Brussels, 14/11/2000 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission called on the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to refer to the dispute settlement panel between the EU and Chile concerning the ban on the Community fleet from landing or transhipping its fish catches in Chilean ports. The panel could be formed at the start of next year, as the EU demand should be accepted by the dispute settlement body this Friday 17 November.
The Commission intends through its initiative to "safeguard EU rights", without renouncing for as much the hope and search for an amicable agreement with Chile. The two partners have been in talks for six months (see EUROPE of 19 April) in view of finding such a solution. For the EU, this passes through the negotiation of an "agreement truly open to all interested parties (…) so as to obtain appropriate conservation and management of the resources in South East Pacific sword fish". And to renew the call to Chile and the other partners concerned to "launch negotiations in view of this agreement and continue as quickly as possible the scientific cooperation and the exchanges of data with the Community". The Europeans more specifically hope that the multilateral negotiations will soon open with all the parties concerned, according to a timetable set out in advance, and that their fleets will be able to have, at least, a limited and regulated access to Chilean ports with the starting of the process.
The Chilean legislation that is under scrutiny dates back to 1991. Since then, the Community fishing boats no longer have "fair" access to the country's ports, to the extent that that cannot any longer tranship or unload their catches of highly migratory species such as swordfish, if these fish have been taken in contravention of the conservation rules that were unilaterally issued by Chile. The dispute was broached on several occasions in the bilateral framework in Geneva, in the talks - also bilateral - that gave the starting shot to the WTO dispute settlement procedure last April.
As of 1995, the Commission services and the Chilean authorities had managed to agree on one point: the need for cooperation in the gathering of data linked to halieutic resources in international waters of the South East Pacific. The exchange of information effectively took place, during two meetings that took place in Santiago in December 1995 and May 1998. Nevertheless, no agreement was found on the status of swordfish stocks and no progress was achieved during this whole period over the issue of trade restrictions.
Following this - on the basis of a complaint made in Brussels by an association of Spanish deep-sea longliners (ANAPA), a Community procedure was launched to examine the Chilean legislation in the light of the trade barrier regulation (TBR). The investigation confirmed the existence of an infringement to the principal of freedom of transit established by Article 5 of GATT of 1994, as well as Article 11, as the ban to unload swordfish caught by European fishermen is a ban on imports in Chile. The talks enabled, notes the spokesperson, "to better understand the respective positions", but a new decree reinforced the Chilean ban by adding, as of October 1999, an arsenal of sanctions including the seizing of boats or fishing equipment. Last summer, Chile signed a framework agreement, said "Galapagos agreement" on the conservation of deep-sea fish resources, after regional negotiations (within the Permanent Commission for the South Pacific ) to which the EU and other parties concerned where not invited. This agreement "take it or leave it" clearly raises doubts in Brussels "as to the desire of Chile to participate in arrangement of the cooperative kind with the Community".