WRITTEN QUESTION E-0873/02

by Jonas Sjöstedt (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(2 April 2002)

Subject: EU fisheries agreements in the future

A report by UNEP, published on 27 December 2001, argues that developing countries which open up their waters to foreign fishing fleets lose more than they gain, noting also that over-fishing pushes their people even deeper into poverty.

It singles out Namibia as a good example of how a country which says no to concluding fisheries agreements with the European Union can very successfully build up a fishing industry from scratch.

Another problem is that, in most countries with which the European Union concludes fisheries agreements, the bulk of the money it pays for the agreements goes to the political elite, whilst very little of the money reaches fishermen, who are in fact deprived of their incomes.

Has the Commission studied the report in question and does it agree with the views expressed therein? What will it do to ensure that the African countries with which the European Union currently concludes fisheries agreements are able instead to develop their own fishing industries, like Namibia has done?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(2 May 2002)

The Commission is aware of the study by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) presented in December 2001. The main objective of this study, which focuses on two case studies (Senegal and Argentina), is to examine and establish a correlation between trade liberalisation, economic reforms, the environment and the marine resources.

Even if there may be room for improvement, it should be noted that the Union's Fishery Agreements aim at supporting responsible and sustainable fisheries in the countries with which it has an agreement. Through these agreements, the Community pays a financial contribution in return for access to surplus stocks. These funds are paid to the Public Treasury and are split, on the one hand, into a contribution to the State budget and, on the other, to so called targeted actions for the development of the fisheries sector of the partner country. The Community favours a high incidence of targeted actions. Sometimes these actions reach as much as 60-70 % of the Community's financial contribution. The main actions are maritime control and surveillance, scientific and technical programmes, institutional support, training for fisheries managers, support to small-scale fishery and participation in international meetings on fisheries. In order to ensure that the funds aimed at targeted actions are invested in accordance to the programming, the Commission requests yearly reports from the partner country on the implementation and results of these actions.

In the framework of the revision of the Common Fisheries Policy (see the Green Paper on the future of the common fisheries policy)(1) the Commission underlines the necessity to contribute to the improvement of global governance in fisheries related matters through the effective implementation of the current international legal framework, the strengthening and promotion of regional cooperation mechanisms and the development of a partnership approach with the developing countries.

With regard to the Honourable Member's question concerning the type of approach to be chosen in order to develop the fishery sector, it should be underlined that this falls under the competence of the Coastal State.

(1) COM(2001) 135 final.