WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2390/97 by Carmen FRAGA ESTÉVEZ to the Commission. Content of the Commission's talks with Great Britain about 'quota hopping'
Date: 1997-07-10
Institutions: European Parliament, FRAGA ESTEVEZ
Subjects: EU Member State, EU law - national law, EU waters, European Commission, United Kingdom, catch quota, common fisheries policy, fishing licence

C 76/98

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

11. 3. 98

Joint answer
to Written Questions P-2334/97, P-2369/97, E-2389/97, E-2390/97, E-2391/97 and E-2392/97
given by Mrs Bonino on behalf of the Commission

(29 July 1997)

Under Article 9 § 2 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 3760/92 establishing a Community system for fisheries and
aquaculture (1),  Member  States  inform  the  Commission  each  year  of  the  criteria  they  have  adopted  for
distribution and of the detailed rules for the use of the fishing availabilities allocated to them, in accordance with
Community law and the common fisheries policy. Therefore, Member States are competent for the adoption of
licensing conditions, in so far as these conditions are not governed by Community law, but in the exercise of their
competence they have to respect Community law and to inform the Commission.

In this framework the Commission is empowered to take a position on the compatibility of proposed national
measures with Community law and to convey its opinion to each Member State which requests confirmation of
such compatibility by the Commission.

The Court of justice has accepted that the aim of the quota system may in fact justify conditions designed to
ensure that there is a real economic link between the vessel and the Member State in question if the purpose of
such  conditions  is  that  the  populations  dependent  on  fisheries  and  related  industries  should  benefit  from  the
quotas.

The United Kingdom, like the other Member States, is competent to adopt measures to ensure the existence of a
real economic link with the fishing vessel flying its flag. The United Kingdom asked for confirmation whether
certain measures could be compatible with Community law.

The  President  of  the  Commission  replied  in  his  letter  to  Mr  Blair,  that  the  requirements  proposed  could  be
compatible  with  Community  law  if  they  are  non-discriminatory,  proportionate  to  their  aim  and  alternative,
offering the fishing operators the option to comply with one or more of these requirements or possible other
elements, to prove the existence of an economic link with the flag state.

The exchange of letters with Mr Blair was preceded by technical discussions between the British authorities and
the Commission, and the Spanish authorities were informed of their outcome in a timely manner.

In any case, the Commission will scrutinise any specific measure that the United Kingdom may decide to enact
regarding the allocation of quotas, as it has done before and will continue to do with respect to all Member States(cid:146)
legislation, as guardian of the treaties.

The Commission will accept the compatibility of any definitive measures with Community law only if these are
non-discriminatory,  proportionate,  alternative  and  fully  consistent  with  the  case-law  of  the  Court  of  justice,
taking into account, as it is its duty, the legitimate interest of all Member States.

(1)  OJ L 389, 31.12.1992.

(98/C 76/198)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2343/97

by Hedy d(cid:146)Ancona (PSE) to the Commission

(10 July 1997)

Subject: Anti-Semitism in a Slovakian school textbook

Is the Commission aware of the existence of a textbook on Slovakian history for Slovakian primary schools

1.
which glosses over the mass deportation of Jews to the extermination camps?

Can  the  Commission  confirm  that  this  textbook,  written  by  Milan  Durica,  a  Catholic  priest,  has  been

2.
published with money from the European Union?