On Thursday 1 September, Members of the European Parliament’s Committee on Fisheries called for swift compensation for EU fishermen affected by the long delay in granting licences to catch fish in Senegal.
Senegal waited five months to finally grant EU vessels fishing licences in June, under the EU/Senegal bilateral fisheries agreement.
The European Commission indicated that it was awaiting an opinion from its Legal Service to assess the options for compensation through the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF). However, it will be necessary to assess whether, in this case, ‘force majeure’ can be invoked to compensate the fishermen, the institution said.
The rapporteur on this agreement, Izaskun Bilbao (Renew Europe, Spanish), criticised the lack of agreement on this compensation. Manuel Pizarro (S&D, Portuguese) believes that force majeure can be invoked.
Clara Aguilera (S&D, Spanish) said that the Spanish Ministry of Fisheries was also waiting for the green light from the Commission on this financial compensation for the costs incurred (port taxes, salaries, etc.)
As regards Senegal’s ban on catching live bait, there is no compensation available, MEPs concede (see EUROPE 12900/20). (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)