Proposal for a Council Regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 639/2004 on the management of fishing fleets registered in the Community outermost regions
Date: 2008-07-09
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: fishery management, fishing fleet, peripheral region

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 9.7.2008 
COM(2008) 444 final 

2008/0138 (CNS) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION 

amending Regulation (EC) No 639/2004 on the management of fishing fleets registered 
in the Community outermost regions 

(presented by the Commission) 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1) 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

•  110Grounds for and objectives of the proposal 

Regulation (EC) No 639/2004 of 30 March 2004 on the management of fishing fleets 
registered  in  the  Community  outermost  regions  (hereinafter  OR's)  lays  down 
derogations from the entry/exit scheme foreseen in Article 13 of Regulation (EC) No 
2371/2002  on  the  conservation  and  sustainable  exploitation  of  fisheries  resources 
under the Common Fisheries Policy and from the prohibition to use public funds to 
modernise  or  renew  the  fleet  set  out  in  Regulation  (EC)  No  2792/1999  of  17 
December  1999  laying  down  the  detailed  rules  and  arrangements  regarding 
Community  structural  assistance  in  the  fisheries  sector.  The  deadline  for  such 
derogations  had  been  extended  for  one  year  following  the  political  agreement 
reached  in  the  Council  on  19  June  2006  concerning  the  European  Fisheries  Fund 
(EFF).  However,  the  late  adoption  of  Commission's  legal  instrument  allowing  the 
Member  States  concerned  to  grant  State  aid,  together  with  the  limited  ability  of 
shipyards has made it impossible to comply with the deadline for the entry into the 
fleet of the fishing vessels receiving national State aid for renewal by 31 December 
2008, as stipulated in Regulation (EC) No 639/2004. 

The  purpose  of  this  proposal  is  to  extend  by  one  year  this  deadline  with  a  view  to 
allowing  the  member  States  concerned  make  full  use  of  the  agreement  reached  in 
2006. 

•  120General context 

The  special  regime  for  the  management  of  fleets  in  OR's  is  a  consequence  of  the 
particular  structural,  social  and  economic  situation  of  these  regions  in  the 
Community  context.  Recognition  of  the  specificity  of  OR's  characteristics  honours 
Article 299(2) of the Treaty. 

•  130Existing provisions in the area of the proposal 

The  management  of  fishing  fleets  in  the  outermost  regions  is  governed  by  Council 
Regulation (EC) No 639/2004 of 30 March 2004 and Commission Regulation (EC) 
No 2104/2004  of  9  December  2004  laying  down  detailed  implementing  rules  for 
Council Regulation (EC) No 639/2004. 

•  141Consistency with the other policies and objectives of the Union 

Not applicable. 

2) 

CONSULTATION OF INTERESTED PARTIES AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS 

•  Consultation of interested parties 

Exchange  of  correspondence  with  the  member  States  concerned  has  alerted  the 
services of the Commission about the problem. 

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•  Collection and use of expertise 

229Use of external expertise was not necessary.230 

•  Impact assessment 

Given the very limited reach of this proposal, an impact analysis is not required.  

3) 

LEGAL ELEMENTS OF THE PROPOSAL305 

•  Summary of the proposed action 

Extension  of  the  deadline  for  the  entry  into  the  fleet  of  additional  fishing  capacity 
required for the renewal or modernisation of vessels using public aid.310 

•  Legal basis 

Articles 37 et 299(2) of the Treaty329 

•  Subsidiarity principle 

The  proposal  concerns  an  area  that  falls  under  exclusive  Community  competence. 
The subsidiarity principle therefore does not apply. 

•  Proportionality principle 

The  proposal  complies  with  the  principle  of  proportionality,  for  the  following 
reasons:331 

Not applicable. 

•  Choice of instruments 

Proposed instrument: regulation amending existing regulation. 

Other means would not be adequate, for the following reasons: 

Not applicable. 

4) 

BUDGETARY IMPLICATION 

The proposal has no implications for the Community budget. 

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2008/0138 (CNS) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION 

amending Regulation (EC) No 639/2004 on the management of fishing fleets registered 
in the Community outermost regions 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 
37 and Article 299(2) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission1, 

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament2, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  639/2004  of  30  March  2004  on  the  management  of 
fishing fleets registered in the Community outermost regions3 allows derogations from 
Article  13  of  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  2371/2002  of  20  December  2002  on  the 
conservation  and  sustainable  exploitation  of  fisheries  resources  under  the  Common 
Fisheries  Policy4.  That  Article  provides  for  a  general  scheme  to  manage  entries  into 
the fleet as well as exits from the fleet. 

Article  2(5)  of  Regulation  (EC  No  639/2004  fixes  the  period  of  validity  of  the 
derogation from the entry/exit scheme for vessels renewed with public aid. That period 
was  originally  set  at  31  December  2007  and  was  than  extended  until  31  December 
2008  following  the  political  agreement  reached  in  the  Council  on  19  June  2006 
concerning the European Fisheries Fund. 

The  Commission  act  allowing  the  Member  States  concerned  to  grant  State  aid5  was 
adopted later than foreseen. Given the fact that the interested shipyards have a limited 
capacity, a full implementation of the political agreement reached in the Council on 19 
June 2006 becomes impossible within the deadline of 31 December 2008.  

(4) 

It is, therefore, appropriate to extend for one more year the deadline for the derogation 
set out in Article 2(5) of Regulation (EC) No 639/2004.  

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OJ C , , p. . 
OJ C , , p. . 
OJ  L  102,  7.4.2004,  p.  9.  Regulation  as  last  amended  by  Regulation  (EC)  No  1646/2006  (OJ  L  309, 
9.11.2006, p. 1). 
OJ  L  358,  31.12.2002,  p.  59.  Regulation  as  amended  by  Regulation  (EC)  No  865/2007  (OJ  L  192, 
24.7.2007, p. 1) 
Guidelines for the examination of State aid to fisheries and aquaculture (OJ C 84, 3.4.2008, p. 10) 

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(5) 

Regulation (EC) No 639/2004 should be amended accordingly, 

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

In  Article  2(5)  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  639/2004,  "31  December  2008"  shall  be  replaced  by 
"31 December 2009". 

Article 1 

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

Article 2 

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

Done at Brussels,  

For the Council 
The President 

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