On Monday 20 June, members of the European Parliament’s Committee on Fisheries generally welcomed the outcome of the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreement on fisheries subsidy restrictions.
The European Commission, which spoke of a “historic” agreement, sought to reassure some MEPs about the effects of ending subsidies for vessels operating on the high seas and said that negotiations would continue at the WTO, including on fuel subsidies for fishing fleets (see EUROPE 12975/12).
The Commission also indicated that this WTO agreement would not affect EU legislation on fisheries and the fight against illegal fishing, given that the current texts take up the main thrust of the international agreement, notably on the sustainability criteria for fish stocks.
The Commission representative said that the agreement prohibits subsidies to fishing vessels engaged in illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. State aid will also be banned for vessels fishing on the high seas. Francisco José Millán Mon (EPP, Spain) and Bert-Jan Ruissen (ECR, Netherlands) welcomed the fact that the agreement did not (yet) concern tax systems for fishermen’s fuel.
“I don’t like the ban on subsidies for deep-sea fishing”, said Millán Mon.
The Commission clarified that this was a ban in non-regulated areas. Therefore, there will not be a huge impact on the EU fleets, according to this institution.
The Commission said that the communication on international ocean governance would be adopted by the Commission on Wednesday 22 or Friday 24 June. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)