WRITTEN QUESTION E-2877/00 by Camilo Nogueira Román (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. Merger of the publicly-owned shipyards Bazán and Astilleros Españoles and reauthorisation of Astano to construct merchant vessels.
Date: 2000-09-14
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Spain, control of State aid, merger, merger control, public sector, shipbuilding

8.5.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 136 E/119

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(13 October 2000)

The Commission is aware of the long-standing quest by the Galician ship-owners for additional cod
quotas. While the Commission has a variety of
the
Commission has not engaged in any negotiations with private parties on this issue.

informal contacts with sector representatives,

The Commission tabled in Council a recommendation for a negotiating mandate for a fisheries co-
operation agreement with Russia. However, in view of political developments in Russia and other reasons,
Council has not yet reached a decision on this issue.

It is highly unlikely that Iceland would grant a cod quota to Community vessels. The only species covered
by the existing agreement with the Community is redfish.

The Commission has sought repeatedly additional quotas of cod and other species for Spain and other
Member States in the framework of various agreements. However, the need to maintain relative stability
and the precarious state of many stocks make this goal very difficult to fulfil.

(2001/C 136 E/136)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2877/00

by Camilo Nogueira RomÆn (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(14 September 2000)

Subject: Merger of the publicly-owned shipyards BazÆn and Astilleros Espaæoles and reauthorisation of

Astano to construct merchant vessels

The chairman of the Spanish public body Sociedad Estatal de Participaciones Industriales (SEPI), an
organisation grouping publicly owned undertakings, recently announced the decision to merge two
enterprises, namely BazÆn, a constructor of military vessels whose main shipyard is in El Ferrol (Galicia),
and Astilleros Espaæoles, a constructor of merchant vessels of which the Astano shipyard, also in El Ferrol,
is a branch. The chairman of SEPI justified this decision on the grounds that BazÆn has a large number of
orders while the other enterprise does not; he also invoked the need to respond to competition from
Korea, in the light of the circumstances which will soon prevail following the EU(cid:146)s decision to abolish state
aid.

This decision by SEPI, which, its chairman appears to believe, is unlikely to meet opposition from the
Commission on grounds of competition guarantees, has created a new situation, which should logically
lead to the lifting of the ban on vessel construction which Astano has been labouring under for some
years. This ban has caused a considerable economic depression in El Ferrol.

In view of all the above circumstances, does the Commission intend to facilitate the merger on the terms
proposed? Will the Commission lift the ban on vessel construction by Astano, while also continuing to
authorise it to construct off-shore naval installations, in which it has achieved a widely recognised level of
specialisation?

Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission

(11 October 2000)

The recently announced merger of the military yards of Bazan and the merchant shipyards of Astilleros
Espaæoles has not been notified to the Commission. The Commission has asked Spain to provide all
relevant information about the operation in order that the Commission can assess whether any state aid is
involved and, if so, whether this is compatible with the state aid rules for shipbuilding that apply.

C 136 E/120

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

8.5.2001

As the Commission has explained in several replies to previous similar questions by the Honourable
Member (E-94/00 (1) and E-660/00 (2)), the merger can have no impact on the current limitations on the
activities of the Astano yard. The continued closure of the yard to shipbuilding was a key condition of
substantial state aids for the publicly-owned merchant shipyards in Spain approved by the Commission in
1997. This condition must continue to be respected.

(1) OJ C 280 E, 3.10.2000, p. 176.
(2) OJ C 26 E, 26.1.2001, p. 84.

(2001/C 136 E/137)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2879/00

by Camilo Nogueira RomÆn (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(14 September 2000)

Subject: Renewal of the fisheries agreement with Morocco

The Spanish media have recently reported that Commission sources have admitted that no timetable has
been established for negotiating a new fisheries agreement with Morocco, while also pointing out that this
agreement is crucial, in the Spanish state, for the future of a fleet of 415 vessels providing 4 000 direct
jobs in Galicia, Andalusia and the Canaries. Meanwhile, Spanish society and, in particular, the society of
Galicia (represented by the author of this question) are looking on with astonishment at the reprehensible
silence of the EU and Spanish authorities in the face of evidence that large vessels from Member States
such the Netherlands and Ireland, benefiting from private contracts and licences from Moroccan bodies,
have been replacing the vessels covered by the EU-Morocco agreements and catching a whole range of fish
which are out of bounds to undertakings complying with EU law, and are even planning to construct large
freezer trawlers in the Canaries for the fish thus obtained. One Galician media report claims that the EU
supertrawlers fishing in those waters have caught 100 000 tons of fish, a figure exceeding the entire catch
total for the same period under the previous EU-Morocco agreement.

Given that the previous agreement expired in November 1999 and that nine months of uncertainty have
passed since, does the Commission not believe that it is time for the European institutions to take a clear
and definite public stand in order to resolve this serious problem? Considering that no less a matter than
the democratic credibility of the Community institutions is at stake, how does the Commission intend to
put an end to the unacceptable situation created by vessels from some Community Member States fishing
in sub-Saharan waters while vessels from Galicia, the Canaries and Andalusia, as well as those from other
Member States such as Portugal, are prevented from doing so?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(16 October 2000)

The position of the Commission towards the future fisheries relations with Morocco remains the same as
expressed in the negotiating mandate approved unanimously by the Council in October 1999.

As the Honourable Member is aware, the Commission has been active at all levels during the last months
to initiate the negotiations as soon as possible. There have been several political meetings with the
Moroccan government on this subject, while technical meetings
July
and September 2000. The Commission will keep the Parliament fully informed about the development of
its contacts with Moroccan authorities.

took place at

the end of

Concerning the question of the Community vessels currently operating in Moroccan waters, the Commis-
sion can confirm that it has been aware of these activities since the first months of 2000. It should be
noted that the vessels in question do not target the species traditionally fished by Community vessels.