Council Regulation (EC) No 639/2004 of 30 March 2004 on the management of fishing fleets registered in the Community outermost regions

Council Regulation (EC) No 639/2004
of 30 March 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 Commission,
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament(1),
Whereas:
(1) Council Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002 of 20 December 2002 on the conservation and sustainable exploitation of fisheries resources under the Common Fisheries Policy(2), and in particular Chapter III thereof, establishes a Community scheme to adjust the fishing capacities of the Member States' fleets, to a level globally compatible with fishing opportunities.
(2) Council Regulation (EC) No 2792/1999 of 17 December 1999 laying down the detailed rules and arrangements regarding Community structural assistance in the fisheries sector(3) covers modernisation of fishing vessels with public aid and public aid for the renewal of fishing vessels.
(3) Given the relative importance of the fisheries sector in those regions, it is justifiable to take account of the particular structural, social and economic situation of the Community outermost regions (outermost regions) in respect of management of fishing fleets. To that end, the provisions on management of entry/exit schemes and compulsory withdrawal of capacity, in Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002, and the rules on access to public aid for the modernisation and for the renewal of fishing vessels should be adapted to the needs of those regions.
(4) Any capacity increase for fleets registered in ports of outermost regions should also be limited to that justified by local fishing opportunities and the size of fleets kept in balance with those opportunities. To that end the objectives fixed by the multiannual guidance programmes IV (MAGP IV) for each fleet segment, as established in the Annex to Commission Decision 2002/652/EC of 29 July 2002 amending Decisions 98/119/EC to 98/131/EC in order to prolong the multiannual guidance programmes for the fishing fleets of the Member States until 31 December 2002(4), should be considered as reference levels for, or the upper limit to, the expansion of fleets registered in the French overseas departments, the Azores and Madeira.
(5) Specific reference levels should be determined for vessel segments registered in the Canary Islands, for which no specific objectives were fixed in the MAGP IV framework. These reference levels should take account of the capacity of the local fleet in relation to fishing possibilities.
(6) It is necessary to prevent vessels registered in the outermost regions from being transferred and used in the mainland after benefiting from more favourable treatment as regards the granting of public aid and/or conditions for entry into the fleet.
(7) It is justifiable to apply to the fleets registered in the outermost regions the same rules on fleet capacity management and public aid as are applied to vessels registered in the rest of the Community as soon as the reference levels defined in this Regulation are met, and in any case as from 1 January 2007, except for vessels having received public aid for renewal, where the entry into the fleet might take place until 31 December 2007.
(8) To facilitate the implementation of this Regulation, Member States should collect information on vessels registered in the outermost regions. The Commission should be provided with this information and report on it to ensure full transparency of measures implemented.
(9) As new general rules for fleet capacity management and public aid have been introduced in Regulations (EC) No 2371/2002 and (EC) No 2792/1999 with effect from 1 January 2003, the specific arrangements for the outermost regions should also apply from that date.
(10) The measures necessary for the implementation of this Regulation should be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission(5),