1999/27/EC: Council Decision of 17 December 1998 on a specific measure to encourage diversification out of certain fishing activities and amending Decision 97/292/EC
Date: 1998-12-17
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: common fisheries policy, fishing regulations, redevelopment aid, terms for aid

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II

(Acts whose publication is not obligatory)

COUNCIL

COUNCIL DECISION

of 17 December 1998

on a specific measure to encourage diversification out of certain fishing activities
and amending Decision 97/292/EC

(1999/27/EC)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community, and in particular Article 43 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parlia-
ment (2),

(1) Whereas, pursuant to Council Regulation (EEC) No
2080/93 of 20 July 1993 laying down provisions for
implementing Regulation (EEC) No 2052/88 as
regards
fisheries
guidance (3), specific measures may be financed by
that instrument;

instrument of

financial

the

(2) Whereas Article 11a of Council Regulation (EC)
No 894/97 of 29 April 1997 laying down certain
technical measures for the conservation of fishery
resources (4) prohibits the use of drift nets intended
for the capture of certain species from 1 January
2002;

(3) Whereas

this Decision will have unfavourable
economic and social repercussions in the short
term for a number of fishing fleets, thus justifying
at Community level an appropriate range of actions
and special supporting measures for
fishermen
serving on board and the owners of fishing vessels;

(1) OJ C 314, 13. 10. 1998, p. 18.
(2) Opinion delivered on 16 December 1998 (not yet published

in the Official Journal).

(3) OJ L 193, 31. 7. 1993, p. 1.
(4) OJ L 132, 23. 5. 1997, p. 1. Regulation as amended by Regu-

lation (EC) No 1239/98 (OJ L 171, 17. 6. 1998, p. 1).

whereas the measures concerned will have to be
exceptional in character, however, and in any event
be met from the budget for the affected Member
States’ existing structural programmes;

(4) Whereas it is consequently appropriate to derogate
temporarily from the criteria for eligibility under
the financial
fisheries guidance,
hereinafter referred to as ‘FIFG' and, if necessary,
adjust
the upper limit on the relevant eligible
expenditure;

instrument

for

(5) Whereas a specific number of fishing vessels flying
the Spanish, French, Irish, Italian and United
Kingdom flags are affected by the ban on fishing
with drift nets imposed by Regulation (EC) No
1239/98; whereas on 28 April 1997 the Council
adopted Decision 97/292/EC on a specific measure
to encourage Italian fishermen to diversify out of
certain fishing activities (5); whereas there is there-
fore no need to adopt a new specific measure for
the said Italian fishermen; whereas, however, for
the sake of clarity,
that Decision should be
amended to list the cases where aid may be cumu-
lated;

(6) Whereas most of the possible measures fall within
the scope of the FIFG as laid down by Council
Regulation (EC) No 3699/93 of 21 December 1993

(5) OJ L 121, 13. 5. 1997, p. 20.

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and

down the

laying
arrangements
criteria
regarding Community structural assistance in the
fisheries and aquaculture sector and the processing
and marketing of its products (1); whereas they will
be financed from the FIFG following normal
procedures;

(7) Whereas the Member States who wish to avail
themselves of the specific measures proposed must
draw up conversion plans for this purpose;

(8) Whereas, so as to ensure that compensation is
granted only to fishermen and owners of vessels
whose income depends on fishing with drift nets as
banned by the Council, it must be specified that
the fishermen and vessels concerned must have
practised these activities in 1995, 1996 or 1997;
whereas provision should also be made for effective
variation in the
compensation
amounts
depending in particular on the extent to which
these activities are actually practised, the cost of
conversion and the age of the vessels;

of

(9) Whereas the authorities of

financial

than that provided for under

the Member States
concerned must ensure, when implementing their
conversion plan, that beneficiaries may not receive
this
aid other
Decision nor obtain other
incentives
which would not be justified; whereas in particular,
rules should be laid down governing cumulation
provided for by this specific measure with aid paid
before 1998 pursuant to Council Regulation (EEC)
No 4028/86 of 18 December 1986 on Community
measures to improve and adapt structures in the
fisheries and aquaculture sector (2) or Regulation
(EC) No 3699/93;

(10) Whereas

the final date for

implementing this
specific measure must not be later than the date on
which the ban on fishing with drift nets comes into
force; whereas in any case the commitment by the
Member States of the necessary financial means up
until 31 December 1999, and booking of
the
expenditure up until 31 December 2001, are
compatible with the Structural Funds’ regulations,

(1) OJ L 346, 31. 12. 1993, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by

Regulation (EC) No 25/97 (OJ L 6, 10. 1. 1997, p. 7).

(2) OJ L 376, 31. 12. 1986, p. 7. Regulation as last amended by
Regulation (EC) No 3944/90 (OJ L 380, 31. 12. 1990, p. 1).

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

1.
In connection with the ban on fishing with drift nets
laid down by Regulation (EC) No 894/97, Member States
availing themselves of the specific measure provided for
in paragraph 2 shall draw up a conversion plan and
communicate it to the Commission. The conversion plans
shall be examined by the monitoring committees for the
programmes referred to in Article 5(2) of this Decision.

2.
To implement the plans referred to in paragraph 1, a
specific measure shall be established to grant aid to fish-
ermen and owners of vessels under the conditions laid
down in Articles 2 to 6 of this Decision.

Article 2

Fishermen who are nationals of a Member State and
worked in 1995, 1996 or 1997 on board a fishing vessel
flying the Spanish, French, Irish or United Kingdom flag,
using one or more drift nets intended for the capture of
the species listed in Annex VIII to Regulation (EC) No
894/97, may receive:

(a) an individual compensatory payment of up to a
maximum of ECU 50 000 if they cease all economic
activity before 1 January 2002; this payment:

(i) may be cumulated with benefits from early-retire-
ment schemes provided for by the legislation of
the Member State concerned, including when the
early-retirement
scheme in question is part-
financed by the FIFG pursuant to Article 14a(3)(a)
of Regulation (EC) No 3699/93;

(ii) may not be cumulated with the individual
compensatory payment provided for in Article
14a(3)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 3699/93;

(b) an individual compensatory payment of up to a
maximum of ECU 20 000, in the case of conversion
to another fishing activity or another sector before 1
January 2002. This payment may be cumulated with
the individual compensatory payment pursuant
to
Article 14a(3)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 3699/93 and,
if appropriate, with the aid provided for in Title III of
that Regulation.

Article 3

Owners of a fishing vessel flying the Spanish, French,
Irish or United Kingdom flag, which have used one or
more drift nets intended for the capture of the species
listed in Annex VIII to Regulation (EC) No 894/97 in
1995, 1996 or 1997, may obtain for those vessels:

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(a) a compensatory payment of an amount up to the
maximum listed in Annex I to this Decision, for the
permanent cessation of all fishing activity before 1
January 2002; this payment:

(i) may be cumulated with aid for the permanent
in

cessation of
Article 8 of Regulation (EC) No 3699/93;

fishing activities provided for

(ii) may be granted only if the vessel concerned is

more than 10 years old;

(b) a compensatory payment of an amount up to the
maximum listed in Annex I to this Decision, in the
case of permanent conversion to another
fishing
activity before 1 January 2002; this payment may be
cumulated with aid for the modernisation of the vessel
provided for in Article 10 of Regulation (EC) No
3699/93 which would be granted in 1998 or in 1999,
under the conditions for derogation laid down in
Annex II to this Decision. The amount of
this
payment shall be deducted pro rata temporis from
any aid for permanent transfer to a third country or
for setting up joint enterprises under Articles 8 and 9
of Regulation (EC) No 3699/93 granted for the same
vessel within the following five years.

Article 4

1. Member States shall restrict benefit of the measures
laid down in Articles 2 and 3 to fishermen and owners of
vessels who prove that they will actually suffer loss as a
result of the ban on fishing referred to in Article 1(1).

2. When establishing the actual individual amount of
the payments provided for in Articles 2 and 3, Member
States shall take particular account of:

(a)

the actual extent of use by the beneficiaries (fishermen
and owners of vessels), during the reference period, of
the drift nets covered by the ban referred to in Article
1(1);

(b) the cost of conversion;

(c) the age of the vessels.

Article 5

1.
The public financial contribution, including that of
the Community, to measures pursuant to this Decision
shall cover all eligible costs up to the maximum amounts
laid down in Articles 2 and 3.

2.
to a
The Community contribution may amount
maximum of 50 % of eligible costs incurred by the
Member States. It may not exceed the funding limits for
the Member States concerned under the 1994 to 1999
Structural Fund programmes (Community support frame-

works, operational programmes and single programming
documents for Structural Fund Objectives 1 and 5a).

the
Save as otherwise provided in this Decision,
3.
payments provided for in Articles 2 and 3 shall be subject
to the conditions governing the programmes referred to
in paragraph 2; they must therefore be the subject of
legally binding commitments
in the Member States
concerned for which the requisite finance must be specif-
ically committed no later than 31 December 1999. The
final date for booking expenditure on these measures
shall be 31 December 2001.

Article 6

Without prejudice to other provisions applicable and in
particular those of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93
of 12 October 1993 establishing a control system applic-
able to the common fisheries policy (1), the authorities of
the Member States concerned shall send the Commission
each year, at the latest by 1 April for the previous year, a
report on the implementation of the conversion plan
referred to in Article 1. They shall adopt the necessary
compensatory
provisions
payments and aid not expressly authorised by this
Decision and any grant of compensatory payments and
aid not justified.

cumulation of

to prevent

Article 7

Decision 97/292/EC is hereby amended as follows:

1.

(a)

in Article 1(a), the terms ‘on 22 July 1996' shall be
replaced by ‘in 1995, 1996 or 1997';

(b) in the Annex, the title ‘ANNEX' shall be replaced

by ‘ANNEX I' ;

2. Article 1(b) and (c) shall be replaced by the following:

‘(b) to vessel owners who have undertaken to cease
definitively all fishing activity. The aid shall be as
set out in Table A in Annex I. This aid:

(i) may be cumulated with aid for the permanent
cessation of fishing activities provided for in
Article 8 of Regulation (EC) No 3699/93.
However, point 1.1(a) of Annex III to that
Regulation shall not apply;

(ii) may be granted only if the vessel concerned is

more than 10 years old;

(1) OJ L 261, 20. 10. 1993, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by
Regulation (EC) No 2635/97 (OJ L 356, 31. 12. 1997, p. 14).

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(c) to vessel owners who have undertaken to diversify
definitively towards another fishing activity. The
premium for diversifying shall be as set out in
Table B in Annex I. This premium may be cumu-
lated with aid for the modernisation of the vessel
provided for in Article 10 of Regulation (EC) No
3699/93 granted in 1998 or 1999 under the condi-
tions for derogation provided for in Annex II. The
amount of this aid shall be deducted pro rata
temporis from any aid for permanent transfer to a
third country or for setting up joint enterprises
pursuant to Articles 8 and 9 of Regulation (EC) No
3699/93 granted for the same vessel within the
following five years.';

3. the following Annex shall be added:

‘ANNEX II

Notwithstanding the conditions laid down in Annex
IV to Regulation (EC) No 3699/93, the aid for the

modernisation of vessels in receipt of the diversifica-
tion premium provided for in Article 1(c) of
this
Decision shall be amended as follows: in point 1.4
(scales of assistance relating to fishing fleets — mod-
ernisation aid), the maximum of 50 % shall be re-
placed by 75 %.'

Article 8

This Decision is addressed to the Kingdom of Spain, the
French Republic, Ireland, the Italian Republic and the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Done at Brussels, 17 December 1998.

For the Council

The President
W. MOLTERER

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ANNEX I

MAXIMUM PAYMENTS FOR VESSELS (ECU)

Tonnage class
GT (1)

Compensatory payment for the permanent cessa-
tion of all fishing activity
(Article 3(a))

Compensatory payment for permanent
conversion to another fishing activity
(Article 3(b))

: 5

5 : 10

10 : 20

20 : 40

40 : 50

50 : 60

60 : 70

70 : 80

; 80

26 000

70 000

104 000

120 000

156 000

190 000

225 000

260 000

295 000

16 000

60 000

94 000

110 000

146 000

180 000

215 000

250 000

285 000

(1) If the tonnage in GT is unavailable, an estimated value will be determined in accordance with Council Regulation (EEC) No
2930/86 of 22 September 1986 defining characteristics for fishing vessels (OJ L 274, 25. 9. 1986, p. 1), as last amended by
Regulation (EC) No 3259/94 (OJ L 339, 29. 12. 1994, p. 11), and with Commission Decisions 95/84/EC of 20 March 1995
(OJ L 67, 25. 3. 1995, p. 33) and 97/259/EC of 1 April 1997 (OJ L 104, 22. 4. 1997, p. 28).

ANNEX II

Notwithstanding the conditions laid down in Annex IV to Regulation (EC) No 3699/93, the aid for the
modernisation of vessels in receipt of the compensatory payment provided for in Article 3(b) of this Decision
shall be amended as follows:

(a)

in point 1.4 (scales of assistance relating to fishing fleets — modernisation aid), the maximum of 50 %
shall be replaced by 75 %;

(b) opposite ‘Other regions' in the column headed ‘Group 1' of Table 3 in point 2.1 (participation rates —
investments in enterprises), the 60 % minimum financial participation by private beneficiaries (C) shall be
replaced by 40 %.