COUNCIL DECISION
of 22 December 1995
concerning the  objectives and detailed rules for restructuring the fisheries sector in Finland and Sweden over the  period 1 January 1995 to 31 December 1996 with a view to achieving a lasting balance between  resources and their exploitation
(95/577/EC)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 43  thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (2),
Whereas Council Regulation (EEC) No 3760/92 of 20 December 1992 establishing a Community system for  fisheries and aquaculture (3), and in particular Article 11 thereof, lays down provisions aiming to  ensure that the Community fisheries sector is restructured so as to take account of the available  and accessible resources, taking into account the characteristics of each fishery as well as the  possible economic and social consequences; whereas it is therefore appropriate that the aims and  procedures to restructure the Community fishing fleet should be set for each fishery or group of  fisheries;
Whereas, on the basis of a disquieting official report on the state of the resources accessible to  Community vessels, the Council agreed that it was necessary to ensure a limitation of the fishing  effort of the various segments of the Community fleets by a concerted programme of action, fairly  balanced between the various Member States but also differentiated according to fishery;
Whereas on the basis of this official report the Council adopted Decision 94/15/EC relating to the  objectives and detailed rules for restructuring the Community fisheries sector over the period 1  January 1994 to 31 December 1996 with a view to achieving a lasting balance between the resources  and their exploitation (4); whereas this Decision lays down, for each type of fishery, five-year  objectives for the reduction of fishing effort over the period 1992-96 of 20 %, 15 % and 0 % for  demersal, benthic and pelagic fisheries respectively, and lays down the detailed rules for the  implementation of these objectives within the framework of the multiannual guidance programmes for  1993-96;
Whereas medium- and long-term biological analyses of the state of resources in the Baltic Sea show  that there is no need to adopt a different approach to this maritime region than that adopted by  the Council for the main types of fisheries, and that those guidelines should therefore be applied  to the Finnish and Swedish fleets from the date of accession of those countries to the European  Union;
Whereas, however, such application must take account of the fact that only two years remain between  the date of accession and the expiry date of the programmes;
Whereas the objectives adopted in this Decision do not prejudge any provisions which may be  implemented under technical measures aiming to reduce fishing mortality due to fleets using passive  gears,
1. By 31 December 1996 at the latest, the fishing effort of the  fleets of Sweden and Finland, must have decreased by at least:
- 8 % for trawlers bottom-trawling for demersal stocks,
- 6 % for dredgers and beam trawlers targeting benthic stocks,
- 0 %, i.e. no growth, for the other fleet segments,
as compared with the estimated situation of the fleet on 1 January 1995.
2. At least 55 % of the effort reductions referred to in paragraph 1 must be purely by capacity  reductions.
The implementation of the objectives and procedures referred to in Article 1 shall be  ensured by the Commission, which shall, within three months of the adoption of this Decision, adopt  a multiannual guidance programme for both Finland and Sweden for the period running from 1 January  1995 to 31 December 1996 in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 5 (2) of Council  Regulation (EC) No 3699/93 of 21 December 1993 laying down the criteria and arrangements regarding  Community structural assistance in the fisheries and aquaculture sector and the processing and  marketing of its products (1).
The Commission shall take care, as far as possible, to apply the general provisions of the  multiannual guidance programmes to the fleets of Finland and Sweden and particularly the  segmentation principles and formulae for the calculation of the objectives.
Articles 3 and 4 of Decision 94/15/EC shall apply to Finland and Sweden.
This Decision is addressed to the Republic of Finland and the Kingdom of Sweden.