WRITTEN QUESTION P-0672/01 by Astrid Thors (ELDR) to the Commission. Dealing with the cormorant problem.
Date: 2001-02-26
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Baltic Sea, bird, degradation of the environment, derogation from EU law, protected species, protection of animal life

21.8.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 235 E/235

(2001/C 235 E/277)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0671/01

by Daniel Varela Suanzes-Carpegna (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(26 February 2001)

Subject: Fishing licence fees in international fisheries agreements concluded by the EU

Is the Commission aware of

1.
the contribution that Community shipowners make towards EU
development cooperation policy through the payment of fishing licence fees under fisheries agreements
between the EU and developing countries? Does it take this contribution into account in setting the
amount to be paid by Community shipowners for licences in the agreements in which they participate?

Is it aware that the so-called northern agreements contribute little or nothing towards development
2.
cooperation and poverty alleviation, and that any licence fees included therein are lower in comparison
with those in the southern agreements? What does the Commission make of this situation?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(26 March 2001)

1.
The Commission is aware that, in addition to the financial compensation paid by the Community,
fisheries agreements bring additional revenue from fees paid by shipowners to the coastal States concerned.
The Commission accordingly bears both financial components in mind when negotiating the renewal of
protocols on their expiry.

As to whether fees paid by shipowners contribute towards the development of developing coastal States,
the Commission would point out that, by contrast with an increasingly large percentage of the compensa-
tion paid from the Community budget (targeted measures), the existing agreements make no provision for
such revenue to be earmarked for measures specifically benefiting the fisheries sector of the partner
country. This revenue does comply with Article 62(4) of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the
Sea, under which coastal States can issue licences to fishermen or for ships and fishing gear, in particular
against payment for rights or any other compensation which, in the case of developing coastal States, may
consist in a contribution to the financing and technical resources of the fishing industry.

The Commission is also aware of the differences in treatment between agreements with (cid:145)northern(cid:146)
2.
countries and those with (cid:145)southern(cid:146) countries. There are,
in its view, substantial differences between
(cid:145)northern(cid:146) and (cid:145)southern(cid:146) partners in terms of both needs and development. It must accordingly adapt the
instruments linking the Community and certain coastal States in bilateral or multilateral relations, paying
due regard to the differences and the issues at stake. In so doing, the Community has never raised the need
to contribute, through its fishing agreements, to the fight against poverty in some of its (cid:145)northern(cid:146) partners,
but it strives to do so with some of its (cid:145)southern(cid:146) partners.

In its Green Paper on the future of the Common Fisheries Policy, the Commission recognised the
dichotomy that the Honourable Member refers to and it proposed to adapt its external policy accordingly.

(2001/C 235 E/278)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0672/01

by Astrid Thors (ELDR) to the Commission

(26 February 2001)

Subject: Dealing with the cormorant problem

In some Baltic areas flocks of cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo) have become a real nuisance, driving out
other species and in many cases killing off plant life where they have passed. Nevertheless, action against

C 235 E/236

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

21.8.2001

these flocks has not been permitted, for example in Finland; some bodies and authorities maintain that
cormorants are protected by EU directives.

What is the Commission(cid:146)s view on this? What action is permissible and how can the damage caused by
cormorants be reduced?

Answer given by Mrs Wallstr(cid:246)m on behalf of the Commission

(3 April 2001)

The cormorant is a naturally occurring bird species, and as such is covered by the Council Directive 79/
409 EEC of 2 April 1979 on the conservation of wild birds (1), the Birds Directive. In 1997 this species
was removed from the list of birds subject to special conservation measures of Annex I of this Directive
because it was no longer considered to have an unfavourable conservation status.

As the cormorant is not included in the lists of huntable bird species of the Birds Directive (Annexes II/1
and II/2), Member States have to protect it like most naturally occurring species, prohibiting for example
deliberate killing or capture, destruction of or damage to their nests and eggs, and deliberate disturbance
especially during the breeding period.

However, Member States may derogate from these strict protection provisions to prevent serious damage
to fisheries and water and for the protection of flora and fauna where no other satisfactory solution exists.

In order to grant such a derogation there is however the need for some scientific evidence that such
serious damage is taking place. At present the studies from Sweden and the information from Finland do
not demonstrate an overall negative effect.

The Commission has received information indicating that damage to nests of cormorant is taking place in
some locations.
justifying
a derogation as mentioned above, such actions are in contravention of the Birds Directive.

In the absence of substantive proof of damage to fisheries and wildlife,

(1) OJ C 103, 25.4.1979.

(2001/C 235 E/279)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0679/01

by Bart Staes (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(8 March 2001)

Subject: Procedures for the European recognition of the Veneto language

The Veneto language is recognised as such in important documents on languages, such as the Unesco Red
Book of Endangered Languages by Professor Tapani Salminen of the University of Helsinki (Finland) and
The Ethnologue Languages of the World (cid:129) 13th edition (cid:129) Summer Institute of Linguistics, Dallas, Texas
(United States).

A variant of Veneto is decreed as the official language one week a year in Serafina Correa, a state in Rio
Grande do Sol in Brazil, in honour of the hundreds of thousands of immigrants from the Veneto living in
Brazil, who still speak the language.

According to a study carried out by ISTAT (the Italian Statistical Institute) in 1998, 52 % of those living in
the Veneto speak Veneto rather than Italian in inter-personal relations, in offices and at the workplace.