WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1840/97 by Carlos COSTA NEVES to the Commission. Right to compensation
Date: 1997-05-28
Institutions: COSTA NEVES, European Parliament
Subjects: Portugal, accession to an agreement, cessation of trading, enlargement of the Union, fishing regulations, marine mammal, operational programme, redevelopment aid, wildlife

25. 2. 98

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 60/51

(98/C 60/80)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1840/97

by Carlos Costa Neves (PPE) to the Commission

(28 May 1997)

Subject: Right to compensation

Shipowners of the Arma(cid:231)o(cid:152)es Baleeiras do Sul do Pico company in Pico (Azores) have had to stop whaling, an
activity which they carried on for more than a century and which was of great historical, cultural and economic
value and of great significance to the families concerned.

They  were  forced  to  stop  by  the  Berne  Convention  on  the  Conservation  of  European  Wildlife  and  Natural
Habitats.

They argue that the EU has compensated German and Spanish businesses in similar circumstances.

Might it not therefore be possible to consider compensating them for having to stop whaling?

Answer given by Mrs Bonino on behalf of the Commission

(16 July 1997)

When the Community was enlarged to include the two Member States on the Iberian peninsula on 1 January
1986, Portugal accepted the (cid:145)acquis communautaire(cid:146) on the regulation of whaling under the Bern Convention on
the conservation of European wildlife and natural habitats signed on 19 September 1979.

As compensation for ceasing this historical and cultural activity on the Portuguese island of Pico in the Azores,
the Commission part-financed structural measures designed to retrain whale fishermen for other activities, in
particular fishing for tuna, which is a fairly abundant species in the waters of this part of the Atlantic.

Pico thus benefited from the construction of seven tuna boats and the construction of a modern coldstore for the
conservation of fishery products.

Further  structural  measures  have  been  part-financed  in  the  region  under  Regulation  (EEC)  No  355/77  on
common measures  to  improve  the  conditions  under  which  agricultural products are  processed and  marketed,
Regulation  (EEC)  No  4028/86  on  Community  measures  to  improve  and  adapt  structures  in  the  fisheries  and
aquaculture sector and Regulation (EEC) No 4042/89 on the improvement of the conditions under which fishery
and aquaculture products are processed and marketed (1).

Since the beginning of 1994, measure 1.4 under the multifund operational programme Pedraa II (Azores), which
is  part  of  the  1994-99  Community  support  framework  for  Portugal,  has  provided  ECU  21  million  from  the
financial instrument for fisheries guidance (FIFG) for further schemes in the fisheries sector.

The Commission is not aware of any compensation paid by the Community to German and Spanish companies.

(1)  OJ L 51, 23.02.1977.
OJ L 376, 31.12.1986.
OJ L 388, 30.12.1989.

(98/C 60/81)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1841/97

by Irene Soltwedel-Scha¤fer (V) to the Commission

(30 May 1997)

Subject: Shipbuilding industry in the EU

1.
Jobs: How many people are currently employed in shipbuilding in the EU, and how many in the electronics,
electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and plant engineering sectors? How many people have been made
redundant in the last 15 years?