A4-0277/98

Resolution on the communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on fisheries monitoring under the Common Fisheries Policy (COM(98)0092 - C4-0134/98)

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the communication from the Commission (COM(98)0092 - C4-0134/98),

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Fisheries (A4-0277/98),

A. whereas the European Parliament has always given priority to improved control measures as an essential element of an effective Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) while stressing the importance of fair application,

B. whereas although there has been much progress since the adoption of the control regulation in 1993, major weaknesses are still apparent and need to be urgently addressed,

C. whereas inadequate and/or unapplied controls place the whole of the fishing industry which respects the rules at a disadvantage,

D. whereas the European Parliament has already called for a detailed timetabled action plan to correct identified failures in CFP monitoring procedures,

E. whereas the active consent and participation of fishermen is vital if fisheries controls are to be effective,

F. whereas fair and equal imposition of CFP controls and penalties is essential if the support of fishermen and genuine application of the CFP are to be achieved,

1. Welcomes the Commission's present communication as a timely response to the European Parliament's repeated calls for action;

2. Regrets, however, that the Commission¨s communication does not take any account of wider international experience of the successful control of fisheries policies other than that of NAFO;

3. Notes both the progress made and the failures still apparent in the present CFP control system;

4. Stresses that Europe¨s fishing communities and industry will only have respect for and confidence in the CFP if its rules are enforced strongly and equitably across all the Union's fleets and fisheries;

5. Also underlines the fact that for a control system to be respected, the scientific data on which TACs are based has to have the full confidence of the fishing industry. This means that the industry must be more integrated into the process of production and assessment of scientific data on stocks;

6. Believes that fishermen's organisations should be positively involved in improving compliance with control measures;

7. Considers that greater cooperation in monitoring and control activities is required between the Commission and the Member States and between the Member States themselves and that the Commission must take the lead to ensure that it takes place;

8. Believes that the Community fisheries inspectorate should be significantly strengthened for regular control work in EU waters within the legal jurisdiction of Member States, and have wider powers that enable it to operate autonomously within Member States for the deep water fleet;

9. Believes that the Community fisheries inspectorate should have a distinct, though not exclusive, responsibility for the inspection of landings made by Community vessels into ports outside their flag state;

10. Calls on the Commission to take immediate steps to standardise the definition of control and monitoring terms amongst Member States and in particular produce common definitions of tonnage, engine power and inspections in port and at sea;

11. Calls on the Commission to ensure in particular that monitoring and control measures both in port and at sea are carried out evenhandedly and with equal diligence without regard to the Member State carrying out the control or the flag of the vessel being controlled;

12. Urges the Commission to remedy the existing imbalance between controls in Community waters and those in international waters;

13. Insists that controls on third-country vessels operating in Community waters be reinforced in order to restore the confidence of EU fishermen in the fair application of the control system;

14. Calls, in respect of third-country vessels, for the adoption of measures to allow access for inspection and their monitoring through satellite surveillance, whilst operating in Community waters;

15. Urges the Commission to bring forward proposals for tough controls after landing, and throughout the supply chain, to enable in particular the tracking of the origins of undersized and other illegally landed fish;

16. Calls for increased cooperation between Member States and between the Commission and the Member States in order to monitor properly the marketing channels of fisheries products and for this process to be supervised by the Community inspectorate;

17. Requests the Commission to bring forward proposals to ensure that in all Member States it becomes a punishable offence to trade in illegally caught or landed fish at any point in the supply chain up to, but not including, the final consumer;

18. Notes that the communication chiefly focuses on controls in the production sector and does not include a thorough analysis of fraud in the market; regrets, in this connection, the lack of effective control in markets which would prevent fraudulent imports, such as the irregularities detected in the origin of products in the case of imports of tuna steaks under the GSP-Drugs preferential arrangements or fraudulent imports of cod of a different origin under the agreements with Norway;

19. Stresses, in the knowledge that some Member States are not adequately carrying out monitoring and control activities and are not fulfilling their legal obligations with regard to the provision of information, the need for urgent action;

20. Urges the Commission to take appropriate steps to further strengthen its fisheries inspectorate and in particular to bring forward proposals which would enable the Commission to have direct on-line and instant access to Member States' data bases covering the fisheries sector;

21. Insists that the Commission, cognizant of its Treaty obligations, immediately uses all available instruments, including legal action and financial penalties, to ensure that Member States abide by all the provisions of existing Regulations;

22. Calls on the Commission to bring forward proposals that would ensure that fishermen face similar levels of penalty for similar offences throughout the European Union;

23. Urges the Commission to consider how in the post year 2000 period a decentralised control system for coastal regions which would directly involve fish producers in decisions concerning their fisheries could be implemented; strongly believes that this approach would lead to a greater sense of responsibility and trust amongst all those involved in the industry; asks the Commission to report its findings to Parliament;

24. Calls on the Commission to consider how the NAFO control model could be adapted, strengthened and applied to wider Community waters and asks the Commission to report its findings to Parliament;

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