A4-0189/96

Resolution on the communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on the crisis in the Community's fishing industry (COM(94)0335 - C4-0086/94)

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament (COM(94)0335 - C4-0086/94),

- having regard to the motion for a resolution by Mr David Martin on a sensible and sustainable Fisheries Policy (B4-0562/95),

- having regard to the current crisis in the fishing industry and maritime regions, the crisis in fishery resources and human activities and the European Parliament's political will to tackle these issues,

- having regard to the Commission proposals for reducing fishing effort, submitted at the Fisheries Council of 10 June 1996,

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Fisheries (A4-0189/96),

A. whereas the substance of the Commission's communication on the crisis in the Community's fishing industry coincides, to a large extent, with the views of Parliament's Committee on Fisheries,

B. whereas the common fisheries policy, which is the European Union's second common policy, is the Community policy with the highest degree of integration since it covers the following policies: conservation and management of resources, structures (fleet sizes, multiannual guidance programmes (MGP)), monitoring, scientific research, markets (withdrawal price and reference price), health standards, flanking structural policies (FIFG, PESCA) including social provisions on early retirement, and fisheries agreements with third countries and multilateral organizations,

C. whereas sea products, being linked to GATT and more especially to numerous contractual tariff reduction agreements or unilateral agreements between the EEC and third countries, are dependent on the world market, and are thus completely exposed to world pressure for lower prices, unlike agricultural products which come under the CAP,

D. whereas the recent Commission proposals to reduce Community fishing effort, in some cases by as much as 40%, will put additional pressure on the fishery sector and the people who depend on it, since these measures will have direct adverse consequences for employment, in addition to an increased regional impact in regions which depend essentially on the fishing sector,

E. whereas on the one hand the European Union must be able to compete effectively on the world market, whilst on the other hand the EU must have appropriate mechanisms to prevent severe disruption through unfair competition,

F. whereas, as a result, those active in the sector consider the CFP to be unbalanced given, on the one hand, the constraints of an organized European policy and, on the other, the deregulation on a world market without any safety net,

G. whereas the sector shows a history of conflicts between organizations of producers and industry, which harms the interests of all concerned,

H. recognizing the importance of the fisheries sector and its long-term development for people whose incomes are directly or indirectly dependent on fisheries and related activities,

I. recognizing the importance of coastal fishing for some regions of the EU, owing to the large number of people who depend on it directly or indirectly, in addition to its importance in supplying local fish-processing industries and developing other local economic activities essential for guaranteeing the regional development of these regions and promoting economic and social cohesion,

J. whereas the crisis in the fisheries sector is affecting all branches of the industry: small producers, shipowners, industrialists, wholesale fish merchants, fishmongers and suppliers,

K. whereas this sector is of vital importance to the maritime regions concerned and the fishing industry should be treated with the dignity and importance it deserves,

L. whereas overfishing disrupts not only the marine ecosystem, but also affects the fishing industry itself, since it lowers prices and in the long term depletes existing resources,

M. whereas the attributed quotas have to be respected and should be based on reliable and regular studies of available resources,

N. whereas the material and human resources which are deployed for the inspection of the fishing industry are inadequate in most Member States, thereby allowing fraud and overfishing a chance to develop,

1. Reaffirms the need to act upon the concerns of fishermen and other economic operators connected with fisheries, by involving them more closely in policy making, to restore their confidence in the European Union's management of the CFP;

2. Is certain that the prevailing concern in this sector is as much a result of the absence of clear prospects as of financial difficulties and, in certain cases, the lack of mutual understanding between fishermen and processing industries;

3. Calls on the Commission and Council to clarify what importance they attach to the 'production' dimension in the common fisheries policy and, on that basis, to assess where the sector's future lies;

4. Calls on the Commission to draw up conditions which can be legally applied by Member States to limit the procedure known as quota hopping and to encourage the Member States to apply these conditions to preserve as far as possible the principles of relative stability and historic rights;

5. Calls on the Commission to consider in what way the management of resources could be improved, with particular regard to technical measures and taking account of the following factors: protection of areas in which young fish are concentrated (if necessary, by means of biological rest periods resulting in compensation), the influence of other marine predators, the improvement of working instruments and fishing methods and the improvement of water quality, and the use of a system of licences to make fishermen aware of their responsibilities and thus guarantee their future;

6. Reaffirms that the reduction in fishing effort must not depend on reducing the number of vessels, in accordance with the Commission proposals concerning MGP IV, but rather on active policies to protect fish resources;

7. Recognizing that it is impossible for the fisheries sector to emerge from its present crisis until the EU fleets have been brought into equilibrium with realistic assessments of the available and accessible resources both in EU waters and elsewhere;

8. Recognizes also the need to allow stocks to recover to the point where their conservation is ensured and they can support a viable fishing industry;

9. Urges the Council to implement a rigorous and equitable programme of fleet reduction, which will serve to reduce the over-exploitation of fish stocks, while providing adequate compensation for the fishermen thus affected;

10. Refers to Article 8 of the new Basic Regulation (EC No 3760/92) which allows innovations in management;

11. Calls for the adoption, for all major fish stocks, of long-term, stock- specific management objectives and the development and implementation of scientifically-based management strategies which will ensure the conservation of both the target stocks and other species dependent upon them;

12. Calls on the Commission and the Council to step up the Communitarization of 'prices and markets' by making the existing regulations more binding (compulsory withdrawal prices; reference prices to be more closely respected; unfair competition to be monitored as regards the health rules for imported products);

13. Calls for producers' organizations to be more closely involved in market policy;

14. Calls on the Commission to assess the effectiveness of the measures and instruments used so far in the context of the CFP. In particular it should study the effects of greater flexibility in the management of these instruments, as in the case of the premium which in some sub-sectors may be paid to the industry when it proves that it has paid a minimum price to the producer;

15. Calls on the Commission to encourage the drawing-up of inter-trade agreements and contractual relations between producers and processors;

16. Considers it essential to introduce a financial instrument to support prices in the event of market prices collapsing, especially those for fresh fish; notes that only 2% of the Union's fisheries budget is devoted to price support;

17. Considers that the promotion of fishery products and improvement of the quality thereof should be included among the priorities of a programme of action to be submitted by the Commission; in particular it should promote species of fish with a high nutritional value, but which for historical and cultural reasons are in less demand on the market;

18. Calls on the Commission to step up its monitoring of the origin of the raw materials of processed products covered by specific GSP agreements;

19. Calls for the monitoring system to combine the responsibility of the Member States and of the Union, for monitoring to be carried out in all fishing zones and for it to enable confidence in the sectors concerned to be restored. Recommends that all monitoring measures be based on the principle of straightforward and clear implementation;

20. Regrets that the Commission's recent report on monitoring the implementation of the CFP reveals great differences in the quality and quantity of controls: believes that monitoring and control measures must be applied consistently, must be cost-effective and must avoid unreasonable burdens on the industry, if respect for the system is to be restored;

21. Demands, as a matter of urgency, that socio-economic measures, such as early retirement, be applied to enable fishermen who are surplus to requirements to retire with dignity from their demanding work; calls for the level of national contributions to be reconsidered if it is an obstacle to the establishment of structural policies;

22. Calls for the structural measures for the most affected remote coastal and island regions to be strengthened; calls on the Commission to launch an information campaign on PESCA and make this programme a 'LEADER' for the sea, applicable to all the maritime countries in the European Union;

23. Calls on the Commission to draw up measures to encourage and reinforce the inter-trade agreements between producers and processors;

24. Calls on the Commission to tackle the problem of enlargement of the EU to include the countries of Central and Eastern Europe so that the adjustments to the CFP needed to resolve the fisheries crisis do not conflict with enlargement;

25. Calls on the Commission, in cooperation with fishermen's representatives, to draw up training plans for fishermen and persons needing to be retrained;

26. Believes that scientific research should constitute an important pillar of the CFP and that it should no longer be ruled by events but rather be designed in such a way as to allow genuine long-term resource management and adjustment of catch methods;

27. Believes that decisions on the management of EU common fisheries resources cannot solely be taken centrally; considers that those fishing in the individual sea areas concerned should be allowed to take a more active part; furthermore these decisions should be based on continuing scientific research compatible with the situation in the various maritime regions of the EU, and the European Parliament should be informed and consulted;

28. Calls on the Commission to take the necessary action to rebuild confidence between fisheries scientists and fishermen;

29. Considers that, despite the current crisis and establishment of the fourth MGP, the fishing fleet must continue to be modernized, using vessels with improved health and safety conditions and more selective fishing instruments, but ensuring that fleet capacity is not increased in any way;

30. Considers that the regeneration of shipbuilding and maintenance activities will enable the Union to maintain a degree of autonomy in the fisheries sector and make Europe's presence felt in the maritime sector, with an advanced fishing fleet;

31. Confirms the importance of traditional and new types of fishing agreements as an important source of Community fish supplies, an employer of Community fishermen and a contributor to the local economy of a number of fishing regions; believes, however, that continuing support for fisheries agreements is dependent on a far greater degree of budgetary and institutional transparency; notes, nevertheless, the increasing number of problems raised by certain third countries and therefore considers it necessary to consider reviewing the contents of this part of the CFP;

32. Calls on the Commission to ensure that the interests of producers are included in the negotiations for EU Global Cooperation Agreements with third countries, in particular by reducing customs duties and providing financial support in return for the granting of certain fishing quotas;

33. Considers that when the European Union negotiates fishery agreements with third countries, due regard must be taken of the conservation of world stocks and the enforcement of conservation measures;

34. Wishes to see a Mediterranean dimension and calls on the Commission to accept responsibility for following up the Barcelona Conference and present a multiannual action programme based on Parliament's resolution of 16 February 1996 on fishing in the Mediterranean ((OJ C 65, 4.3.1996, p. 202.));

35. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission and the Council.