A4-0046/98

Resolution on the Commission's annual report to the Council and the European Parliament on the results of the multiannual guidance programmes for the fishing fleets at the end of 1996 (COM(97)0352 - C4-0393/97)

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the Commission's annual report to the Council and the European Parliament (COM(97)0352 - C4-0393/97),

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Fisheries (A4-0046/98),

A. pointing out that an appropriate resource conservation policy is an essential requirement in order to guarantee the future of a profitable and competitive Community fisheries sector,

B. whereas the priority aim of the multiannual guidance programmes (MGPs) is to establish a balance between the available resources and the fishing effort by the existing Community fleet,

C. stressing that achievement of the objectives of the MGPs, which provide for a significant reduction in the fishing capacity of the Member State fleets applying to the various fleet segments, is necessary in order to ensure the sustainable development of the sector, while pointing out that this reduction is partially compensated for by the increased productivity of fishing gear;

D. whereas this reduction in the capacity of the fleet entails a social and economic sacrifice and must be made in a balanced way in all the Member States if it is to be understood and accepted by the fisheries sector,

E. noting that, if the reduction in capacity is not made in a balanced way, there will be a risk that countries complying with the objectives set might question the desirability of continuing to apply a policy involving social costs whose effectiveness is open to doubt due to the non-compliance of other Member States,

F. whereas the failure to achieve the objectives laid down in the MGPs for certain segments of the fleet in some Member States may have the effect of distorting competition, which will cause serious damage to those professionally engaged in fisheries sectors operating in states which have implemented the reduction in fishing effort envisaged in the MGPs,

G. recognizing that, even though considerable progress has been made on harmonizing the measurement of capacity and fishing effort applicable to Member State vessels during the period covered by MGP III (1992-1996), the conversion of tonnages to gross tonnes has still not been completed,

H. confident that in the current year, at the start of the period corresponding to MGP IV (1997-2001), it will be possible to achieve full standardization of measurement units for the vessels of all the Member States,

I. concerned at the absence of standard methods for measuring the power of vessels, which vary between Member States, where there are different rules regarding the way in which the power of the main engine, additional engines and other technical instruments having an influence on power are taken into account, which means that the existing data for the various Member States are not comparable,

J. whereas in calculating fishing effort account must be taken of productivity as an integral factor of fleet capacity,

K. regretting that some Member States are not taking the necessary measures to ensure that some segments of their fleets which are obtaining high profits from the over-exploitation of fisheries resources and repeatedly failing to meet the objectives laid down in the MGPs implement the capacity reduction required in those programmes,

L. recognizing that the coercive measures hitherto in existence to ensure compliance with the objectives of the MGPs, such as the opening of infringement proceedings or the refusal to grant aid for the renewal and modernization of the fleet, do not appear to have proved effective, in that they have not encouraged the Member State fleets to meet the objectives set,

M. reiterating its position, set out in its resolution of 25 October 1996 on the Commission report on monitoring the common fisheries policy (( OJ C 347, 18.11.1996, p. 456.)), on the need to impose properly deterrent penalties, such as the reduction of quotas, to induce the Member States to comply effectively with CFP rules,

N. whereas, further, the suspension of aids for shipbuilding and modernization, for whatever reason, is a discriminatory act and counterproductive to the aims of vessel quality and safe working conditions, the effects of which are being felt exclusively by fishermen,

O. concerned at the conduct of some Member States, which have been negligent in supplying reliable data on the state of their fleets and show scant interest in taking suitable measures to reduce capacity in line with the objectives envisaged in the MGPs,

1. Calls on the Member States, as a matter of urgency, to undertake the measurement of the capacity of their fleets in accordance with the criteria laid down in Council Regulation (EC) No 3259/94 (( OJ L 339, 29.12.1994, p. 11.)) and Commission Decision 95/84/EC (( OJ L 67, 25.3.1995, p. 33.)), a procedure which should already have been implemented in 1995, and considers that it would be commendable for the procedure to be completed in the course of the current year, at the start of MGP IV;

2. Urges the Commission to submit proposals without delay on harmonizing provisions on the power of vessels so as to ensure that the situation of all the fleets can be compared on the basis of homogeneous criteria;

3. Urges the Council to review the current system of penalties for failing to comply with the objectives of MGPs with a view to providing effective sanctions, such as a reduction in the quotas for a Member State found to be in breach of those objectives;

4. Calls on those Member States which have not yet achieved the objectives of MGP III, after consulting to professionals engaged in the sector, to take the relevant measures to fulfil those objectives so that the efforts made to reduce capacity are balanced between all the European Union¨s fishing fleets;

5. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission and Council, and to the governments and parliaments of the Member States.