Brussels, 15/11/2002 (Agence Europe) - On Monday evening in Strasbourg, the European Parliament will discuss reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). It will mainly examine the report by British Conservative Struan Stevenson (until the very last moment the rapporteur had been Spanish national Camilo Nogueira Roman), which calls on member States to adopt the package of proposals by the end of the year to avoid a legal void after 1 January 2003. With the adoption of certain amendments, the Fisheries Committee softened the harshly critical comments made in the report initially drafted by Mr Nogueira Roman, while insisting that economic and social measures should be considered as priorities during application of reform.
Contrary to its first draft, the report recognises that the viability of CFP depends on a reduction of fishing capacities and effort. MEPs, however, call on the Commission to take into account what has already been done by Member States on this, before developing proposals on the discontinuation of vessels. They also call for derogation to the principle of free access to be extended to the fifty mile zone for very remote regions, and invite the Commission to prevent opening up access to the North Sea (to Spanish and Portuguese ships). The report supports several other aspects of reform such as: - the setting in place of multiannual management plans comprising reference objectives for biomass and fish mortality; - the adoption of specific measures to avoid catches of fingerlings and juveniles of various species; - the development of research on the selectiveness and environmental impact of fisheries equipment; - the creation of an association of Mediterranean rim countries; - the establishment of a uniform regime of minimum sanctions in the EU for serious infringements to Common Fisheries Policy; - and the development strategy of the fish farming sector.
The Parliament will also discuss reports by: - Dominique Souchet (NA, France) approving the broad lines of the Community action plan for the integration of environmental demands in the CFP; - and Niels Busk (ELDR, Denmark) on combating unlawful, undeclared and uncontrolled fishing.