Brussels, 14/09/2001 (Agence Europe) - The Italian fisheries organisation Lega Pesca has welcomed the vehement opposition expressed by President Chirac to the European Commission's Green Paper on the reform of the European fisheries policy, commenting that this is not the first time that in France, as in other EU states like Spain and the United Kingdom, that government officials at the highest level have come down to the grass roots with determination in order to defend their country's fishing industry (see EUROPE of 13 September, p.15). The French President's criticisms echo the Lega Pesca's alarms, explains a press release, which goes on to explain that the Lega has been criticising the European Commission's senseless ideas for some time as being approximative and lacking in any scientific backing. They were drawn up in clear contradiction to the precautionary principle, are far from suitable for Italy and completely lacking any harmonisation moves with third countries operating in the Mediterranean, asserts the Lega, adding that they risked giving rise to an overwhelming and definitive crisis for employment, particularly in the Mezzogiorno (South Italy).
Against this background, the President of the Lega Pesca, Ettore Iani, hoped that the criticisms of the European Commission made by the Italian Minister Mr Alemanno would be supported with equal force both by the French President and by the Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi. There are more than 52,000 fishermen in Italy and the fishing industry employs 114,000 people in the country, mainly in the Mezzogiorno, noted Mr Iani.