WRITTEN QUESTION E-0215/01 by Catherine Stihler (PSE) to the Council. CFP and integration.
Date: 2001-02-05
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU programme, biodiversity, common fisheries policy, conservation of fish stocks, environmental protection, sustainable development

C 235 E/148

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

21.8.2001

(2001/C 235 E/172)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0215/01

by Catherine Stihler (PSE) to the Council

(5 February 2001)

Subject: CFP and integration

is requested to produce a strategy on integrating environment and sustainable
The Fisheries Council
development into the Common Fisheries Policy. A comprehensive strategy is due to be submitted before
the Gothenburg summit in June 2001, as part of the so-called Cardiff integration process. How is the
Council intending to fulfil this request given the apparently limited progress to date?

Joint answer
to Written Questions E-0182/01 and E-0215/01

(14 May 2001)

The Council submitted to the European Council at Santa Maria da Feira (June 2000) a report on
1.
(cid:145)Integrating environmental issues and sustainable development into the Common Fisheries Policy(cid:146), respond-
ing to the Cologne European Council(cid:146)s invitation. This report was mainly descriptive: it presented the legal
framework of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) with respect to the integration issue, the existing
instruments and the results obtained.

2.
Though not yet setting out an integration strategy, the Feira report constituted the first step in the
definition of the sectoral strategy as requested by the Helsinki European Council. Noting that the CFP
(cid:145)objectives of protecting the marine environment while at the same time managing the use of living marine
resources responsibly in order to ensure that they remain sustainable have been only partially achieved(cid:146), it
concluded that (cid:145)endeavours to integrate environmental requirements into fisheries policy must therefore be
continued and stepped up(cid:146).

3.
The Feira report also referred to the CFP review in 2002, which will (cid:145)provide an opportunity for an
in-depth debate on all questions related to the integration of fisheries and environmental policies(cid:146) and
(cid:145)enable appropriate adjustments to be made to the CFP, as required for such integration in accordance with
the integration strategy requested by the Helsinki European Council for June 2001.(cid:146)

The Council bodies are at present in the process of drawing up draft Council conclusions on
in the Common Fisheries Policy, which are

4.
environmental
intended to respond to the request for an integration strategy by the June deadline.

integration and sustainable development

5.
It should be noted, however, that the Commission is expected to submit shortly to the Council and
the European Parliament a number of important documents which will be relevant for a sectoral strategy.

It has not been possible therefore at this stage to take into consideration these documents which are:

(cid:129) the (cid:145)Green Paper(cid:146) on the reform of the CFP;

(cid:129) the Communication on elements of a strategy for the integration of environmental protection

requirements into the CFP;

(cid:129) the Action Plan for biodiversity (chapter on fisheries).

6.
The contribution which will be provided in this context will still need a thorough examination in the
Council and should play an important role in the implementation of a comprehensive integration strategy
following the European Council meeting in G(cid:246)teborg on 15 and 16 June 2001.