Strasbourg, 27/10/2006 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 26 October, the European Parliament approved a regulation extending the special conditions for aid to the fishing fleet in the outermost regions (Azores, Madeira, Canary Islands and French departments of Guiana and Reunion) by one year until the end of 2006. The EP, at the request of the Council, agreed to a rapid vote on this text.
The proposal, presented in August, derives from the Council agreement reached one and a half months earlier on the European Fisheries Fund (EFF) for 2007-2013 (see EUROPE 9247 on the proposal for these regions and 9242 for the formal adoption of the EFF). The exemptions, which are extended by a year, granted to vessels from the outermost regions are as follows: - public aid for the construction of new vessels is extended by a year, until the end of 2006, only in the outermost regions (in continental Europe, they have been banned since 1st January 2005); - criteria for granting aid for the modernisation of the fleet are much more flexible than in the rest of the EU (no restrictions on tonnage or power); - more favourable conditions for bringing fishing vessels into the fleet (in these regions, new vessels can be added to the fleet without an equivalent capacity having to be removed).
Margie Sudre (EPP-ED, France), who is the regional councillor for Reunion, welcomed this decision, stressing, however, that she had asked several times that these exemptions be extended “beyond the current deadlines”. “The fishing sector in the outermost regions still has huge potential for development and abundant stocks. It would, then, be unthinkable and counter-productive to prevent the fishing fleets in these regions from taking advantage of such adjustments,” she said. (lc)