A4-0137/98

Resolution on the fish product canning industry and aquaculture in the European Union

The European Parliament,

- having regard to Rule 148 of its Rules of Procedure,

- having regard to its resolution of 20 January 1989 on the fish processing industry ((OJ C 47, 27.2.1989, p. 176.)),

- having regard to its assent of 6 June 1996 to the conclusion of a Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Kingdom of Morocco, of the other part ((OJ C 181, 24.6.1996, p. 15.)),

- having regard to the working programme and results of the visit of the delegation of the Committee on Fisheries to Galicia from 4 to 6 September 1997,

- having regard to the hearing of representatives of the industry at the meeting of the Committee on Fisheries on 21 January 1998,

- having regard to the report of its Committee on Fisheries (A4-0137/98),

A. whereas the fish product processing industry and aquaculture are an essential pillar of the common fisheries policy, complementing the work of the Community fishing fleet, which contributes to the supply of food products that are in deficit on the Union market and for which there is growing demand,

B. whereas employment is at present one of the Union¨s top priorities and, as was made plain at the Luxembourg Council meeting of 20 November 1997, there is a need to promote industries which have a dynamic impact on economic activity, contribute to maintaining occupations that create stable jobs and help to preserve the economic and social fabric of the Union¨s regions,

C. whereas the fish product canning industry and aquaculture in the European Union are a labour-intensive sector, made up largely of processes that are necessarily manual to safeguard the quality of product that the market requires, which involves some 50 000 direct jobs and some 25 000 additional ancillary jobs on Union territory,

D. whereas the Community canning industry is facing huge difficulties, as a result of recent international trade agreements concluded by the European Union with third countries, such as those with Morocco and Turkey, which involve opening up the Community market to large quotas of preserves from those countries that compete with the Community industry¨s traditional products,

E. whereas the cost of these trade agreements places an enormous additional burden on the canning industry, which is already undergoing radical restructuring, and whereas this burden must be offset by the other economic sectors that are major beneficiaries of the agreements,

F. whereas the absence of an adequate framework of support measures for the present canning industries seriously threatens their survival, since they cannot compete with products from third countries with end-product costs that are much lower than the Union¨s, owing to the failure to require the technical and health conditions that are required in the Community and to the labour costs in these third-country industries, where workers¨ social security schemes either do not exist or are much more limited,

G. whereas unless a special action plan is adopted for the industry as a matter of urgency, defining preserves as a sensitive product and containing political, economic and financial support measures for the Community industry, the trend towards relocating such industries in third countries will continue to grow, causing widespread job losses and problems of economic, social and regional cohesion in Europe, especially in the Union¨s less-favoured regions where it is proving difficult to find alternative economic activities,

H. whereas canned products preserve a food¨s nutritional properties: proteins, carbohydrates, fats and vitamins and, to a large extent, their special characteristics, making them suitable for providing food aid during shortages or in emergencies,

I. whereas the consumption of fish product preserves and aquaculture in the Union doubled between 1989 and 1993; whereas there are good prospects of further growth and opportunities for developing the industry, which shows every sign of financial viability, provided that a proper supply of raw materials is guaranteed from the Community fleet¨s fishing activities or from imports on the international market,

J. whereas the present good growth forecasts will enable the sector to be developed and modernized, increasing its production capacity, generating numerous jobs and reducing the present dependence on imports,

K. whereas the extensive, complex and dispersed nature of Community law affecting the canning industry, which responds to the aims of various Community policies that are not always inter-coordinated, potentially giving rise to contradictory situations, is prejudicial to the proper application of a consistent body of law for the industry,

L. whereas the Community canning industry is in the process of costly modernization to adjust to the technical, environmental and health requirements of Community law which are needed to provide consumers and citizens with a high level of protection,

M. whereas the structural policy forms a pillar of the CFP, and whereas it must continue to be a vital support for the restructuring of a strong, economically healthy and competitive industry,

N. whereas a feature of the present situation is the absence of an effective monitoring system for imports of preserves originating in third countries, with regard to production conditions, the quality of raw materials and compliance with technical and health standards for processing,

O. whereas the absence of effective arrangements to identify accurately the origin of imports of raw materials and fish product preserves means, as has been found on many occasions, that there is a high degree of unfair competition facing the Community industry,

P. whereas the tariff arrangements in force affecting imports of products competing with Community produce are unjustified in some cases or have lost their original justification, since they grant tariff advantages to countries that enjoy fairly high levels of economic development,

Q. whereas the GSP drugs mechanism, which grants advantages in access to the Community market for fish products, especially tuna, originating in some countries on the American continent, has not fulfilled its original purpose of encouraging conversion from activities associated with the drugs economy,

R. whereas there is an urgent need to carry out a reform of the common organization of the market to adapt it to the industry¨s new realities, in an increasingly globalized context, by adjusting the present mechanisms: reference prices, safeguard clauses, compensatory allowance, carry-over premiums, etc.,

S. whereas the Community needs to tighten up its product quality policy, stimulate the industry¨s efforts by means of quality premiums, registers and labels and conduct promotional campaigns to advertise the quality of the European product,

T. whereas differences are frequently apparent in the content of the preserve, the species, the elements used in its preparation and the techniques employed, and the information given on the labelling, which would normally mean that the consumer was being defrauded,

U. whereas the quality and the technical and health conditions need to be scientifically monitored by specialized laboratories, imposing the same checks on imported products as on European ones,

V. whereas the Community sardine industry is in extremely unfavourable circumstances, having been greatly damaged in the last few years by competition from preserves originating in third countries, resulting during this decade in a fall by more than 40% in Community exports and the closure of many industries based on Union territory,

W. whereas the tariff policy applied by the Community to imports of canned sardines is generous; whereas preserves originating in Morocco will be entering the Community market from 1999 under a regime of total liberalization, as a result of the terms of the Association Agreement,

X. whereas the market in tuna preserves is substantial, accounting in the Community for almost 60% of the total production of fish preserves, and its consumption is expected to continue to increase,

1. Calls on the Commission to draw up a study on the situation in the fish product canning industry and aquaculture in the European Union, covering companies, trends in the industry in the last few years in the various Community countries, data on production, origin of raw material, volume of exports and imports, employment, technical and health standards, tariff arrangements and, in general, on the law applicable to the industry and codification of that law;

2. Calls on the Commission to put forward proposals to the Council and Parliament to include a special plan of action and an overall support framework for the fish products canning industry, taking account of the present structural policy and the new regional policy guidelines for the period 2000-2006, the principles of which are being debated at the moment, and that will aim to provide the necessary financial support to secure a Community canning sector that is competitive in a global economy;

3. Urges the Council and Commission to carry out a detailed analysis of Community tariff law affecting fish product preserves and aquaculture, with the aim of abolishing any advantages in access to the Community market that are no longer justified;

4. Declares that in the event that the general interest of the Union¨s external trade relations or the development cooperation policy require maintaining certain imports that involve market access on terms that mean unfair competition for Community preserves, the latter should be declared sensitive products and compensatory aid should be allocated to the industry;

5. Demands that inspections of products from third countries be stepped up, in accordance with Council Directive 91/493/EEC laying down the health conditions for the production and placing on the market of fishery products ((OJ L 268, 24.9.1991, p. 15.)), so that products from such countries are not subject to less stringent health requirements than Community produce;

6. Takes the view that the Union should develop a supply policy that meets the real needs of the Community processing industry as a whole, supporting the Community fleet and guaranteeing access to the raw material needed at any time in the best conditions that the world market can supply;

7. Urges the Commission to encourage promotion campaigns for Community fish product preserves, advertising their origin, quality, production safeguards and high nutritional value, to enable consumers to appreciate the excellence of Community products;

8. Urges the Commission to propose the initiatives needed to set up a Community-level reference laboratory to safeguard the quality of Community products and products originating from third countries freely marketed on Union territory, and their compliance with technical and health standards;

9. Urges the Commission and those responsible in the Member States to tighten up standards and improve the machinery for controlling fish products marketed on Union territory, verifying in a reliable manner that fresh and processed fishery products comply with the law on rules of origin;

10. Supports the promotion of quality products, including raw materials that can be added to the various canning preparations, such as canning liquids, and in particular olive oil, for which it calls for measures to ensure that the price of olive oil is in line with the international price, in order to maintain the competitiveness of this kind of preparation, a symbol of the quality of the Community¨s canning industry; calls, in this context, for the mechanism of olive oil refunds for the industry under the COM for olive oil to be maintained and increased;

11. Urges the Commission to promote and provide financial support for innovative methods and research into new production systems, new products, processing of species which at present have no commercial value and new forms of preparation and presentation;

12. Underlines the importance of coordination between the production sector, the Community fleet and the processing sector, stressing the need to conclude long-term contracts between producers and their organizations and the processing companies that are favourable to both sides, ensuring their supplies at reasonable prices and on reasonable terms; believes that aid mechanisms for producers' organizations must be established to enable them to coordinate supply;

13. Considers that there is a need to set up within the EU Anti-Fraud Unit (UCLAF) a department specializing in fisheries, capable of stepping in to investigate the correct application of the rules on product origin and Community legislation on the marketing and transport of fish products;

14. Declares that the sardine industry represents an economic activity of major importance for many Community regions and points out that the sector is in a state of crisis, which requires the urgent adoption of protection measures, such as:

a) provision of the necessary funds for the period 2000-2006 to assist restructuring of the industry, in addition to the appropriations provided for under the present Structural Funds;

b) establishment of a compensatory allowance for sardines, for the Community canning industry and the maintenance of balanced storage aid, to prevent price fluctuations in the market as a result of seasonal flows in product supply for the canning industry. Such aid will need to be paid direct to canners as and when they can justify payment of the minimum production price;

c) launching a Community-wide campaign, backed up by the necessary funds, to promote the consumption of sardines and products such as sardine preserves and sardine 'pâtés¨, bearing in mind the high nutritional value of this product;

15. Declares that the tuna canning industry is the most important Community canning sector in terms of employment and the volume of trade, and that to encourage the huge growth prospects in this sector there is a need:

a) to ensure there is a proper supply of the necessary raw material (fresh, frozen and ribs of tuna), giving priority to the Community fleet and opening new quotas for imports only when these are strictly needed for the Community industry;

b) to ensure that compensation is granted to third countries for the purposes laid down in Community provisions, sustainable development (ACP), the fight against drugs (GSP-drugs, Andean Pact), and that countries which enjoy privileged access to the Community market do not operate in social dumping conditions;

c) to carry out rigorous checks on the origin of products and the quality and technical and health conditions of imported products so as to prevent consumer fraud and unfair competition for the Community industry;

16. Calls on the Commission and the Council, in view of the fact that canning preserves a food's nutritional properties and facilitates its storage and transport under optimum conditions, to promote the inclusion of Community canned goods in its policy of humanitarian food aid to needy countries;

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