Brussels, 26/06/2008 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 24 June, European Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg thanked ministers for their “frank and productive discussions” on emergency measures for fishermen who are going through very difficult times because of the soaring cost of fuel. He said that he hoped to be able to go back to the EU Council of Fisheries Ministers on 15 July with concrete proposals on which a rapid decision could be taken.
The said discussions, however, revealed differences of opinion among European fisheries ministers. Six member states (France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece and Malta) called on the Commission to make further efforts on funding from and the flexibility of the European Fisheries Fund (EFF). The French minister Michel Barnier wanted public money to be used to build new, smaller and more fuel efficient vessels. This suggestion was turned down by the Commission. The ministers of the above mentioned countries (with the exception of Portugal) welcomed the proposal to increase the ceiling for de minimis aid from €30,000 to €100,000 per enterprise over three years. Several other ministers, however, (United Kingdom, Denmark, Sweden) criticised this proposal. The Dutch and Danish ministers put particular emphasis on technology enhancing measures (engines, hulls, gear) that would save fuel. The UK minister noted the importance of restructuring to put the sector on an even keel. Once again the Commission spoke of the need to tackle the issues of overcapacity and overfishing. (O.L./transl.rt)