Council Regulation (EC) No 2561/2001 of 17 December 2001 aiming to promote the conversion of fishing vessels and of fishermen that were, up to 1999, dependent on the fishing agreement with Morocco
Date: 2001-12-17
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: Morocco, fishing agreement, fishing fleet, fishing vessel, redemption, vocational retraining

28.12.2001

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 2561/2001

of 17 December 2001

aiming to promote the conversion of fishing vessels and of fishermen that were, up to 1999,
dependent on the fishing agreement with Morocco

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

age of the vessel and even if it were the subject of public
aid for construction.

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community, and in particular Articles 36 and 37 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (2),

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee (3),

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

The Agreement on the relations as regards sea fishing
between the European Community and the Kingdom of
Morocco (hereinafter referred to as ‘the fisheries agree-
ment with Morocco’), became null and void on 30
November 1999. Consequently, a significant number of
Community vessels that operated within this framework
were forced to stop their fishing activities at that date.

The fishermen and owners of
the vessels concerned
benefited in this connection from the allowances
provided for in Article 16(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No
the Financial
2792/1999 (4) with the assistance of
Instrument
for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG), under the
derogation conditions laid down by Regulation (EC) No
1227/2001 (5).

It is justified to encourage, by appropriate measures at
the Community level, the implementation of the conver-
sion plans of the fleets concerned as approved by the
Commission on 18 October 2000.

It
is necessary to facilitate the permanent cessation
activity of the vessels, whether by demolition or by
transfer to a third country, including within the frame-
work of joint enterprises. It is also appropriate to facili-
tate the replacement of fishing gear for the permanent
conversion towards other fishing activities, whatever the

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

(1) OJ C 270 E, 25.9.2001, p. 266.
(2) Opinion delivered on 15 November 2001 (not yet published in the

(10)

(3) Opinion delivered on 18 October 2001 (not yet published in the

Official Journal).

Official Journal).

(4) Council Regulation (EC) No 2792/1999 of 17 December 1999
laying down the detailed rules and arrangements regarding Commu-
(OJ L 337,
nity structural
30.12.1999, p. 10). Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC)
No 1451/2001 (OJ L 198, 21.7.2001, p. 9).

assistance

fisheries

in the

sector

Consequently,
there is a need for derogations from
certain provisions of Regulation (EC) No 2792/1999.

Moreover, in the spirit of the conclusions of the Euro-
pean Council of Nice, the European Union should signal
its solidarity with the Member States concerned, by
means of an additional financial effort, over and above
the amounts made available inside heading 2 of the
financial perspectives for the budget of the European
Union, as fixed at the European Council of Berlin on 25
March 1999.

Consequently, a specific measure of
the Community
should be instituted to execute the appropriations in
question in order to implement part of the conversion
plans, on the understanding that the other parts of the
aforementioned plans will have to be carried out with
the assistance of FIFG appropriations.

The complementary appropriations available should be
devoted to the specific measure, on the one hand to the
restructuring of the fleet, and on the other hand to the
fishermen's early retirement or retraining, away from sea
fishing, under individual or collective social plans.

The specific measure must be consistent with the general
principles of the structural policy in the fisheries sector.
In particular, distortions must be avoided with the provi-
sions in force for the implementation of the FIFG appro-
priations. An operational mechanism of management
must also be envisaged as close as possible to that in
force for the Community Structural Funds, as fixed by
Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 (6).

The vessels due to operate in international waters or in
waters of third countries must fully respect international
law with regard to the conservation of fishing resources
and in particular the United Nations Convention on the
Law of Seas as well as the Code of Conduct of the Food
and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations.

(5) Regulation (EC) No 1227/2001 of 18 June 2001 derogating from
certain provisions of Regulation (EC) No 2792/1999 laying down
the detailed rules and arrangements regarding Community structural
assistance in the fisheries sector (OJ L 168, 23. 6.2001, p. 1).

(6) Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 of 21 June 1999 laying
down general provisions on the Structural Funds
(OJ L 161,
26.6.1999, p. 1). Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No
1447/2001 (OJ L 198, 21.7.2001, p. 1).

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(11)

regional

integrated

operational

The socio-economic diversification of the coastal areas
dependent on fishing naturally fits into the context of
the
development
programmes and multi-regional programmes arising
from the Community support frameworks of the Objec-
tive 1 of the Structural Funds for Spain and for Portugal,
with the financial assistance of the European Regional
Development Fund, of the European Social Fund and of
the European Agriculture Guidance and Guarantee Fund,
Guidance Section. Under these conditions, it is not justi-
fied to envisage a specific intervention devoted to this
diversification,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

CHAPTER I

GENERAL

Article 1

1.
The fishermen and the vessel owners to whom, during
2000 and 2001, compensation was granted under Article
16(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 2792/1999, owing to the non-
renewal of the fishing agreement with Morocco, for at least a
six-month cumulative period of temporary cessation of activity,
can benefit from exceptional supporting measures, under the
conditions and within the limits envisaged by this Regulation.

2.
At the latest three months after the entry into force of
this Regulation, Member States shall communicate to the
Commission the list of vessels,
internal
numbers, as well as the list of names of the fishermen meeting
the conditions referred to in paragraph 1 of the Regulation.

indicating their

CHAPTER II

DEROGATION MEASURES

Article 2

1.
By derogation from the provisions referred to below of
Regulation (EC) No 2792/1999, public aid to the owners of the
vessels and the fishermen referred to in Article 1(1) shall be
granted according to the following rules:

(a) where public aid is granted for the demolition of a vessel:
(i) the scales referred to in Article 7(5)(a) shall be increased

by 20 %;

(ii) the provisions of Article 10(3)(b)(ii) and those of Annex

III, point 1.1(a) shall not be applicable;

(b) where a premium is granted for the permanent transfer of a
vessel to a third country, including in the case of a joint
enterprise:
(i) the scales

referred to in Article 7(5)(a)

shall be

increased by 20 %;

(ii) the provisions of Article 10(3)(b)(ii) as well as those of
Annex III, point 1.1(a), shall not be applicable;

(iii) the minimum age of the vessels referred to in Article
7(2) shall be reduced to five years; for 5 to 9-year-old
vessels, however, the reference premium, as referred to
in Article 7(5)(a), shall be that applicable to vessels of
10 to 15 years old. This premium shall be reduced by
part of the amount previously received in cases of aid
granted for construction and/or modernisation; this
part shall be calculated pro rata temporis of the 10-year
period (in the case of aid for construction) or 5-year
period (in the case of aid for modernisation) preceding
the permanent transfer;

(c) in the event of permanent conversion of a vessel to another
fishing activity requiring the change of fishing technique,
the replacement of the fishing gear may be the subject of
public aid as a modernisation of the vessel, under the
following derogation conditions:

(i) the last subparagraph of Annex III, point 1.4, shall not

be applicable;

(ii) the scales

referred to in Article 9(4)(b)

shall be

increased by 30 %;

(iii) the provisions of Article 10(3)(a) shall not be applic-

able;

(d) in the case of an individual lump sum payment to a fish-
erman, the maximum eligible cost referred to in Article
12(3)(b) and (c) shall be increased by 20 %.

2.
The derogation rules mentioned in paragraph 1 shall
apply only to premiums and public aid that have been granted
under an administrative decision by the Authorities referred to
in Article 6, taken between 1 July 2001 and 30 June 2003.

The vessel owners shall no longer be eligible for the
3.
compensation for temporary cessation of activity mentioned in
Article 1 as from the date of
the administrative decision
granting a premium for the permanent cessation of activity or
a public aid for the modernisation of the vessel concerned,
which has been taken pursuant to the modalities provided for
in paragraph 1.

In the case of advance payment of this compensation, any
amount overpaid will be deducted from the premium for
permanent cessation or from the public aid for modernisation,
granted for the boat concerned.

CHAPTER III

SPECIFIC MEASURE

Article 3

1.
A specific action of the Community is hereby instituted
(hereafter named ‘this action’) aiming to supplement actions
taken in the context of the interventions of the Structural
Funds in the Member States concerned due to the non-renewal
of the fisheries agreement with Morocco.

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2.

This action:

(a) shall be exclusively reserved for the vessel owners and for

the fishermen referred to in Article 1(1);

(b) covers respectively:

(i) measures of permanent cessation of vessels'

fishing
activities within the meaning of Article 7(3) of Regula-
tion (EC) No 2792/1999;

(ii) measures of modernisation of vessels within the
meaning of Article 9(1) of the same Regulation; and

(iii) measures of a socio-economic nature, within the
meaning of Article 12(3)(a), (b) and (c), of the same
Regulation;

(c) shall be subject to the conditions referred to in Article 12

of Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999.

3.
The amount of the Community assistance allocated to the
various measures of this action shall be as follows, expressed as
a percentage of the global amount referred to in Article 5(1):

(a) scrapping of vessels and permanent reassignment of vessels
for purposes other than fishing: minimum of 40 % of the
global amount;

(b) permanent transfer of vessels to a third country, including
within the framework of a joint enterprise, and modernisa-
tion of vessels: maximum of 28 % of the global amount;

(c) socio-economic measures: minimum of 32 % of the global

amount.

Article 4

1. Mutatis mutandis, the provisions of Regulation (EC) No
2792/1999 shall apply for the implementation of this action,
under the provisions and the derogation conditions laid down
in Chapter II of this Regulation, in particular with regard to:

(a) the date limit of the administrative decision to grant the

assistance;

(b) the notification of the aid schemes;

(c) the criteria of eligibility of the fishermen and of the vessels;

(d) the maximum amount of the premium for a fisherman or

for a given vessel;

(e) the maximum amount of expenditure eligible for the
granting of public aid for the modernisation of a given
vessel;

(f) the limits of the financial contribution of the Community
the public financial contributions (national,

and of all
regional and other) of the Member State concerned.

premium to the applicant when the vessel is transferred to the
joint enterprise, after the applicant has provided proof that a
bank guarantee for an amount equal to 40 % of the premium
has been lodged.

3.
The premiums for permanent cessation of fishing activi-
ties and the public aids for the modernisation of vessels, paid
under this action, shall be regarded as public aid within the
meaning of Article 6(1) of Regulation (EC) No 2792/1999.

The fishing capacity withdrawn pursuant to this measure shall
contribute to the adjustment of
the
Member States concerned, within the meaning of Article 7 of
Regulation (EC) No 2792/1999.

the fishing effort of

Public aid for the modernisation of vessels, paid under this
is subject to Article 9 of Regulation (EC) No 2792/
action,
1999.

For the purposes of the implementation of this action, the
compensation referred to in Article 1 is intended to have the
same end result as the socio-economic measures referred to in
Article 12(3)(a), (b) and (c) of Regulation (EC) No 2792/1999.

Premiums or public aid granted under this action may
4.
not be cumulated with another premium or public aid having
the same purpose, and in particular that granted, in the context
of the Structural Funds,

in the Member States concerned.

The Member States concerned shall take all the measures neces-
sary to conform to this paragraph, and at the latest three
months after the entry into force of this Regulation, they shall
communicate them to the Commission.

Article 5

1.
The amount of the Community participation allocated to
this action shall be EUR 197 million, distributed according to
the following percentages:

(a) Spain: 94,6 %;

(b) Portugal: 5,4 %.

2.
The payment of the Community participation referred to
in paragraph 1 shall be carried out by the Commission in
accordance with the budgetary commitments and shall be
addressed to the payment authority referred to in Article 6.

As from 1 January 2002, the Commission shall carry out the
commitment of the appropriations entered in the 2002 budget,
at the latest three months after the adoption of this Regulation.

2.
However, in case of the granting of a premium for the
creation of a joint enterprise within the framework of this
the management authority shall pay the whole
action,

The commitment of the appropriations entered in the 2003
Budget shall in principle be undertaken before 30 April 2003.

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Subject to the budgetary resources, the Commission shall

3.
carry out the payments as follows:

(a) an instalment, representing at most 20 % of the amounts
referred to in paragraph 1, shall be paid at the time of the
commitment referred to in paragraph 2, second paragraph;

(b) the intermediate payments shall be carried out at

the
request of the Member State to refund the expenditure
actually paid and certified by the payment authority
referred to in Article 6.

The cumulated total of the payments referred to in point (a)
and the present point shall amount at most to 80 % of the
amounts referred to in paragraph 1.

the Member State, after completion of

(c) The payment of the balance shall be carried out at the
this

request of
measure,
if;
(i) the payment authority has submitted to the Commis-
sion a certified statement of expenditure actually
incurred;

(ii) the final implementation report has been submitted to
the Commission and has been approved by it;
(iii) the Member State has sent to the Commission the
statement referred to in Article 38(1)(f) of Regulation
(EC) No 1260/1999.

Eligible for

the Community participation under

4.
this
action shall be the expenses actually paid by the final benefi-
ciary from 1 July 2001. The deadline for eligibility of the
expenditure is fixed at 31 December 2003.

The last date for submission to the Commission of the request
for payment of the balance shall be fixed at 30 June 2004.

5.
The requests for intermediate payments and for payment
of the balance have to be drawn up in accordance with the
model appearing in Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 438/
2001 (1).

They have to be supported by the production of progress
reports,
in accordance with the model
appearing in Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 366/2001 (2).

in electronic form,

Article 6

For the purposes of implementation of this action, the manage-
ment authorities and the payment authorities operating in the
context of structural funds interventions in favour of fisheries
in Spain and in Portugal during the period 2000 to 2006 shall
fulfil the functions attributed to them by the relevant provi-
sions of Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999.

Except in the case of contrary provisions arising from this
Regulation, the provisions of Articles 31 and 33 to 39 of
Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999, and derived legislation, shall
apply.

Article 7

If necessary, the detailed rules for the application of this title
shall be adopted by the Commission according to the proce-
dure referred to in Article 23(2) of Regulation (EC) No 2792/
1999.

For this purpose the Commission is assisted by the committee
on structures for fisheries and aquaculture established by
Article 51 of Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999.

CHAPTER IV

FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 8

This Regulation shall enter
into force on the third day
following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the
European Communities.

It shall apply as from 1 July 2001.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 17 December 2001.

For the Council

The President

A. NEYTS-UYTTEBROECK

(1) Commission Regulation (EC) No 438/2001 of 2 March 2001 laying
down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation
(EC) No 1260/1999 as
the management and control
systems for assistance granted under the Structural Funds (OJ L 63,
3.3.2001, p. 21).

regards

(2) Commission Regulation (EC) No 366/2001 of 21 February 2001
laying down detailed rules for implementing the measures provided
for
in Council Regulation (EC) No 2792/1999 (OJ L 55 of
24.2.2001, p. 3)