No C 44/6 Official Journal of the European Communities 15. 2. 85 
guarantee EEC supplies as Community production was 
generally expensive and insufficient in quantity. 
2. Substantiating the proposed amendment, the 
Commission puts forward three arguments: 
(a) on account of the annual duty-free tariff quotas 
granted by the Community, and particularly the 
terms of the fishery agreements concluded with 
Canada and Greenland, the Community has little 
difficulty in obtaining supplies; 
(b) in addition, the future enlargement of the 
Community will alter the situation as regards both 
cod fisheries and the market in salted and dried 
cod; 
(c) restoration of Common Customs Tariff duties will 
enable the Community in its negotiations with 
non-member countries, to offer to reduce or suspend 
such duties in return for securing fishing rights or 
licences for Community fishermen. The Committee 
is insistent that such quid pro quo arrangements must 
take the fullest heed of Community interests and 
facilitate access by Community fleets to non-Community fishing stocks. The Committee is 
not convinced that past agreements negotiated by the 
Community, opening up Community markets in 
exchange for access to fishing waters, have always 
obtained the most favourable terms for the EEC 
nationals concerned. 
3. In the Committee's view, these arguments seem to 
hold good. On the first point, the Commission could 
perhaps have considered measures to protect Community 
fisheries at a much earlier stage, especially as the 
agreements with Canada and Greenland were not 
particularly favourable to producers (especially as 
regards quotas). 
4. On the second point - which is undeniably 
relevant - the value of limited yet effective protection of 
the future Community of the Twelve should be presented 
to Spain and Portugal as one of the advantages of 
membership. Since the two applicant countries will thus 
be spared the disruption to their markets that would 
undoubtedly have resulted from the former rules, 
negotiations in the fishery sector with a view to their 
accession to the Community might be smoothened. 
Done at Brussels, 12 December 1984. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Gerd MUHR 
Opinion on the proposal for a Council Regulation amending Regulation (EEC) No 652/79 
on the impact of the European Monetary System on the common agricultural policy 
(85/C 44/05) 
1. On 12 November 1984 the Council, acting in pursuance of Article 198 of the Treaty 
establishing the European Economic Community, asked the Economic and Social Committee 
for an opinion on the abovementioned opinion. 
2. The Section for Agriculture was instructed to prepare the Committee's work on the 
matter. The Section adopted its opinion on 29 November 1984 on the basis of the report drawn 
up by Mr Schnieders. 
The Economic and Social Committee approves the draft Regulation designed to introduce the 
use of the ECU, on a permanent basis, in the CAP. The Committee has already advocated this 
course of action on several occasions in the past, in particular in its opinion of 26 March 
1980 0). 
Done at Brussels, 12 December 1984. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Gerd MUHR 
(») Oj No C 182, 21. 7. 1980, p. 41.