The European Commission defended, on Thursday 20 October in Strasbourg, in the face of attacks from mainly Spanish MEPs, the adoption of measures closing 87 sensitive areas of the Atlantic to all bottom dredging gear.
The EU Commissioner for Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevičius, was unable to participate in the plenary debate due to illness.
On behalf of the Commission, Commissioner Helena Dalli clarified that all scientific information had to be assessed by all relevant bodies. The recent...