Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on '2002: The Common Fisheries Policy and the fisheries situation in the European Union'
Date: 2000-07-12
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: European Union, common fisheries policy, conservation of fish stocks, fishery management, fishing area, fishing regulations

19.9.2000

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 268/39

Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on ‘2002: The Common Fisheries Policy and the
fisheries situation in the European Union’

(2000/C 268/10)

On 21 October 1999 the Economic and Social Committee, acting under Rule 23(3) of its Rules of
Procedure, decided to draw up an own-initiative opinion on 2002: The Common Fisheries Policy and the
fisheries situation in the European Union.

The Section for Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment, which was responsible for
preparing the Committee’s work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 21 June 2000. The rapporteur
was Mr Chagas.

At its 374th plenary session (meeting of 12 July 2000), the Economic and Social Committee adopted the
following opinion by 34 votes to three, with nine abstentions.

1.

Introduction

2. General comments

in difficulty. Year by year,

Despite all the efforts made, the fisheries sector is
1.1.
clearly still
jobs are lost, the
workforce becomes progressively older, and the problems
facing many fisheries-dependent regions worsen. Overall econ-
omic indicators must be kept up to date, facilitating studies on
the socio-economic situation of fisheries-dependent regions in
the various Member States.

Since 1973 the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) has
1.2.
gradually tried to adopt a more comprehensive and consistent
approach. Unfortunately, it has not always succeeded. Lack of
political commitment has meant that — quite apart from the
number of failures there have been — a number of short-
comings have also persisted for many years.

1.3.
The start of the new millennium provides a good
opportunity to review the whole structure of the CFP. The aim
should be to ensure sustainable activity, guaranteed supply,
continuing employment and the survival of fisheries-depen-
dent communities, which is after all one of the objectives of
the CFP. The objectives enshrined in the Treaty — namely,
improvement of incomes and upward harmonisation of social
conditions — must also be borne in mind.

The Committee will conduct its analysis not only with
1.4.
a view to the main decisions to be taken in 2002, under
Articles 6 and 7 of Regulation (EEC) No 3760/92; it will also
consider the EU fisheries situation, the future of the CFP, the
adjustments to be made to its various strands and to the
approach to be used to tackle the problems facing the sector,
and how the requisite changes can be brought about.

Regulation (EEC) No 3760/92 (1) stipulates that the
2.1.
Commission is to submit a report on the EU fisheries sector to
the European Parliament and the Council by 31 December
2001. The regulation also states that, by 31 December 2002,
the Council must decide on the main adjustments to be made
regarding the access of fishing vessels from other Member
States to the 6-12 mile coastal band, access to the protected
‘Shetland Box’, and the access of countries which have joined
the EU since 1985 to the North Sea fishing grounds.

2.2.
Under the terms of Article 6 of the regulation, if the
Council does not adopt a decision by 31 December 2002, the
6-12 mile limit will cease to apply.

2.3.
If no decision is taken regarding access to the Shetland
Box and access to the North Sea fishing grounds for the new
Member States, access to these areas will remain unchanged.

3. Access to fishing grounds and resources

3.1. The 12-mile band

3.1.1.
In accordance with the rights and obligations
enshrined in the Treaties establishing the European Com-
munity, equal access to fishery resources in the waters coming
under the sovereignty or jurisdiction of the Member States is a
basic principle of the CFP.

3.1.2.
The Community provisions limiting such access are
an exception to the principle of equal access to resources,
which derives from the general principle of equal treatment or
non-discrimination. These provisions are justified by the
depletion of stocks and the need to promote their replenish-
ment, or at least to prevent them disappearing entirely.

(1) Articles 6 and 7 — OJ L 389, 21.12.1992.

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3.1.3.
CFP legislation is the fruit of successive EU enlarge-
ments and has involved tough and protracted diplomatic
negotiations. Changes to this legislation have been imposed by
economic and political developments and by alterations to the
international sea-fisheries regime.

3.1.11.
In future the CFP must take even greater account of
the special nature of fishery activity, its social structure and its
special relationship both with the region in which it takes
place and with that region’s economic fabric. Fishery regions
and their social partners should be more closely involved in
the Community decisions which affect them.

3.1.4.
The initial idea that the 12-mile coastal bands should
be reserved, by way of derogation, for local and inshore
fishing was finally accommodated in the conservation and
management policy established per Community regulation (1),
which considered the matter an absolute priority.

3.1.5.
The derogation from free access to the coastal band
was introduced in 1972 (2) and has since been extended. It has
been widely supported both by the Member States and by the
sector itself.

3.1.6.
In the current situation, the possibility of allowing
access to waters within the 12-mile band raises huge legal
problems and is a highly sensitive matter, with extremely
serious economic implications for many regions.

3.1.7.
Access has hitherto been restricted because of the
need to protect traditional fishing activity by coastal communi-
ties, thereby also recognising their rights and duties with
regard to the resources in their area. As long ago as 1964 (3),
international law recognised the legitimacy of reserving coastal
bands for local communities.

3.1.8.
Application of the principle of equal access from
2002 would be highly disruptive, and would have unforesee-
able consequences not only politically, but also from an
economic and social standpoint.

the legal

Potential investors and the sector as a whole need
3.1.12.
advance notice of
framework and the criteria
governing the sector’s development. The CFP must focus on
long-term development strategies and a more comprehensive
and holistic approach, in order to guarantee the sector’s socio-
economic stability.

3.1.13.
Hitherto, measures restricting access to coastal areas
and their resources, whether for political reasons or for the
sake of conservation, have in effect formed a temporary
derogation from the principle of equal access. Some way of
finding a global solution to these problems must be found.

Given the current situation of the Community
3.1.14.
fisheries sector, and the risks which the sector would face if
the 12-mile derogation were ended, the derogation should
become permanent.

3.1.15.
The outermost island regions already suffer serious
problems as a result of their geographic location. In order to
safeguard the traditional activity of local fishing communities
in these regions, and in view of the fact that in some cases the
bulk of resources are found outside the 12-mile band, thought
should be given to the possibility of extending the reserved
zone (or taking other measures to achieve the same end), so
that these communities can exercise their activity in full as
otherwise the aim of benefiting the local population will not
be achieved.

3.1.9.
The adoption of such a measure would seriously
upset the economic and social fabric of certain communities
in the most fisheries-dependent regions. It would have grave
consequences for the state of resources which are already
depleted, as some Member States’ fleets would inevitably
switch their fishing effort drastically to certain more productive
fishing grounds.

3.2. Relative stability

3.1.10.
It is fully agreed that the way to meet the CFP’s
objectives is to maintain resources by securing a balance
between these resources and the means used to catch them.

3.2.1.
The principle of stability is enshrined in Article 4 of
Regulation (EEC) No 170/83. Its purpose is to ensure the
balanced exploitation of marine resources while helping to
safeguard the stability of
fishing activities, particularly in
regions where local populations are especially dependent on
fisheries and related industries.

(1) Regulation (EEC) No 170/83 — OJ L 24, 27.1.1983.
(2) Extended to 12 miles by Regulation (EEC) No 170/83 (OJ L 24,

27.1.1983).

(3) London Convention.

3.2.2. With a view to ensuring relative stability for the
fishing activities in each Member State, it was found necessary
to introduce a system of total allowable catches (TAC) which
are distributed on a quota basis between Member States.

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3.2.3.
The indirect limitation of fishing effort by means of
TACs and quotas depends very much on the degree to which
the system is respected. Compliance can only be ensured by
effective monitoring, and at present this is far from being the
case.

3.4. Access to North Sea fishing grounds

3.4.1.
Under the accession agreements, vessels from Fin-
land, Portugal, Spain and Sweden are excluded from North Sea
fishing grounds until 31 December 2002.

3.2.4.
This principle is well respected because it is closely
bound up with the balanced management of fishery resources
and the stability of fishing activities, and with the particular
needs of regions whose population is especially dependent on
fisheries.

In the wake of these accession agreements,

3.4.2.
the
position of each of these Member States is somewhat different,
as are the interests which will be at stake after 2002.

3.2.5.
There is also general acceptance of the principle of
relative stability, which assigns a fixed percentage of catches to
each Member State, subject to the biological situation of
stocks.

3.4.3.
Given that access to most North Sea resources is
already clearly regulated, there seems little point in continuing
this denial of access, provided that its impact on resources is
checked.

3.2.6. Whilst not calling this principle into question, the
method used for applying it should be reviewed jointly with
the sector. The breakdown of quotas between Member States
has remained unchanged for a number of years, and some
quotas are not being used. The system should be revised to
reflect this changed situation in order to make it fairer and
more in keeping with its purpose.

3.3. Shetland Box

The institutionalisation of

3.3.1.
technical management
measures to protect resources, by creating closed areas (boxes),
closed seasons or similar measures,
is right and proper.
Experience has shown that such measures play an important
role in preventing over-fishing and depletion of stocks.

However, for such measures to be credible, they
3.3.2.
must be backed by scientific opinions demonstrating that they
are biologically necessary.

3.3.3.
In these circumstances it is important that they be of
limited duration, i.e. that they only apply for a specified period.

3.3.4.
In the case of the Shetland Box, the restrictions are
controversial because the evidence in support of the claim that
the restrictions are necessary on biological grounds is not
entirely clear.

3.3.5.
The decision on whether to retain or scrap the
Shetland Box provides a good opportunity for a scientific
assessment of the results which this measure has achieved, and
of its biological value for the future.

4.

Final comments

4.1.
The need to draw up a report on the EU fisheries
situation appears to have prompted the Commission to
consider more issues than it is due to consider under Regu-
lation (EEC) No 3760/92.

4.2.
This is to be welcomed, as it betokens a political will
to get to the bottom of these issues, by considering the outlook
and presenting appropriate measures for establishing the
foundations for a forward-looking CFP.

4.3.
The Committee hopes that this will indeed prove the
case. The Committee would like to contribute to the debate on
the future of the CFP and the framework for a new CFP in the
new millennium.

4.4.
The issues raised in the present opinion are closely
interlinked, and they all prompt further questions and ideas
and suggest possible new approaches. Further discussion of
them is vital, but unfortunately they cannot be fully addressed
in the present opinion.

4.5. Many important strands of the CFP are closely bound
up with the issues raised in the present opinion, and are of
great topical interest. They span resource conservation and
management, research policy, TACs and quotas, structural
policy, multiannual guidance programmes, monitoring and
controls, social policy, the common market organisation,
product safety, and so on. However, discussion of them will
have to wait until a better opportunity presents itself.

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4.6.
The need for a more effective CFP, and the future
development of the sector within an ever growing market,
presuppose a change in strategy. This will mean reconsidering
the role of the sector’s various operators, sharing responsibiliti-

es between all the relevant players, simplifying legislation and
making it more transparent, and rigorously upholding the
measures proposed.

Brussels, 12 July 2000.

The President

of the Economic and Social Committee

Beatrice RANGONI MACHIAVELLI

Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the ‘Proposal for a Council Directive
amending Directive 68/193/EEC on the marketing of material for vegetative propagation of the
vine’

(2000/C 268/11)

On 18 February 2000 the Council asked the Economic and Social Committee, under Article 37 of the
Treaty establishing the European Community, for an opinion on the above-mentioned proposal.

The Section for Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment, which was instructed to prepare
the Committee’s work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 21 June 2000. The rapporteur was Mr
Sabin.

At its 374th plenary session held on 12 and 13 July 2000 (meeting of 13 July), the Economic and Social
Committee (ESC) adopted the opinion set out below, with 65 votes in favour and one abstention.

1.

Introduction

1.1.
The ESC welcomes the proposed amending Directive,
subject to the comments listed below. It follows with interest
the development of rules on the possible use of biotechnologi-
es, particularly in the wine-growing sector. The production of
material for the vegetative propagation of the vine is the first
stage in the wine-growing process. The ESC highlights the
strong cultural connotation of wine in the EU Member States.
This being the case, the ESC urges that application of the new
principles of health safety policy take account of the specific
features of this sector.

2.

Background and the main changes introduced by the
proposal

2.1.
Directive 68/193/EEC on the marketing of material for
the vegetative propagation of the vine was introduced into
Community legislation in 1968 and has been amended several
times, particularly on the occasion of the accession of new
Member States. The proposed changes relate purely to the text
of the Directive; the amendment of the annexes is referred to
in the Standing Committee on Seeds and Propagating Material
for Agriculture, Horticulture and Forestry.

2.2.
In the wine-growing sector, national exemptions in
respect of the marketing of material for the vegetative propa-
gation of the vine are currently designed to improve implemen-
tation of the vineyard quality policy. Possible exemptions thus
relate to marketing:

— previously existing propagating materials intended for

use in basic propagating materials,

— propagating materials intended for trials and rootstock

cuttings.

2.2.1.
Admission of varieties and certification of propagat-
ing materials are a matter of national responsibility. The
Standing Committee on Seeds and Propagating Material for
Agriculture, Horticulture and Forestry is responsible for:

— setting minimum conditions for admitting varieties

(determination of assessment criteria),

— stipulating labelling arrangements and sealing batches,

— validating methods for improving the certification of

propagating materials.