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 from 2007 to 2013 COM(2006) 740 final — 2006/0247 (CNS)
Date: 2007-01-17
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: Azores, Canary Islands, French Guiana, Madeira, Réunion, common fisheries policy, fishery product, peripheral region, sales aid

27.4.2007

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 93/31

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 from 2007 to 2013

COM(2006) 740 final — 2006/0247 (CNS)

(2007/C 93/07)

On 18 December 2006 the Council decided to consult the European Economic and Social Committee,
under Articles 37 and 299 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the abovementioned
proposal.

On 12 December 2006 the Committee Bureau 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, the European Economic and Social Committee appointed Mr Sarró
Iparraguirre as rapporteur-general at its 432nd plenary session, held on 17 and 18 January 2007 (meeting
of 17 January), and adopted the following opinion by 81 votes to 3 with 7 abstentions.

1. Conclusions and recommendations

3. General comments

for a
The EESC endorses the Commission's proposal
1.1
Regulation introducing a scheme to compensate for the addi-
tional costs incurred in the marketing of certain fishery products
from the outermost regions of the EU from 2007 to 2013.

The EESC recommends that the Commission clarify the
1.2
scope of this compensation with regard to fishing vessels flying
the Venezuelan flag and operating in Community waters.

2. Introduction

2.1
Since 1992, the European Union has provided support
to the producers of fishery products in the outermost regions in
order to offset the extra costs of transporting those products to
European markets.

In 2003,

the Council adopted Regulation (EC) No
2.2
2328/2003 introducing a scheme to compensate for the addi-
tional costs incurred in the marketing of certain fishery products
from the following regions:

— Azores

— Madeira

— Canary Islands

— French Guiana

— Réunion.

Regulation (EC) No 2328/2003 expires on 31 December
2.3
2006. As called for therein, the Commission has put forward a
new Regulation proposing a longer period of application (from
1 January 2007 to 31 December 2013) and with an annual
budget of EUR 15 million (the same as the previous budget).

On 29 October 2003, the EESC issued an opinion (1) in
in which various

2.4
favour of Regulation (EC) No 2328/2003,
recommendations were made.

(1) CESE 1396/2003. OJ C 32 of 5.2.2004.

The Commission's current proposal was provided for in
3.1
the previous Regulation, which required the Commission to
submit, by 1 January 2007, a first report accompanied by
proposals for any measures needed to achieve the compensation
objectives for outermost regions which market fishery products
on the European mainland.

the consultations of

The measures introduced by the Commission in the new
3.2
interested
Regulation take into account
parties and regional administrations, together with the conclu-
sions of an external study on the structural aspects of
the
Common Fisheries Policy in the outermost regions, and the
recommendations made by the European Parliament and the
EESC.

3.3
On the basis of these principles and having analysed all
the measures proposed by the Commission, the EESC endorses
the new Regulation submitted to it.

4. Specific comments

4.1
The proposal for the continuation of the compensation
scheme introduces a higher degree of subsidiarity, as it leaves
the determination of eligible products, quantities and compensa-
tion amounts to the Member States.

It is therefore easier for Member States to adjust their
if

4.2
compensation plans, within the overall financial allocation,
justified by changing conditions.

Submission and acceptance procedures have been
4.3
updated so as
to minimise the administrative burden for
Member States' national and regional authorities and the
Commission services. The proposal therefore falls within the
Commission's rolling programme for the simplification of Com-
munity legislation.

C 93/32

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

27.4.2007

The total amount of compensation per year must not

4.4
exceed:

a) Azores

Madeira
and
———————————————-
———————

b) Canary

Islands
———————————————-
—————————————

c)

French
——————————————

Guiana

and

Réunion

EUR 4 283 992

EUR 5 844 076

EUR 4 868 700

4.5
For the period 2007-2013 an annual budget of around
EUR 15 million is envisaged (the same as for the previous
period), covered by the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund.

4.6
These changes in relation to the previous regulation are
in line with the recommendations made by the EESC in its
earlier opinion, and the EESC therefore endorses them.

Brussels, 17 January 2007.

Support

is limited to fishery products harvested and
4.7
processed in accordance with the rules governing the Common
Fisheries Policy.

4.8
The list of fishery products not eligible for compensation
specifically excludes those caught by ‘fishing vessels that fly the
flag of Venezuela and operate in Community waters’. The EESC
believes that if any agreement between the EU and Venezuela
allows vessels from that country to benefit from the proposed
compensation scheme then this should be expressly stated, and
mention should be made of the Community waters in the outer-
most region in which the country's fishery products are eligible
for said compensation.

4.9
Lastly, each Member State is to submit an annual report
on the implementation of compensation, and the Commission
is to submit a report, before 31 December 2011, to the Euro-
pean Parliament, the Council and the European Economic and
Social Committee on this implementation, accompanied,
if
necessary, by legislative proposals.

The President

of the European Economic and Social Committee

Dimitris DIMITRIADIS

Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on Equal opportunities for people with
disabilities

(2007/C 93/08)

On 24 May 2006, the Austrian presidency decided to consult the European Economic and Social Committee
under Article 262 of the Treaty establishing the European Community on Equal opportunities for people with
disabilities

The Section for Employment, Social Affairs and Citizenship, which was responsible for preparing the
Committee's work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 19 December 2006. The rapporteur was Mr Joost.

At its 432nd plenary session, held on 17 and 18 January 2007 (meeting of 17 January 2007), the European
Economic and Social Committee adopted the following opinion by 152 votes, with one vote against and
with one abstention:

1. Introduction

(with its subsequent impact on programming and priority defi-
nition) in two years time.

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC)
1.1
to draw up an
welcomes the Austrian presidency's request
opinion on equal
people with disabilities.
Promoting equal opportunities for people with disabilities must
be seen as an ongoing process that should feature high on the
work programme of every EU Council presidency.

opportunities

for

1.2 With the current opinion the EESC wants to look ahead
and start outlining the challenges that the Commission will have
to face on the disability front during the second half of its
current mandate and even beyond. The present opinion should
also be framed in the wider context of the identification of prio-
rities for the last phase of the Disability Action Plan (2008-
2009), as well as the re-opening of the budgetary discussions

1.3
People with disabilities make up 15 % of the total popu-
lation — a figure that is rising as the population ages. This
means that, in the enlarged EU, more than 50 million people
are currently living with disabilities (1). They therefore represent
a very significant share of EU citizens and providing them with
equal opportunities is a social, ethical and political imperative,
which should be at the top of the EU's agenda. Furthermore,
there is a clear business case for the integration of people with
disabilities and for making services and goods fully accessible to
them.

(1) According to Eurostat figures for 2002, 44.6 million people in the 16-
64 age group — i.e. one in six (15.7 %) — stated that they had a long-
standing health problem or disability (LSHPD).