WRITTEN QUESTION E-2794/99

by Daniel Varela Suanzes-Carpegna (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(18 January 2000)

Subject: Publication and dissemination of the whole package of EU Common Fisheries Policy measures on conservation of fisheries resources

There seems to be general uncertainty in Europe and worldwide concerning the diversity, seriousness and strictness of the package of scientific, technical, monitoring and management measures forming the various pillars of the CFP and aiming to safeguard and conserve fisheries resources in Community and extra-Community waters and the environment in general. In connection with many of these measures, the EU has rules on support and aid which are sometimes erroneously classified as subsidies leading to over-exploitation of fisheries resources.

Does the Commission not think that the Common Fisheries Policy would benefit from publication and wide distribution of an informative booklet outlining briefly but clearly and comprehensively all the detailed and sometimes complex measures which govern it, their fundamental objective being the conservation of fisheries resources and responsible fisheries practices in the EU?

Does the Commission not think that such a publication could be useful to spread awareness in Europe and worldwide of the important principles and agreements we have adopted on conservation of marine resources and the support measures associated with them, which sometimes tend to be confused with subsidies for overexploitation of fisheries resources?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(8 February 2000)

As part of its information and communication measures for the common fisheries policy (CFP), the Commission regularly produces and disseminates material explaining the various aspects of the policy.

This information is intended mainly for the fishing industry and other interested parties, in particular the specialised media, which represent one of the main sources of information for people working in the sector and the members of the public concerned. It is distributed in written publications, but also in audio-visual form and through the Internet.

Under the action plan for closer dialogue with the industry and the other groups affected by the CFP, presented recently to Parliament, the Commission is intending to extend the communication measures, principally by focusing the information better and by tailoring the explanatory material to the needs of the public it is addressing.

It is considered including in this material information files on the various strands of the CFP, of which measures for the conservation of fisheries resources are a principal component. These files will be covered also as part of a series of videos designed to explain in a clear way, including through the use of animated graphics, the fundamental pillars of the CFP.

Information will be disseminated regularly through a magazine for the fishing industry and other interested groups, which is to be published in the eleven official Community languages for distribution free of charge. The information will be available also, with links to fuller details, on the CFP website on the Europa server, which is currently undergoing expansion.