Brussels, 13/11/2001 (Agence Europe) - On Monday, the European Commission adopted a report on serious infringements to the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) committed by Member states in 2000. It emerges from this report that certain Member States have failed to fulfil their obligations regarding the forwarding of information on the control and monitoring of fisheries activities in the EU. The Commission states that all Member States, except for France, submitted reports, but many of them did not use the electronic format required (Spain, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Austria) and did not use the criteria required (Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain), "thereby hindering comparisons". The Commission goes on that this "makes it impossible to draw clear and coherent conclusions".
The only lessons that may be drawn from this report are as follows: - the most frequent serious infringement seems to be in relation to fishing in a given area without the necessary authorisation; this infringement accounts for almost half the 4,180 serious infringements reported; - differences across Member States in the fines imposed are striking; - Member States reports will have to be more detailed, notably regarding the definition of the areas in which infringements have been committed, both in the Mediterranean and in the area defined by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). In addition, information is often incomplete on the species in question; - criminal and administrative procedures used to sanction infringements vary according to Member State, a situation due to constitutional or historic factors. The Commission states that experience gained in other economic fields shows that the most effective procedure is not necessarily the one involving criminal sanctions.