WRITTEN QUESTION No. 409/98 by Carmen FRAGA ESTÉVEZ to the Commission. Coordination for aid for the development of the fisheries sectors of the ACP States
Date: 1998-02-24
Institutions: European Parliament, FRAGA ESTEVEZ
Subjects: ACP countries, European Commission, common fisheries policy, development policy, exchange of information, fishing agreement

2. 10. 98

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 304/95

(98/C 304/142)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0403/98

by Lis Jensen (I-EDN) to the Commission

(24 February 1998)

Subject: Number of Council recommendations since 1986

If statistics exist on the number of recommendations put forward by the Council, how many have there been
since 1986, and to what extent have they been implemented by the Member States?

Answer given by Mr Santer on behalf of the Commission

(24 March 1998)

Between 1986 and 1997, the Council adopted 37 recommendations addressed to the Member States.

The Commission has no statistics on their implementation by the Member States.

(98/C 304/143)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0409/98

by Carmen Fraga Este·vez (PPE) to the Commission

(24 February 1998)

Subject: Coordination for aid for the development of the fisheries sectors of the ACP States

The European Union shows extremely great interest in the development of the ACP States(cid:146) fisheries sectors.
Whilst projects in this area are administered by DG VIII, it is DG XIV that is responsible for fisheries policy.
Increasingly, many of the development projects in third countries are implemented under the protocols to the
commercial fisheries agreements.

In view of this, and taking account of the joint answer given by Commissioner Pinheiro on 23 April 1997 to
written questions nos E-0923/87 to E-0934/97 (1), will the Commission say whether there is any real coordination
between the two Directorates-General involved as regards examination of development projects in the fisheries
sector and, if there is, how they organize such coordination so as to avoid inconsistencies which could lead to
Community development funds being wasted?

What exactly are the respective roles of DG VIII and DG XIV in the decisions taken in the EU concerning the
establishment of fisheries programmes for the ACP States?

(1)  OJ C 319, 18.10.1997, p. 197.

Answer given by Mr Pinheiro on behalf of the Commission

(11 March 1998)

As  the  Honourable  Member  points  out,  within  the  Commission  it  is  Directorate-General  XIV  which  is
responsible for the common fisheries policy, including its external aspects, and Directorate-General VIII which
is  responsible  for  development  policy,  in  particular  for  countries  with  which  the  Community  has  fisheries
agreements.

The  Commission  has  on  a  number  of  occasions  pointed  to  the  need  to  improve  the  coherence  of  fisheries
agreements and development policy, i.e. to ensure, pursuant to Articles 130u and 130v of the EC Treaty that the
conclusion and implementation of fisheries agreements are not inconsistent with the strategies set out in national
and  regional  fisheries  development  cooperation  programmes,  to  which  the  Community  contributes  where
necessary.  This  concern  for  coherence  and  complementarity  was  underlined  by  the  Council  meeting  on
development  held  on  5 June  1997  (resolution  on  coherence),  by  the  Council  meeting  on  fisheries  held  on
30 October 1997 and by Parliament itself in its resolution on international fisheries agreements of 15 May 1997
(A4-0149/97).