A4-0019/98

Resolution on the Commission report on Monitoring the Common Fisheries Policy 1995 (COM(97)0226 - C4-0334/97)

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the Commission report (COM(97)0226 - C4-0334/97),

- having regard its resolution of 10 April 1997 containing the comments which form part of the decision giving discharge to the Commission in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 1995 ((OJ L 162, 19.6.1997, p. 32.)), and in particular paragraph 37 thereof (('Asks its relevant committees to examine whether the considerable funding which the Community has made available for stepping up the monitoring of fishing activities actually has led to enhanced effectiveness of controls;¨)),

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Fisheries (A4-0019/98),

A. whereas the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) should be the European Union¨s most important instrument for the long-term protection of fish stocks,

B. whereas there is considerable concern among the fishing industries of Member States as to the degree of equal enforcement of CFP controls by Member States,

C. recognizing that where weaknesses in the CFP monitoring and control regime are identified specific remedial actions need to be agreed, timetabled and applied urgently,

D. deploring the fact that the Commission's own inspectors continue to have such limited powers and are so severely limited in numbers,

1. Notes with concern that there has been no improvement in the control and monitoring of the CFP since the publication of the previous report;

2. Deplores the fact that there are only vague references to future action and insists that in future reports a timetabled action plan is included to correct the failures of the CFP monitoring procedures identified;

3. Considers, in the meantime, that the Commission must bring forward urgently such an action plan which should be presented to Council and Parliament at the earliest opportunity;

4. Is alarmed at the continued lack of political will within certain Member States to enforce the CFP to the degree necessary for the successful conservation of stocks;

5. Recognizes that without that political will to enforce regulations strongly and evenly the CFP will not earn the confidence of the industry, the scientific community, or the communities engaged in fishing;

6. Notes with profound regret that the report is primarily made up of tables and lists of data that give no comprehensive or overall insight into the control and monitoring of the CFP within the EU, nor easy comparison between Member States; urges, therefore, the Commission to draw up a new method of gathering and processing data which will at the very least oblige the Member States to forward information which is as uniform, accurate and transparent as possible, including a precise definition of concepts such as what an inspector is and in what an inspection consists;

7. Urges the Commission to fulfil its commitment to draw up a practical guide to control measures applicable to fishing vessels;

8. Regrets that the Commission has avoided making anything other than the most general comments on the performance of Member States as a whole or individually, and has not taken the opportunity to highlight specific problem areas;

9. Urges the Commission to be brave and where appropriate name individual fisheries, Member States, or other agencies that are failing in their duty to control and monitor the operation of the CFP;

10. Notes that the report does not give any useful estimates of such matters as the quantity of illegally landed fish, and other such statistics that are essential to understand the depth of the problem of control and enforcement within the CFP as a whole;

11. Notes with regret that Member States have made no progress in the monitoring of marketing channels, and sees this as one of the most important, but least used, weapons for successful enforcement;

12. Regrets that no reference or analysis has been made of fines and penalties imposed by the various Member States for breaking CFP rules, while noting that such penalties are a core aspect of enforcement;

13. Believes that one of the basic problems involved in monitoring the CFP is the lack of harmonization regarding infringements; considers that the Commission might take measures to boost and speed up such harmonization and regrets that the present report does not declare the slightest intention to do so;

14. Regrets that there is no account of the work undertaken by the EU¨s own inspectors, nor an account of their unique first-hand view of problems experienced in the field;

15. Notes that the report focuses chiefly on monitoring of catches and does not include a detailed analysis of fraud in the market; regrets, in this connection, the lack of effective control in the markets which would prevent import fraud such as the irregularities detected regarding the origin of products in respect of imports of tuna steaks under the GSP-Drugs preferential arrangements or fraudulent imports of cod of a different origin under the existing agreements with Norway;

16. Notes that the current report deals with the year 1995, has been a considerable time in preparation and therefore deals with matters severely out of date;

17. Notes with concern that no replies from Member States regarding the previous year¨s report are referred to in the report despite this requirement in the Regulation;

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