WRITTEN QUESTION E-0497/02 by Rosa Miguélez Ramos (PSE) to the Council. Recovery plan for hake.
Date: 2002-02-22
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: authorised catch, conservation of fish stocks, fishery resources, fishing regulations, report, scientific research, sea fish

C 277 E/54

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

14.11.2002

Reply

(22 July 2002)

The Council agrees with the Honourable Members that a European educational area is emerging, both
through, on the one hand, Community programmes and processes and, on the other hand, broader
developments such as the Bologna/Prague process. As the Honourable Members will know, the three
countries mentioned in the question " Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova " already participate in the Tempus
Programme, which aims at assisting the reform process in higher education and enhancing balanced
cooperation with the Member States. The other Community programmes mentioned (Socrates, Youth and
Leonardo) were extended to the candidate countries as a consequence of their status of applicants.

The Council, during its meeting of 15 April 2002, had an exchange of views on relations between the
future enlarged EU and its Eastern neighbours. It welcomed the intention of the Commission and of the
High Representative Javier Solana to prepare contributions during the second half of 2002 on the
possibilities for strengthening these relations, taking into account the different state of relations between
the EU and the countries involved, as well as their level of political and economic development.

The Council reminds the Honourable Members that, pursuant to the first paragraph of Article 49 TEU, any
for human rights and
European State which respects the principles of
fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law, may apply to become a Member of the Union. It shall address
its application to the Council, which shall act unanimously after consulting the Commission and after
receiving the assent of the European Parliament. At present there are no plans to extend candidate status to
any other European countries.

liberty, democracy, respect

(2002/C 277 E/056)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0494/02

by Chris Davies (ELDR) to the Commission

(22 February 2002)

Subject: The euro and the accession of Cyprus

In view of the impending accession of Cyprus to the European Union, what representations has the
Commission made, or intend to make, regarding the fact that the island does not feature on the map of
Europe depicted on euro notes and coins?

Answer given by Mr Solbes Mira on behalf of the Commission

(18 April 2002)

The design on the common side of the euro coins features a representation of Europe, as opposed to a
map of Europe. No intention therefore exists to modify the design of the common side of the euro coins
following the enlargement of the Union.

The original decisions on the design of the euro banknotes have been taken by the European Monetary
Institute. This matter is under the competence of the European Central Bank.

(2002/C 277 E/057)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0497/02

by Rosa Miguélez Ramos (PSE) to the Council

(22 February 2002)

Subject: Recovery plan for hake

The plan proposed by the Commission for rebuilding stocks of cod and hake in Community waters is
being strongly contested by the industry, the Member States affected and Parliament itself, particularly with
regard to hake. The reason is the discrepancy between the conclusions of the various scientific reports and
the drastic measures being proposed by the Commission.

14.11.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 277 E/55

Firstly, the conclusions of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), on which the
Commission based its proposal, do not tally with those of the Scientific, Technical and Economic
Committee on Fisheries (STECF). The latter committee is proposing a TAC of 35 000 t for 2002, against
figures of between 16 500 and 22 000 t being quoted by the Commission. The committee’s assessment is
backed up by scientific research carried out in the area, for example by the Spanish oceanographic ship
Vizconde de Eza.

Secondly, Parliament, the Member States affected and the industry are advocating a recovery plan for hake
which would be implemented step-by-step over a longer period of time, thus cushioning the socio-
fleet decommissioning and job losses.
economic impact and avoiding the irreversible measures of
Specifically, Parliament is calling for the plan to be implemented over a period of at least seven years,
rather than the five proposed by the Commission. Moreover,
the Commission does not appear to
understand that the problems are different for cod and for hake, and that the measures to be taken must
therefore also be different.

What is the Council’s view of the opposition voiced by Parliament, the countries concerned and the
industry with regard to the Commission proposal for hake? Will it take account of the scientific reports on
hake stocks which refute the critical state of stocks on which the Commission has based its drastic
proposal? Will it ask the Commission to draw up a global socio-economic risk analysis of the plan’s
implications in the short and medium term, as Parliament has demanded? Is the Council aware of the
scientific research conducted in the area which confirms that there has been a substantial deterioration in
the state of hake stocks in zone VIII (Bay of Biscay and French coast), but that the situation is better in
zones VI and VII (Irish Box)? Has the Council not considered asking the Commission to submit a fresh
proposal specifically for hake?

Reply

(22 July 2002)

In its October 2001 report,

1.
ICES drew attention to the continued decrease in spawning stock
biomass (SSB) and very poor recruitment of Northern hake since 1997 and recommended a recovery plan
that would ensure a safe and rapid recovery of SSB to a level in excess of 165 000 tonnes. This was
considered the precautionary level (Bpa) from which the stock would be likely to recover. The lowest
observed biomass in recent years was 120 000 tonnes, which ICES considered the limit below which the
stock was likely to collapse (Blim). In November 2001 the STECF considered that report and recommended
exploring the various possibilities and options, which is now being done.

The Council fixed the overall TAC for Northern hake at 26 960 tonnes in 2002, against an initial

2.
Commission proposal of 22 623 tonnes.

3.
The purpose of the Commission proposal containing the recovery plan for Northern hake is to reach
the Bpa target by setting the TACs at a level that will result in an annual increase of 15 % in biomass.
There is no time limit for this recovery; it is, however, expected to last for seven to eight years. The stock
would be removed from the list of recovery stocks if the target level has been reached for two consecutive
years. For cod, which is treated in a different manner, the increase is 30 % per year with recovery expected
within five years. The recovery plans for cod and hake are primarily intended to attain the biological
recovery of the stocks. They are accompanied by an effort limitation scheme, monitoring and surveillance
measures, various structural and market-related provisions, favouring in particular Community support for
scrapping of vessels, and the establishment of temporarily closed fishing grounds.

The Council has not yet taken any decision on these proposals and will not do so until new scientific
reports become available in May or June 2002.

4.
The Council is still examining the socio-economic side effects of the recovery plans, in order to avoid
irreversible job losses; in particular, this means striking a balance between fisheries resources and fishing
effort.