CELEX: 51993PC0107
Language: en
Date: 1993-03-17
Title: Amended proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) establishing a control system applicable to the common fisheries policy

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMVTUNITIES
                                           C0M(93) 107 final
                                           Brussels, 17 March 1993
                      Amended proposal for a
                     COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC)
                    establishing a control system
              applicable to the common fisheries policy
     (presented by the Commission pursuant to Article 149(3)
                        of the EEC-Treaty)
 ---pagebreak---                                                EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
As part        of the process           of revising           the common fisheries                    policy      and in         order
 to remedy        the inadequacies             of the current            monitoring           and control           system,        the
Commission          presented         to the Council              on 19 October               1992 a proposal                 for a
Council        Regulation          (EEC) establishing                a control            system        applicable          to the
common fisheries                  policy*.
On 15 December              Parliament         adopted        a resolution             giving         its     opinion       on the
proposal        and introducing            30       amendments.
The resolution            confirms       the need        to implement            an overall,            integrated             control
system        which      will      have      closer        links       between         conservation              measures        and
structural         measures       and apply        to the entire            fishing        sector       from production             to
marketing.
Moreover,         i t affirms        the need       to give        the Commission               the means         to        guarantee
 the     fairness         and transparency                  of    Member          States'           control         efforts         by
implementing            a system           of unannounced               Community            monitoring           of          national
inspections.            Lastly,       Parliament        reaffirmed            the need         to include           in        national
legislation          a system       of graduated          detterent         and equivalent              penalties         in     order
to avoid                discrimination.
In   view of the common desire                   to strengthen            controls         the Commission             has       agreed
to   amend its initial              proposal       in the following                ways:
       provision         of the Commission               with      the financial,                legal       and            legislative
       means to enable            it to carry         out its task             (5th           recital);
       consolidation            of    the minimum           obligations           imposed          on Community                vessels
       outside       Community       waters      (Article            1(3));
       inclusion          of      the      control          of     distribution               activities             to         enable
       verification          of the implementation                of the Regulation                  (Article           2(1));
-      availability           to the owners of the                      fishing         vessels          concerned of the
       information acquired during national                             inspections            (first        subparagraph of
       Article        19(3));
-      strengthening of the calculation method applicable to the deductions made
       vis-à-vis        a Member State which has overfished and caused a prejudice                                                     to
       another Member State (second subparagraph of Article                                             21(4));
       fixing by Council of the method for calculating the penalty                                                   coefficients
       applicable         to the deductions made vis-à-vis                              a Member State which has
       overfished          (Article       25(1) point            (b), insert            after        second subparagraph
       (new));
       introduction           of confidentiality                 with respect               to     information           acquired
       during the market control process                         (Article 30(3)(a)                 (new));
-      in the event of failure                    on the part of Member States to fulfil                                          their
       obligation          to cooperate             with       the Commission in its                           controls,          the
       Commission may draw up a report                              which may be made public                               (Article
       31(6)(a));
      COM(92) 392 final,                 30 September 1992.                                                                 ./
 ---pagebreak---   -      inclusion        of the principle               of    comparable           penalties          for      comparable
        offences        in the Member States                  (insert       after        first       subparagraph            of
        Article     32(3)        (new));
        annual report by the Commission on the controls                              implemented         by the Member
       States.        The report         will be made public                and may contain                proposals          to
        improve the controls             (Article        38).
 In addition,         the proposed Regulation               needs to be amended to take into                         account
 the arguments underlying                amendments which cannot be included                          as such        without
 affecting       the consistency           of the       text.
 These amendments relate                to:
 -     an extension           of the number of species                    which have to               be    reported          in
      logbooks         - this will           also allow a formal simplification                            of the         text
       (Article      6(1) and (2));
-      the assistance             of    the Management Committee                     in agreeing             details         of
      exemptions          regarding       satellite       monitoring,         the keeping of logbooks                     and
      landing declarations               (Articles      3(5), 6(4) and              7(3)).
On the other hand, the Commission has not included                                           some amendments                for
reasons of formal consistency,                       even though they are based on arguments                                 to
which the Commission is sympathetic.                           Nevertheless,           it will take them into
account as far as possible                  in further       discussions         on the          proposal.
These are amendments relating                     to:
-     strengthening           of cooperation           between Member States                   with regard to              the
      monitoring         of fishing       activities       and extension           of the right of pursuit                   in
      territorial          waters and international                 waters with the agreement of                           the
      Member State concerned (tenth                        recital);
-     referral       back to the Management Committee                     to establish            exemptions        to     the
      single-net           rule.
In the former case, it seems more important                              that Member States                 make       better
use of existing            legal possibilities             in respect        of the right of pursuit                     than
to extend those                   possibilities.
In the latter            case, a very sensitive                 political         issue with many                 divergent
opinions       among the Member States,                 and whatever the real problems linked                                to
multi-purpose          vessels      are, only precise rules set out in a Council                                Regulation
are feasible.             But the necessary              reasoned       requests         have not always                been
transmitted         to the Commission.                Technical      measures linking                authorized        mesh
sizes to catch composition                  cannot be monitored and put into practice                               without
a simple rule governing the mesh size of the nets which a fishing                                             vessel can
use during a single fishing                   trip and therefore           keep on board at a given                     time.
The single-net            rule provides           all the necessary             facilities          in that         regard.
However, it restricts                 the opportunity            to fish       for more than one                     species
during a single trip.                This is why an exemption is needed, but it can only be
accepted if complementary rules ensure that the Regulation's                                       objective        is not
undermined.          Since these conditions                are satisfied            by vessels          carrying         nets
for use outside Community waters with mesh sizes greater                                       than those         required
in Community waters, an exemption is provided                              for.
                                                                                                                  /.
 ---pagebreak--- Lastly,     the Commission has          not taken        into    account    the     other     Parliament
amendments for the following             reasons:
Either
-     they deal     with   taxation    questions     which exceed       the scope      of the     present
      proposal;
      they conflict      with the sharing of control               responsibilities        between    the
      Commission and the Member States;
      they      would    unnecessarily        delay      the     implementation         of       satellite
      techniques;
-     they would create       operational     difficulties       or reduce     the effectiveness       of
      controls.
Adoption     of Parliament's        amendments by the Council will                   demonstrate      the
unanimous agreement of the political                   institutions       on the need to           design
effective     controls    in order to guarantee the success of the common                       fisheries
policy.
 ---pagebreak---                  Amended proposal for a Council Regulation (EEC)
                          establishing a control system
                    applicable to the common fisheries policy
 The proposal is amended as follows.
                                  Fifth recital
 Whereas, whilst control is first and foremost the responsibility of the Member
 States, only the Commission can seek to ensure that the Member Stat O H muni inl-
 and prevent infringements in an equitable manner; whereas, therefore, the
 Commission should be provided with the financial, legal and legislative means
 to carry out thiB task as effectively as possible;
                               Tenth recital (new)
 Whereas it is vital that Member States cooperate at the operational 1 eye 1
 during inspections at sea of fishing activities in order to allow effective
 and financially justifiable inspections, particularly of operations carried
out outside the waters under the jurisdiction or sovereignty of a Member
 State;
                                  Art I d o  1(1)
     This system shall apply to all fishing activities and to all associated
     activities carried out within the» territory and within I ho maritime walein
     subject to the uovor«lgnty and juri ud i <.t ion of l ho Mombor iitattsu; it jilirtll
     also apply to the activities of fishing vessels flying the flag of Member
     States which operate in third-country waters and on the high seas, without
     prejudice to the special provisions contained in fisheries agreements
     concluded between the Community and third countries or in international
     Conventions. Such agreements and Conventions may not, however, have the
     effect of imposing on Community vessels obligations which are less
     stringent than those laid down in this Regulation.
                                  Article 2(1)
1.   In order to ensure compliance with all the Regulations in force
    concerning conservation and control measures, each Member State shall,
    within its territory and within maritime waters subject to its sovereignty
    or jurisdiction, monitor fishing activity and related activities. Tt
    shall inspect fishing vessels and all activities whose inspection would
    enable verification of the implementation of this Regulation, including
    the activities of landing, selling and distributing, transporting and
    storing fish and recording landings and sales.
 ---pagebreak---                       The previous Article 3(5) is deleted
                               Article 3(5) (new)
Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 39 of this
Regulation, the Commission may exempt from the obligations laid down in
paragraph 1, for a limited, renewable period, certain types of vessel flying
the flag of, or registered in, a Member State which are making a trip not
exceeding 24 hours, measured from the time of departure from port to the time
of return to port.
            The previous Article 6(1), (2), (3) and (5) are deleted
                               Article 6(1) (new)
1.  Skippers pf fishing vessels flying the flag of, or registered in, a Member
    State shall keep a logbook of their operations indicating the quantities
    of each species caught and held on board, the date and location of such
    catches and the type of gear used. The location of the catch shall be
    given aa a grid reference rounded down to the nearest degree.
                               Article 6(2) (new)
2
  * The names of species which have to be recorded in the logbook in
    accordance with paragraph 1 shall be included in lists drawn up in
    accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 39 and which must
    contain any stock or group of stocks subject to a TAC (total admissible
    catch) or quota.
                       Article 6(4) becomes Article 6(3)
                               Article 6(4) (new)
Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 39 of this
Regulation, the Commission may exempt from the obligations laid down in
paragraph 1, for a limited, renewable period, certain types of vessel flying
the flag of, or registered in, a Member State, particularly those whose length
overall does not exceed 10 metres.
                                                                     ../..
 ---pagebreak---                         Article 6(6) becomes Article 6(5)
5.  Skippers of fishing vessels must record the           data referred  to in
    paragraph 1 on paper or in computer-readable form.
               The second subparagraph of Article 7(3) is deleted
                   Second subparagraph of Article 7(3) (new)
Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 39 of this
Regulation, the Commission may exempt from this obligation, for a limited,
renewable period, skippers of certain types of vessel, in particular those
flying the flag of, or registered in, a Member State, and whose length overall
does not exceed 10 metres.
                       First subparagraph of Article 19(3)
3.  Information acquired pursuant to this Article may only be used for the the
    purpose for which it was requested and shall be available on request to
    the owners of the fishing vessels concerned.
                      Second subparagraph of Article 21(4)
    If the prejudice suffered by the Member State for which fishing has been
    prohibited before its quota was fished has not been removed by action in
    accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 6(3) of Regulation
    (EEC) No .../.., measures shall be adopted with the aim of remedying in an
    appropriate manner the prejudice caused, in accordance with the procedure
    laid down in Article 39. These measures may involve making deductions
    from the quota, allocation or share of the Member State which has
    overfished, the quantities so deducted to be allocated appropriately to
    the Member States whose fishing activities were halted before their quotas
    were exhausted. These deductions and the consequent allocations shall be
    made taking into account as a matter of priority the species and zones for
    which the annual quotas, allocations or shares were fixed. These
    deductions or allocations may be made during the year in which the
    prejudice occurred or in the succeeding year or years and shall be
    calculated in absolute terms or as a percentage in accordance with__the
    formula most advantageous to the Member State which has suffered the
    prejudice.
            New subparagraph inserted after the second subparagraph
                          in point (b) of Article 25(1)
The method used to calculate the penalty coefficients shall be ' ••?id down by
the Council, on a proposal from the Commission, at the sama _iipe as _the
corresponding restrictions on fishing activities.
                                                                      .-/-
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                                                  u
                                      Article 30(341
        (S&X    The Cemmlggionf the comptent authorities in -the Ufegabar gfcates and
                officials and other ace&ts ere obliged not to divulge Information.
                acquired pursuant to thi« Article which j.gr by its n&tar^, covQgsd bv
                professional secrecy ,
                                  Point f») ill Article 31(6)
        (a) Without prejudice to article 169 of the SEC Treaty, in the svent that
            officials authorised by the Commission discover possible iafrlngieasests of
            the Community rules referred to is. Article 1, or failures on the part of
            national dapartaentsto fulfil the obligations imposed on them under
            paragraph 4 of this article, the Coeasdjssion shall inform the Member State
            thereof without delay by means of a report. The Heather State shall take
            all action called for by the report. The Cotftttissioa may make the report
                                    •        * •     •mil—.—  I—I ' •' ' «III I iffTTIll llll   HI 11 iWffW»
            public-
                            Article 32(3) first, subparagraph (new}
       Member States shall ensure that comparable            penalties            are         imposed        for
       comparable offences throughout the Community.
                                          Article 38
       Before 31 ««roh each year Member states sh&ll transmit to the Commission a
       report on the Application of this Regulation over the previous twelve 'months/
       containing an assessment of the technical and human resources used and
       measures which may help to alleviate the shortcomings discovered, on the
       basis of the reports submitted by the Member States and its own observations,
       the Commission shall draw up an annual report and shall communicate to each
       Member state the information which concerns it. Having; taken due note of the
       replies from the Member states, the Commission shall publish this report alone;
       with those replies and, where appropriate, proposals for measures to alleviate
       the shortcoming» discovered.
T-CIU/HB/M
 ---pagebreak---                                                                      ISSN 0254-1475
                                                              COM(93) 107 final
                                                      DOCUMENTS
EN                                                                              03
                                Catalogue number : CB-CO-93-129-EN-C
                                                             ISBN 92-77-53796-5
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