WRITTEN QUESTION E-1671/99 by Arlindo Cunha (PPE-DE) to the Commission. EC-Greenland Fisheries Protocol.
Date: 1999-09-22
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Greenland, agreement (EU), fishing agreement, protocol to an agreement

18.7.2000

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 203 E/19

(2000/C 203 E/024)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1671/99

by Arlindo Cunha (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(22 September 1999)

Subject: EC-Greenland Fisheries Protocol

The Third Fisheries Protocol between the European Community and Denmark and the Greenland Local
Government, which came into force into 1985 and which was extended for six years after an initial ten-
year period, lays down the terms and conditions governing fishing activities by Community vessels in the
waters off Greenland,
its period of
applicability, from 1 January 1995 to 31 December 2000.

in particular the Community(cid:146)s catch quotas for each year of

Could the Commission say what fishing possibilities are available to Community vessels under the above-
mentioned Fisheries Protocol and to what extent they have been used by the Community since 1985 to
the present day?

(2000/C 203 E/025)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1672/99

by Arlindo Cunha (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(22 September 1999)

Subject: EC-Greenland Fisheries Protocol

In view of the fact that, under the Third Fisheries Protocol with Greenland, the European Community(cid:146)s
annual fishing possibilities are systematically underused by Germany (the main beneficiary Member State),
what is the Commission intending to do in order to make the most of what are valuable fisheries resources
in non-Community waters and ones which make the agreement with Greenland the most expensive of all
the Community(cid:146)s fisheries agreements?

Joint answer
to Written Questions E-1669/99, E-1670/99, E-1671/99 and E-1672/99
given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(9 November 1999)

Both the 1985 (cid:145)Agreement on fisheries between the European Economic Community, on the one hand,
and the Government of Denmark and the local Government of Greenland, on the other(cid:146) as well as the
current Third Protocol covering the period 1995 to 2000 will expire on 31 December 2000. However, the
1985 Agreement will be renewed automatically for an additional period of six years (i.e. for the period
2001 to 2006) if no notice of termination is given at least nine months prior to the expiry of the current
period (i.e. prior to 31 March 2000). In this case, it would suffice to negotiate a successor protocol laying
down the catch quotas and the financial compensation for the additional period in question.

In view of these deadlines, a process of exploratory talks with Greenland, with the Member States as well
as within the Commission, has already been started. This process has, however, not yet reached a stage
which would allow the Commission to specify the possible form and contents of the instrument which will
govern fisheries relations between the Community and Greenland in the period following 31 December
2000.

Documentary material giving detailed information on both the catch quotas agreed under the three
protocols with Greenland for each of the periods 1985 to 1989, 1990 to 1994 and 1995 to 2000 as
well as the corresponding catches of the Member States concerned is sent direct to the Honourable
Member and to Parliament(cid:146)s Secretariat.

Under-utilisation of catch quotas in Greenland waters is a complex phenomenon which was already
observed in the period of the first protocol and which has persisted ever since. The main reason for this is
biological. In view of this complexity, the Court of justice ruled, in its judgement given on 13 October
1992 in Case C-63/90, Portugal v. Council, that under the principle of (cid:145)relative stability(cid:146), under-utilisation
alone offers no valid motive for a re-allocation of the catch quotas concerned to other interested Member
States.