No deal on EMFF: Council and Commission responsible for failure, say MEPs
Following intense negotiations spread over several meetings between Parliament, Council and the Commission, no agreement was reached on the draft rules for allocating European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) aid to help fishermen comply with new Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) requirements.
"The Council Presidency and Commissioner Damanaki must share responsibility for this failure”, said rapporteur Alain Cadec (EPP, FR).
"Because of her unwillingness, the Commissioner together with the Council Presidency have derailed negotiations on the EMFF, a few hours after an overall agreement between Parliament and Council over the budget breakdown", he added, underlining that the Parliament's negotiating team walked out faced with what was considered a "provocation".
"While the Council was ready to give in to the Commission blackmail, the Parliament refused. The Council Presidency and the Commission cannot ignore the democratic legitimacy of Parliament”, declared Mr Cadec, with the support of the negotiating team's members Guido Milana (S&D, IT), Nils Torvalds (ALDE, FI), Raul Romeva i Rueda (Greens/EFA, ES) and Julie Girling (ECR, UK).
Alain Cadec will hold a press conference tomorrow, Friday, 20 December at 10:00 in the European Parliament's press room in Brussels (ASP 5G2).