measures, i.e., the years 2014-2018”. The level of capacity would also be reduced when vessels are withdrawn from the fleet with public aid in order to replenish cod stocks in the Baltic.
Provisions on monitoring (on-board observers) and data collection are cut from the proposal, according to the position of the rapporteur. Furthermore, according to the amendments, aid paid in the past for temporary cessation of fisheries activities should not be deducted from aid paid for permanent cessation.
The adoption of the European Parliament position should make it possible to start negotiations between the EU Council and Parliament on the proposal on aid to cod fishermen in the Baltic (see EUROPE 12407/19).
A Parliament document summarises the state of the file: https://bit.ly/2KpcnDk (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)