Almeida Garrett (PPE-DE). – (PT) Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, as we all know, reconciling various Community policies is a task that is necessary, but not always easy. To put it simply, when we are involved in the fight against world poverty, our work is not only important: it is crucial.

Fish are a universally scarce resource. For the coastal communities of the poorest countries that live exclusively from fishing, it is a precious resource on which their very survival depends. We are, therefore, very pleased with the Commission statement on fisheries and poverty reduction and endorse Mr Lannoye’s report, both of which provide an intelligent definition of principles and suggest options that will enable us to reconcile supply for the Community market with the catching, processing and marketing of fish from the countries with which we have fisheries agreements.

There is a wise Chinese proverb, which teaches that acting responsibly involves ‘not giving a man a fish but teaching him how to fish’. This proverb is also applicable here, but with some changes because the fish we catch in other waters belong, first of all, to other countries. Promoting scientific research into resources and the equal sharing of this knowledge with developing countries, aid for the organisation of local communities that depend on fishing, improving and promoting mechanisms for regional cooperation and support for fighting against flags of convenience and illegal fishing are, therefore, only some of the measures that show that the course of action now being proposed is the right one for us to take together.