Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the "Proposal for a Council Regulation introducing a scheme to compensate for the additional costs incurred in the marketing of certain fishery products from the Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands and the French departments of Guiana and Réunion as a result of those regions' remoteness" (COM(2003) 516 final — 2003/0202 (CNS))
Date: 2004-02-05
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: Azores, Canary Islands, ESC opinion, Guyana, Madeira, Réunion, fishery product, peripheral region, sales aid

C 32/64

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Official Journal of the European Union

5.2.2004

The Committee finds it particularly positive that the communi-
cation aims to reinforce the social dimension of the Lisbon
strategy,
to the goals of
lending greater political weight
modernisation and improvement of social protection.

fields of social inclusion, pensions and healthcare does not
become lost. Each of these sectors faces distinct challenges,
involves a different set of players and calls for specific
objectives.

The Committee feels that particular attention must be paid to
ensuring that by bringing the different processes together into
one global mechanism the specific nature of the individual

It is essential that the single report should correctly follow up
any undertakings made in the NAPs/inclusion and the strategy
reports on pensions and thus maintain the momentum.

Brussels, 30 October 2003

The President

of the European Economic and Social Committee

Roger BRIESCH

Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the ‘Proposal for a Council
Regulation introducing a scheme to compensate for the additional costs incurred in the marketing
of certain fishery products from the Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands and the French
departments of Guiana and Réunion as a result of those regions’ remoteness’

(COM(2003) 516 final — 2003/0202 (CNS))

(2004/C 32/13)

On 11 September 2003, the Council decided to consult the European Economic and Social Committee,
under Article 37 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the above-mentioned proposal.

On 23 September 2003, the Bureau of the European Economic and Social Committee instructed the
Section for Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment to prepare the Committee’s work on
the subject.

Given the urgent nature of the work, at its 403rd plenary session of 29 and 30 October 2003 (meeting
of 29 October), the European Economic and Social Committee appointed Mr Sarró Iparraguirre as
rapporteur-general and adopted the following opinion by 76 votes in favour and two abstentions.

1.

Introduction

1.1.
The outermost regions of the Community (the Portu-
guese autonomous regions of the Azores and Madeira, the
Spanish autonomous community of the Canary Islands and
the French overseas departments of Guadeloupe, Guiana,
Martinique and Réunion) are lagging behind in socio-economic
terms, which is why the Community provides assistance for
promoting their economic and social development, and their
smooth integration in the dynamics of the internal market.

The difficulties faced by the fisheries sector in the
1.3.
outermost regions of the Community are exacerbated,
in
particular, by the cost of transporting fishery products to the
markets as a result of their remoteness and isolation.

Article 299(2) of the EC Treaty recognises the need to
1.4.
adopt special measures to assist the outermost regions and
mentions the fisheries sector explicitly.

1.2.
In this context, the Council has set up programmes of
specific options for alleviating the remoteness and insularity
of these outermost regions.

1.5.
In response to this situation, in 1992 the Community
introduced a scheme to assist producers in these regions in the
marketing of certain fishery products. The scheme was renewed

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Official Journal of the European Union

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in 1994, 1995, 1998 and 2002 (1), thus offering a commercial
outlet for the main species concerned.

1.6.
The scheme was last renewed by Council Regulation
(EC) No 579/2002 of 25 March 2002 (2), which lays down
that this scheme will apply until 31 December 2002.

This Proposal for a Regulation (3) stipulates that this
1.7.
scheme to compensate for the additional costs incurred in the
processing and marketing of certain fishery products in these
outermost regions must continue after 2003.

2. Comments

2.1.
The EESC believes it is necessary for this compensation
scheme to continue so that certain fishery products can
continue to compete with those from other regions in the EU.

2.2.
The proposed Regulation also provides for support for
the processing and marketing of fishery products from the
non-industrial and inshore fishing industry. The EESC wel-
comes the fact that non-industrial and inshore fishing are
included in the proposed Regulation and urges the Com-
mission to continue to support this type of fishing, which is
of considerable social and economic importance in these
outermost regions.

The EESC believes it is important for the future of
2.3.
this proposed Regulation that consideration is given to the
possibility of adjusting the amounts and quantities that it sets
for the various species. However, the EESC is of the view that
the procedure for adjusting the amounts and quantities laid
down in Article 8 is too complicated. The Commission should
therefore draw up a simpler procedure so that practical
decisions can be taken more quickly.

The EESC agrees with the proposed Regulation that
2.4.
economic measures should be financed by the Guarantee
Section of the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee
Fund (EAGGF) and that the Commission should report on the
implementation of the measures, accompanied by proposals
for appropriate adjustments, every four years, starting on
1 January 2007.

3. Conclusions

The EESC believes this Regulation must be published

3.1.
as soon as possible.

3.2.
The EESC understands that the Regulation is of a
permanent nature and that, if necessary, the measures must be
revised so as to maintain the objective of compensating for the
additional costs incurred in the marketing of certain fishery
products from the outermost regions of the EU.

(1) OJ L 162, 30.6.1994, p. 8; OJ L 236, 5.10.1995, p. 2; OJ L 208,

24.7.1998, p. 1; OJ L 89, 5.4.2002, p. 1.

(2) OJ L 89, 5.4.2002, p. 1.
(3) COM(2003) 516 final — 2003/0202 (CNS).

3.3.
The EESC believes that the procedure for adjusting
amounts and quantities laid down in Article 8 must be made
more simple, practical and flexible.

Brussels, 29 October 2003.

The President

of the European Economic and Social Committee

Roger BRIESCH