2.2.94 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities NoC34/73
mentsmadeinpreviousOpinions,particularlythoseinapplicationoftheActofAccessionofSpainandPortu­
theOpiniononthe1992CommissionReportonthegalinthefisheriessector.
DoneatBrussels,24November1993.
TheChairman
oftheEconomicandSocialCommittee
SusanneTIEMANN
OpinionontheproposalforaCouncilRegulation (EEC)establishingaCommunitysystem
offishinglicences(!)
(94/C34/21
On3November1993theCouncildecidedtoconsulttheEconomicandSocialCommittee,
underArticles43and198oftheEECTreaty,ontheabovementioned proposal.
TheEconomicandSocialCommitteedecidedtoappointMrMcGarryasRapporteur-General
foritsOpinion.
Atits310thPlenarySession(meetingof24November1993),theEconomicandSocial
CommitteeadoptedthefollowingOpinionbyalargemajority,withthreevotesagainstand
twentyabstentions .
1.Introduction suchspecificschemesarethoseinvolving:theIrish
Box,theShetlandBoxandbeam-trawlers oflessthan
300bhpfishinginsidethe12-milezone.
1.2.1.Inaddition,eachmaritimeMemberStatehas
maintainedanationalregisteroflicences,thedetailsof
whichmaydifferfromjurisdictiontojurisdiction.
2.Presentmonitoringandcontrolsystem1.1.TheobjectiveoftheproposaloftheCommission
istomakeacontributiontothepreservationofCom­
munityfishstocksandtothetransparencyofthefishing
sectorbytheintroductionof'fishinglicencesandper­
mits'.
1.1.1.Itspurposeis,pursuanttothenewbasicRegu­
lationonthecommonfisheriespolicy,tointroducea
generalCommunitysystemoffishinglicencesonthe
basisofwhicheachMemberStatewillestablishand
issue,from1995,itslicencesforitsownvesselsfortheir
activitiesbothinsideandoutsideCommunitywaters,
withoutprejudicetothespecialarrangementsthatexist
inthematter.
ThisfollowsfromArticle5ofthebasicRegulation (2).
1.2.Uptonowanumberofveryspecificfishing
vessellicensingschemesdesignedforparticularcircum­
stances,approvedbytheCouncilandadministered by
theCommission ,havebeeninoperation.Examplesof2.1.Themainelementsofthepresentmonitoring
andcontrolsystemare:
—areserved12-milecoastalzone,withqualified
accessintheouter6-milebandforotherMember
States;
—asystemofannualtotalallowablecatches,divided
intonationalquotas,forthemaintraditionalfishe­
ries;
-—theuseoflogbookstorecordlandings;(')OJNoC310,16.11.1993,p.13.
(2)CouncilRegulationNo3760/92,20.12.1992.

NoC34/74 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities 2,2.94
4.Generalremarks —useoftechnicalmeasurestoensureescapement,e.g.
minimummeshsizes,minimumlandingsizes,by­
catchlimits,etc.;
—useofCommunityinspectorstomonitornational
inspectors;
—useofboxesandclosedareastorestricteffortand
toregeneratestocks;
—controlauthorityrestswitheachMemberStatefor
thewatersunderitssovereigntyorjurisdiction .In
thisregardsea,airandportinspectionsarehighly
inconsistentasbetweenMemberStates;
—penaltiesforinfringement ,whichdifferinseverity
substantiallyfromStatetoState,andwhichappear
tohavelittlepracticalimpact.
3.SummaryofproposedRegulation
3.1.Thefollowingdocumentation willbenecessary
inrespectofeveryvesseloperatinginCommunity
waters:
a)identificationandregistrationparticulars;
b)technicalcharacteristics andequipment;4.1.Theproposalrefersto'licencesandpermits'
whereasthebasicRegulationrefersonlyto'licences'.
Theterm'permit'alsocarrieswithitconnotationsof
amorewidespreadapplicationthantheCommission
clearlyintendsandislikelytocauseseriousresistance
amongstfishingorganizations .Therefore,theterm
'permit'orsimilarterminologymustberejectedon
principle.
4.2.TheCommissionshoulddistinguishbetween
generallicences,ontheonehand,andthespecific
schemesalreadyreferredto,ontheother.
4.3.TheCommission shouldnotdirectorinstruct
MemberStatesonhowtheyshouldmanagetheirfleets.
Thatisamatterspecificallyfortheresponsibilityand
competenceofeachMemberState.
4.4.Basicallythegeneral'fishinglicence'represents
anidentitycardforeachvesselintheCommunity,and
theso-called'fishingpermit'(anunacceptableterm)
wouldbeaspecificauthorizationtoengageinaparticu­
larCommission-administrated schemeandwould,in
presentcircumstances ,affectonlyafractionofthe
Communityfleet.
4.5.InpracticetheproposedRegulationisrather
similartoexistingarrangementsexceptthattherewill
beacentralizedCommunityregisteroflicences,which
isanewconcept.Thiscouldbeseenasalogical
consequencetotheexistingcentralizedfishing-vessel
registerandcouldbeconsideredatidying-upprocess.
4.5.1.Ageneralsystemoffishinglicenceshastobe
seenasasteptowardstheregulationandcontrolof
fishingactivityleadingtoconservationofstocks.The
intentionistoestablish'acontrolsystemapplicableto
thecommonfisheriespolicywhichisbasedinteraliaon
theintroductionoffishinglicences'.Inrealityexisting
controlmechanismsareseriouslydeficientintheir
application .Infact,thecontrolsystemisindisarray.
4.6.Alicensingsystemcanonlyberegardedasone
ofthemanymeasuresandsystemswhicharenecessary
toachievearealandpositiveimpactonfishingactivity
inCommunitywatersbybothCommunityandthird
countryvessels.
4.6.1.Effectivecontroliscriticaltothesuccessor
otherwiseofthecommonfisheriespolicyandmustbe
thecentralfocusoffutureactivities.However,whilst
aimingtobeeffective,controlmustnotbecomea
bureaucratic burdenabsorbingvaluablescarce
resources .
4.6.2.TheMemberStateswillplayapivotalrolein
theenforcementofthelicensingarrangements .There­
fore,fullco-operationbetweentheCommissionandc)fishingpermit.
3.2.TheCommission willissuedocumentation for
'thirdcountry'vesselsfishinginECwaters.
3.3.MemberStateswillhaveresponsibilityfor:
—issuingoflicencesfortheir'flagvessel';
—-wheretherearelimitationsonthefishingeffort
allowed,theidentificationofvesselslikely'toexer­
ciseafishingactivity';
—subjecttoapprovalfromtheCommissiontheMem­
berStateswillissuepermitstothe'identified'vessels
tocarryoutthepermittedactivity;
—MemberStatesmaysuspendorwithdrawpermits
inordertoenforceresource-management measures.
3.4.MemberStateswillhavesimilarlicenceand
permitfunctionsinrespectofflagvesselsfishingin
thirdcountrywatersandshouldsuspendorwithdraw
licencesonajudgementfromtheCommissionfollowing
anallegedbreachoffishingagreement.

2,2,94 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities NoC34/75
b)de-ratedoutput,
Itisimportantthatde-ratedenginesarenot
subsequentlyre-ratedtherebygainingillegal
accesstoprohibitedareasormakingthefishing
unitmorecatch-efficient .
—Tonnageshouldindicateunderwhichformulaor
conventionitismeasured,assignificantdifferences
inratingapplybetweenvesselsofsimilarsize.
—Thebeamorbreadthofthevesselshouldbestated.theMemberStatesisessentialtothesuccessofthe
scheme.
4.6.3.TheCommitteesuggeststhataframeworkbe
agreedwithinwhichtheregulationscanbeappliedinan
equitableandevenmannerthroughouttheCommunity .
4.6.4.AttentionmustbedrawntothepreviousOpin­
ionoftheCommittee(*)whichemphasizedtheimport­
anceofaneffectivesystemofcontrol.
4.7.IntheviewoftheCommitteetheCommunity
licensingschemeshouldnotimposeunworkable ,or
artificialrestrictionsontheoperationofindividual
vesselsorfleets,butshouldactonlyasacentralinfor­
mationandsupervisorymechanismtoensurethatCom­
munitystandardsareupheld.—Thevesseltypeshouldbestated.
5.6.TheCommissionmustensurethatthemid-1994
timetableforintroductionofasystemofcommonton­
nagemeasurement isadheredto.
5.7.Afishingpermitisnotrecognizedunder
Article5of3760/92.Thistermneedstobereworded
—perhapsas'SpecialLicence'.5.Specificremarks
5.1.Theword'permit'shouldinallcasesbereplaced
byamoreappropriatedescriptionoftheproposalunder
thisheading.Article5
Article1(1)5.8.Inthepastithasbeenverydifficulttoobtain
preciseinformationregardingtheCommunityfleet.It
ishopedthatthenewlicensingsystemwillfacilitatea
moreaccuratemonitoringoffleetactivity.5.2.TheCommitteeacceptstheprincipleofaCom­
munitysystemoffishinglicencesaslaiddownin
Article5ofRegulation (EEC)No3760/92asbeingone
ofthemeasuresnecessarytoconservestocks.However,
theprincipleshouldnotbeextendedtoothernon­
licenceschemes.Article6
Article1(2)5.9.TheCommitteeadvisesthatthisArticleshould
applyonlyforspecificsituationssuchastheShetland
Box.
5.9.1.TheCommissionshouldensurethattheRegu­
lationencompasses/respectsrecognizedlocalagree­
mentsbetweenMemberStatesandthirdcountries .5.3.Theterm'attached'shouldnotmeanthatthe
licencemustbephysicallyaffixedtothevessel.
Althougheveryboatmustholdacurrentlicence,only
vesselsover10metresshouldhavetocarrythelicence
onboardatalltimes. Article7
Article1(3)5.9.2.TheCommitteeadvisesthattheCommission
shouldonlytobeinformedofnationalschemes,but
notinvolvedintheiradministration ,inaccordancewith
thesubsidarityprinciple.5.4.ItisnotedthatSections1and2ofAnnex1will
beofmainconcernforthemajorityofCommunity
vesselsfishinginCommunitywaters.
5.5.Thefollowingdetailsshouldbenotedinthe
Annexes :Article8
5.9.3.TheCommitteeadvisesthattheArticlebe
usedonlytoclarifyexistingschemes.
—Enginepowershouldindicate:
a)manufacturer'sorratedoutput,andArticles8(6)
5.9.4.TheEnglishtextshouldbeamendedtoensure
compatibilitywithothertexts. (!)OJNoC108,19.4.1993.

NoC34/76 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities 2.2.94
Article9 thatthevariousregulationsareapplieduniformly
acrosstheCommunity .
Article14(1)5.10.TheCommittee isoftheviewthatthe
CFPwillneverfunctionwithoutthecooperationof
fishermen.Furthermore ,variationsinlocaland
nationalbureaucraticprocedureshindertheeffective
operationofthesystem.Itisimportanttoensure5.11.TheCommissionshouldgiveaclearerexpla­
nationofthisparagraphandparticularlyoftheterm
'definitive'.
DoneatBrussels,24November1993.
TheChairman
oftheEconomicandSocialCommittee
SusanneTIEMANN
OpinionontheproposalforaCouncilRegulation (EEC)layingdowndetailedrulesfor
implementingRegulation (EEC)No2080/93onCommunitystructuralassistanceinthe
fisheriesandaquaculturesectorandtheindustryprocessingandmarketingitsproducts(')
(94/C34/22)
On26October1993theCouncildecidedtoconsulttheEconomicandSocialCommittee,
underArticles43and198oftheTreatyestablishingtheEuropeanEconomicCommunity,
ontheabovementioned proposal.
TheEconomicandSocialCommitteedecidedtoappointMrSilvaasRapporteur-General
foritsOpinion.
Atits310thPlenarySession(meetingof24November1993),theEconomicandSocial
CommitteeadoptedthefollowingOpinionunanimously .
1.Introduction tivesofthetwoexistingRegulations (3)whichthepro­
posalistorepealwitheffectfrom1January1994.
2.Generalcomments
2.1.Thetimetableforconsultationandapproval
ofthepresentCouncilRegulationisdeterminedby
Article6ofRegulation2080/93.Thismeansthatthe
CommitteehastoworkonthebasisthattheRegulation
willcomeintoforceon1January1994.Forthisreason
itwasdecidedtoissuethisOpinion,eventhougha
moredetailedanalysismaybepresentedlaterinan
AdditionalOpinion.
2.2.AlthoughtheCommonFisheriesPolicyisaimed
atachievingtheobjectivessetoutinArticle39ofthe1.1.CouncilRegulation2080/93(2)incorporatesthe
structuralaspectsoftheCommonFisheriesPolicyinto
theStructuralFundlegislationbyestablishingafinan­
cialinstrumentforstructuralschemesinthefisheries
andaquaculturesectorandtheindustryprocessingand
marketingitsproducts.
1.2.On20July1993theCounciladoptedtherevised
frameworkRegulationsontheEuropeanCommunity
StructuralFunds,inwhichthefinancialinstrumentfor
fisheriesguidance(FIFG)wasincluded.
1.3.Thepresentproposaladoptingdetailedrules
andconditionsfortheFIFGcontribution tostructural
policyconsolidatesinonepieceoflegislationtheobjec­
HOJNoC305,11.11.1993,p.12.
(2)OJNoL193,31.7.1993. (3)Regulation4028/86andRegulation4042/89.