Amended proposal for a Council Regulation (EC) introducing a scheme to compensate for the additional costs incurred in the marketing of certain fishery products from the Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands and the French overseas department of Guiana as a result of those regions' remoteness (1) (98/C 125/12) COM(1998) 141 final - 97/0200(CNS)

(Submitted by the Commission pursuant to Article 189a(2) of the EC Treaty on 23 March 1998)

The proposal is amended as follows:

Title

Proposal for a Council Regulation introducing a scheme to compensate for the additional costs incurred in the marketing of certain fishery products from the Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands and the French overseas departments of Guiana and Réunion as a result of those regions' remoteness.

Recital 5

Whereas the regions concerned are facing specific development problems and in particular additional costs incurred in the marketing of certain products as a result of their remoteness; whereas, with a view to maintaining the competitiveness of certain fishery products against similar products from other Community regions, the Community introduced measures in 1992 and 1993 to compensate for such additional costs in the fisheries sector; whereas those measures were followed up in 1994 and 1995-1997 by the adoption of Council Regulations (EC) No 1503/94 and (EC) No 2337/95; whereas the arrangements to compensate for the additional costs incurred in processing and marketing certain fishery products (tuna and demersal species in the Azores; tuna, black scabbardfish and mackerel in Madeira; tuna, sardines, mackerel, aquaculture products, cephalopods, sole and sea bream in the Canary Islands; shrimp in Guiana; (tuna and swordfish in Réunion) should be continued from 1998 and provision must accordingly be made for the measures to be extended.

Recital 7a (new)

Whereas it is essential to respect the Community rules on the conservation and management of stocks in those regions, and in particular, in the case of the French department of Guiana, the rule prohibiting fishing for shrimp at a depth of less than 30 metres, and to provide for the adjustment, where necessary, of the amounts set for the various species in the light of their marketing conditions and characteristics.

Article 1

A scheme is hereby introduced to compensate for the additional costs of marketing certain fishery products from the Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands and the French departments of Guiana and Réunion.

Article 2(3)(a)

(a) ECU 152 per tonne of tuna for marketing fresh for up to 11 320 tonnes a year;

Article 2(3)(b)

(b) ECU 56 per tonne of frozen tuna for up to 1 000 tonnes a year;

Article 2(3)(c)

(a) ECU 56 per tonne of sardines and mackerel for freezing for up to 4 000 tonnes a year;

Article 2(3)(d)

(d) ECU 105 per tonne of sardines and mackerel for processing for up to 12 100 tonnes a year;

Article 2(4a) (new)

In the case of Réunion, the scheme provided for in Article 1 shall entail payment of ECU 1 000 per tonne of tuna and swordfish for up to 1 000 tonnes a year.

Article 2(4b) (new)

The Commission may, in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 4, adjust the amounts set for the various species in the light of their marketing conditions and characteristics.

(1) OJ C 292, 26.9.1997.