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Procedure : 2011/0195(COD)
Document stages in plenary
Document selected : A7-0008/2013

Texts tabled :

A7-0008/2013

Debates :

PV 05/02/2013 - 3
CRE 05/02/2013 - 3

Votes :

PV 06/02/2013 - 7.1
CRE 06/02/2013 - 7.1
Explanations of votes

Texts adopted :

P7_TA(2013)0040

Verbatim report of proceedings
Tuesday, 5 February 2013 - Strasbourg Revised edition

3. Common fisheries policy (debate)
Video of the speeches
PV
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  El Presidente. − El primer punto en el orden del día es el debate sobre el informe de Ulrike Rodust, en nombre de la Comisión de Pesca, sobre la propuesta de Reglamento del Parlamento Europeo y del Consejo sobre la Política Pesquera Común (COM(2011)0425 – C7-0198/2011- 2011/0195(COD)) (A7-0008/2013).

 
  
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  Ulrike Rodust, Berichterstatterin. − Herr Präsident, sehr geehrte Frau Damanaki, sehr geehrter Herr Minister, liebe Kolleginnen und Kollegen! Heute ist unser großer Tag. Heute zeigen wir: Das Europäische Parlament ist kein zahnloser Tiger. Heute zeigen wir: Wir sind kraftvoll, und wir entscheiden mit, wie die Zukunft für uns, unsere Kinder und Enkelkinder ausgestattet sein soll. Wir entscheiden: Schluss mit der Überfischung, Schluss mit der Ausbeutung der Meere, Schluss mit der Ausbeutung der Dritten Welt!

Mit der morgigen Abstimmung werden wir die bisherige Fischereipolitik, die ein einziges Desaster ist, vom Kopf auf die Füße stellen. Die Kommissarin, Frau Damanaki, hat die Vorlage geliefert. Daran haben wir alle intensiv gearbeitet. Jeder hat seine Vorstellung formuliert und sein Wissen eingebracht, so dass am Ende 2 500 Änderungsanträge auf dem Tisch lagen. Ich finde, wir können stolz auf uns sein, dass wir in langen Verhandlungen diese unglaubliche Menge an Text, hinter der sich so viele verschiedene, nicht immer kompatible Ideen verstecken, auf 100 Kompromisse eindampfen konnten. Wir können alle miteinander stolz sein, dass wir in dieser extrem komplexen Materie Lösungen gefunden haben, die den Bedürfnissen der Fischer, der Natur und den Wünschen unserer Verbraucher gerecht werden.

Lassen Sie mich kurz unsere Lösungen zu den wichtigsten Themen vorstellen: Wir haben ein Rückwurfverbot, das Schluss macht mit der skandalösen Ressourcenverschwendung, ein Rückwurfverbot, das von praktikablen Regeln zum Quotenmanagement begleitet ist, ein Rückwurfverbot, das – zugegebenermaßen – den Fischern viel abverlangt, aber auch eine Chance bedeutet, eine Chance auf ein besseres Image bei unseren Verbrauchern, eine Chance auf Mehrwert durch Nachhaltigkeitszertifikate usw. und nicht zuletzt eine Chance auf höhere Quoten und mehr Fänge für diejenigen Fischer, die es schaffen, selektiver zu fischen.

Ähnliches gilt für MSY: Ja, wir bleiben beim ehrgeizigen Ziel, alle Bestände auf ein Niveau über MSY anwachsen zu lassen. Und wir wollen auch, dass dies so schnell wie möglich geschieht. Aber auch hier haben wir eine Politik mit Augenmaß. Für die spezielle Situation gemischter Fischereien gibt es eine Ausnahmeregelung. Wenn die Bestände auf ein Level über MSY anwachsen, dann werden nach 2020 15 Millionen Tonnen mehr Fisch zur Verfügung stehen, und es werden 37 000 zusätzliche Arbeitsplätze geschaffen.

Der Ton in der Politik ist manchmal rau und in unserem Fischereiausschuss vielleicht sogar etwas rauer als anderswo. Ein Grund dafür ist, dass einige immer noch geglaubt haben, es wäre besser, diese Reform zu verhindern, und den Schwerpunkt ihrer Arbeit aufs Blockieren legen.

Nach der Abstimmung morgen ist eines klar: Es wird eine gemeinsame Reform geben, und wir werden alle gemeinsam daran arbeiten müssen. Ich bitte alle Beteiligten inständig: Konzentrieren wir uns darauf, wie wir die Reformgrundsätze sinnvoll umsetzen. Auch diejenigen unter uns, die es vorgezogen haben, im Wahlkreis über die EU und ihre Politik zu schimpfen. Lassen Sie uns weiter mit den Betroffenen in engem Kontakt bleiben. Ich kann Ihnen aus eigener Erfahrung sagen: Es lohnt sich! Wir brauchen die Mitarbeit und die Unterstützung der Fischer, insbesondere wenn wir es mit der Regionalisierung wirklich ernst meinen.

Sehr geehrte Frau Kommissarin, ich danke Ihnen für die gute Zusammenarbeit in den letzten anderthalb Jahren. Ich hoffe und bin mir sicher, wir werden diese in den nächsten Monaten fortsetzen.

Herr Minister, ich freue mich, dass Sie bei dieser wichtigen Debatte anwesend sind. Sie haben uns versichert, dass Sie unter irischer Präsidentschaft die Reform unter Dach und Fach bringen wollen. Das begrüßen wir natürlich. Eine Reform wird nur möglich sein, wenn der Rat akzeptiert, dass das Parlament das Recht der Mitentscheidung hat. Das gilt auch für die Langzeitmanagementpläne. Ich bitte Sie, in diesem Sinne für uns und mit uns zu verhandeln.

 
  
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  Simon Coveney, President-in-Office of the Council. − Mr President, firstly can I say that it is a real honour for me to be here. I can remember very clearly sitting in one of these seats for more than three years and I never thought that I would have the honour of addressing Members as an Irish Minister but, more importantly, on behalf of the Council during Ireland’s seventh Presidency of the European Council, and indeed on the 40th anniversary, almost to the day now, of our membership of the European Union.

Mrs Rodust is correct. This is a significant debate and a very significant issue. This is the first time that the European Parliament will be fundamentally a partner in the decision-making process around a common fisheries policy (CFP) reform. I want to assure you that, as the Presidency of the Council, we understand the codecision process and we understand the consequences of the Lisbon Treaty. We are determined to work as a Council with you as an equal partner in bringing about a real, fundamental and ambitious reform of the common fisheries policy, which is in need of reform.

We have, in my view, a joint objective here. In the not too distant future we want to see fishing activity in the European Union, and indeed outside the European Union where our fleets have a relationship, that is sustainable and conducted to maximum sustainable yield (MSY) levels. We want to see an end to the discarding of fish, which is indefensible, and we want to do that in a real and pragmatic way that can bring the industry with us, as well as satisfying all others that are watching and concerned about what we have not done in the past and need to do in the future to ensure that we have a sustainable management of fish stocks that can protect fish in the sea but also can protect rural, coastal and fishing communities that rely for their living and their income on a fishing industry.

We have an opportunity now in the next five months. You have a Presidency of the Council which wants to work with you. You have a Presidency of the Council which wants to bring the Council to a final position on the key regulation by the end of this month so that we can then open a trialogue process with the Commissioner, who also has similar objectives, so that we can reach a conclusion in the codecision process by the end of June.

In my view, the window of opportunity is there for a deal to make something significant happen and to move from debate and discussion to decision and action on a new CFP. That window will not be open forever. In my view, there is a real danger that, if we do not grasp the opportunity for momentum and change now, we may lose that momentum and may not see a common fisheries policy reform agreed in the lifetime of this Parliament and potentially in the lifetime of this Commission.

In my view, if we were to allow that to happen, our citizens would not forgive us easily, and they would be right not to, because there is no reason for us to delay significantly any longer. We have been debating these issues now for more than two years. The key rapporteurs and coordinators in this room and in the Committee on Fisheries understand these issues, as do the Ministers in the Council. We now need to find a pragmatic way forward as politicians, as policy makers and as people who have the trust of the population across the European Union who expect and want a real modernisation of fishing that can allow sustainable fishing practices into the future.

I want to work with Parliament on that. I want to help to solve the ongoing dispute around interinstitutional issues that we need to resolve in the context of the Lisbon Treaty and also in the context of CFP reform. I look forward to hearing what all of you have to say and I look forward to the opportunity to respond to the debate at the end.

Can I finish by once again congratulating you on the extraordinary work done, particularly in committees so far. There were just under 3 000 amendments to get through. You have now distilled those down into compromise amendments, which I hope will be voted on tomorrow. I hope that by tomorrow evening we will have a clear picture as to Parliament’s position on the key regulation, so that we can then follow suit in the Council to do the same at the end of this month, then move on to an ambitious partnership in terms of the forthcoming trialogue, so that we can finalise a deal over the next four or five months.

If we do that, I think we will have achieved something very significant for our fishing industries, and indeed for everyone who is following this debate with hope and expectation that something significant and positive is going to happen. Thank you for the invitation to be here.

 
  
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  Maria Damanaki, Member of the Commission. − Mr President, let me first thank the Members of this Parliament for the great and dedicated work you have all done on the report we are going to discuss here today. I would like to thank Ms Rodust and her team and also the shadow rapporteurs and their teams for bringing us here. This report is very important, and this is a very important moment in the history of our European institutions.

It is the first time in European history that Parliament has been able to co-decide on our fisheries policy and be fully engaged in this exercise. This is a great step forward in the whole process of democratisation of our European institutions.

What do we have to do next? I think that everybody here – Parliament, the Council, and the Commission – can understand our responsibilities. Our responsibility in the coming months is to go on with this. We have to finish this very difficult exercise to come up with a new fisheries policy. We have to build a better relationship between our three institutions.

I hope that we can put an end to the deadlock on long-term management plans, and the decisions about them, during the Irish Presidency. The Commission is here to facilitate dialogue in any way we can.

So what is Parliament going to discuss today and what you are going to vote on tomorrow? You have the opportunity to go for a real change. What do I mean when I refer to a real change? We have to change our policy in order to stop over-fishing, because this is the best way to go forward for our fishermen, for our coastal communities, for our stocks and for our citizens. If we stop over-fishing and bring the stocks back to sustainability, then everybody will profit from it. It will benefit not only the environment, not only stocks, it will be the best for all of us – and I am not talking in terms of only the Commission or only one political party here. It can be done.

When I took office – I would like to say this again here – we had only five fish stocks that were managed sustainably. Today we have 27; so it can be done. We can do it all together. We also have an opportunity to bring about change to create the building blocks for a more profitable fishing industry where fishermen and their families earn a decent living.

We need a real change to stop discarding, because this practice is something we can no longer justify. Not only is it harmful but it also not justifiable to our citizens. We cannot explain to anybody that we have to throw away an average of 23% of the fish we catch.

We can also help to unlock the potential of aquaculture businesses in Europe so that land-locked countries can also practise aquaculture. We also have to change the way we use our taxpayers’ money, because in this time of crisis it becomes ever more valuable. We can change the way we contribute to the prosperity of our coastal communities. So this is our real opportunity.

Your Fisheries Committee has put forward a very good deal. If we go through with this deal then by 2020 we will have increased the amount of fish in our seas by 15 million tonnes and the fish landed by our fishermen by half a million tonnes. The potential is there. We can also increase the income of our fishermen by 25% and create 38% more jobs by 2022.

I hope to be able to support the deal that comes out of the Fisheries Committee. I would like to say once again that during the trialogues I will be open to all proposals and all ideas from this House. I hope that all the Members of this Parliament will grasp this opportunity and go forward. I really believe that this is not an issue between the Commission, the Council or certain political parties; this is an opportunity for us all.

 
  
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  Isabella Lövin, rapporteur for the opinion of the Committee on Development. − Mr President, tomorrow this Parliament has the chance to end over-fishing, not only in Europe but also in other parts of the world.

We are now importing 65% of all the fish that we consume; we are the world’s largest fish market. That is clearly not sustainable. The Commissioner has made it clear that if the EU does not radically reform its common fisheries policy now, only eight out of all the commercially exploited fish stocks will be at sustainable levels in 2022. That would mean importing more and fishing more elsewhere, and just going on destroying what is left of our once-abundant seas.

Tomorrow we will have the responsibility and the opportunity to change this destructive route. The Rodust report, as adopted in the Committee on Fisheries, was a real step towards ending over-fishing.

We want to impose the obligation to rebuild fish stocks, and not just to minimum levels where they possibly could produce a steady yield; we want to rebuild them to a level exceeding this. Norway and Russia have proved that this is possible. In the Barents Sea, if they had aimed to keep the cod stock at maximum sustainable yield (MSY) levels they would now only have half a million tonnes of spawning stock biomass there. But they have aimed to rebuild the stock above MSY levels, and they now have two million tonnes – four times MSY levels.

This proves that it is not only environmentally sound to rebuild fish stocks above minimum MSY levels, but it also means good business. Fish a little less now and spend a lot less money trying, and earn a lot more money in the future. That is the good future we want to see for the fishermen of Europe.

If we aim only at MSY levels we are condemning fishermen to continue to struggle where stocks are balancing at the point of MSY and could at any time be deemed over-fished, which would mean that limits would have to be imposed on fishing. Fishermen do not want that; they want stability in catches, they want safe investments and they want to be able to tell their banks that they are going to have a future because stocks are so abundant that there are no risks at all involved in their fisheries.

I am very happy that the majority of our Fisheries Committee supported this view, and I hope to see even stronger support from Parliament as a whole.

We must also recall the position of the Council, which I find quite shocking. They, too, commit to rebuilding fish stocks in their approach, but have made a little addition: the two words ‘where possible’, without defining ‘where possible’. I think it is very important that citizens of Europe are made aware of this. Member States have not thought it ‘possible’ to set quotas at sustainable levels over the last 30 years, so why would they now think it is possible?

The EU should show leadership on sustainable fisheries to the rest of the world. I want to thank Ms Rodust and all our colleagues because we are on the way to achieving that together. I agree with Mr Coveney that we need a modernisation of fisheries policy.

 
  
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  Chris Davies, rapporteur for the opinion of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety. − Mr President, we have indeed a historic vote tomorrow. We have a chance not only to do something good for fish and for fishermen, but also something good for Europe, because without doubt the common fisheries policy has not been an ornament to this Union. It has been criticised enormously, and not least by the Commissioner, who has herself described it as a failure – and you cannot get more blunt than that.

The problems, of course, have not been that we do not share our seas in common or our fish in common, but that the policy has been wrong. Year after year, each December, Ministers have got together and set TACs and quotas for the following year, too often ignoring the scientific advice and too often, let it be said, listening to the fishermen. Fishermen can be their own worst enemy in looking only to the short term rather than planning for the long term, and urging ministers to exceed quotas even if it reduces fish stocks in the long term.

Now the Commission has put forward proposals for change – long-term management plans for every fishery – and I thank the Irish Fisheries Minister for the efforts he is making in freeing the logjam and ensuring that discussions take place between Parliament and Council to make progress on the dossier.

We have a chance to rebuild fish stocks above maximum sustainable yield (MSY), as we have heard, and to end discards, which are just a moral disgrace; it is a disgrace to throw millions of tonnes of perfectly edible fish overboard.

Of course there are going to be problems. There are going to be problems in managing mixed fisheries to achieve MSY. And there will be problems in ending discards. But let us look to the goal. The goal is to rebuild fish stocks, to recreate the abundance that once existed and to restore our seas to that state. The problems will fade away and be easily dealt with if there are more fish in the seas, if there is a secure future for fishermen and if we have confidence in that future.

 
  
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  Younous Omarjee, rapporteur pour avis de la commission du développement régional. − Monsieur le Président, Madame la Commissaire, il est une donnée fondamentale que nous devons garder présente à l'esprit. Si nous continuons au rythme de prédation actuel, en 2050 il n'y aura plus un seul poisson disponible pour la pêche commerciale.

Voilà pourquoi nous ne pouvons plus continuer comme par le passé. Voilà pourquoi tout doit être repensé, en tenant compte de cette évidence qu'il faut répéter: la disparition des poissons entraînera forcément avec elle la disparition des pêcheurs. C'est pourquoi la réduction des quantités capturées est certes un impératif écologique, mais c'est aussi un impératif économique. Notre commission s'est prononcée pour que cet effort soit placé au-delà du RMD dès 2017.

Pour autant, des questions restent posées concernant la capacité des pêcheurs les plus fragiles à supporter les efforts attendus de cette mutation importante. Je plaide pour un renforcement des mesures d'accompagnement et pour la mise en œuvre de véritables mesures de compensation.

Je crois enfin qu'à ce jour, nous devons nous inquiéter des décisions que le Conseil européen prendra prochainement concernant le budget. Il est à regretter que l'ambition dont nous sommes porteurs ici, au Parlement européen, ne soit pas relayée par les chefs des États membres, qui s'apprêtent à des coupes budgétaires.

 
  
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  Carmen Fraga Estévez, en nombre del Grupo PPE. – Señor Presidente, lo ajustado de la votación en comisión demuestra que el compromiso propuesto por la señora ponente no ha sido del todo satisfactorio. El camino escogido para la regionalización abre una vía a la discriminación de los buques por razón de nacionalidad.

La propuesta de la Comisión para cambiar nuestro nefasto sistema de gestión a través de los derechos de pesca tampoco ha salido adelante. Y, sin embargo, quizá para compensar, se apuesta todo a una inmediata prohibición de los descartes, a la que no hay nada que objetar si no fuera porque es muy fácil decirlo, pero muy difícil hacerlo, sin modificar el sistema de gestión que, justamente, ha creado el problema. Es como no querer cambiar el tratamiento al paciente y simplemente prohibir que se ponga enfermo.

El cambio resulta tan brutal que se ha convertido en la principal preocupación del sector pesquero de la UE, se busque en el país que se busque. Por ello, nuestro Grupo ha presentado una enmienda que – y lo quiero dejar bien claro esta vez – de ninguna manera pretende evitar la obligación de desembarcar todas las capturas, obligación que mantenemos desde el primer párrafo. Lo que intentamos es racionalizar el modo de hacerlo. Tiene el apoyo de todo el sector pesquero, desde el Mediterráneo hasta el Báltico. Así es que creo que vale la pena el esfuerzo. Solo buscamos una fórmula para ayudarles en la transición hacia una obligación muy nueva y muy radical con el objetivo de que la puedan cumplir.

Incluso Noruega, citada hasta la saciedad como ejemplo en la prohibición de los descartes, necesitó décadas hasta ponerlo en marcha y solo lo consiguió para unas pocas especies.

Creo que nuestros pescadores, en un ámbito mucho más complejo que el noruego, se merecen, al menos, una oportunidad semejante. Cuento, Señorías, por tanto, con que sus decisiones sean reflexivas, y, como ha dicho el Presidente en ejercicio del Consejo, necesitamos mayor pragmatismo. Y estoy convencida de que el compromiso final con el Consejo se aproximará mucho más a la enmienda del Partido Popular Europeo que al informe de la señora ponente.

 
  
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  Guido Milana, a nome del gruppo S&D. – Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, oggi è un giorno importante, lo hanno detto in molti. Il Parlamento sta esercitando il suo ruolo per la prima volta nel settore della pesca e lo fa con cognizione di causa, lo fa integrando la proposta della Commissione, lo fa anche prendendo un po' le distanze da ciò che è maturato nel Consiglio. Stiamo svolgendo il nostro ruolo e di questo dobbiamo essere tutti, nell'interezza di quest'Aula, contenti.

Io sono uno di quelli che sostiene moltissimo il lavoro fatto dalla collega Rodust. In fondo, cosa accade con questo lavoro? Si potrà pescare il sostenibile. Sembra un'affermazione ovvia ma prima non era così. L'MSY significa poter pescare ciò che è sostenibile. La vicenda dei rigetti è semplicissima: non si deve pescare più ciò che è inutile pescare, perché se vogliamo davvero cambiare le sorti di questo settore, degli operatori, del mare e della sua capacità di riproduzione, dobbiamo smetterla di pescare ciò che era inutile pescare. Eliminare i rigetti significa questo ed è un elemento molto semplice comprensibile ai cittadini europei. Il Parlamento manda questo messaggio in maniera molto chiara e puntuale.

È un passaggio epocale perché probabilmente noi stiamo trasformando o stiamo iniziando a trasformare una miniera nella quale prelevare una risorsa in un grande campo da coltivare. Questo è un passaggio allo stesso modo epocale e politicamente forte, che il Parlamento consegna nelle mani della Commissione e del Consiglio: trasformare la miniera in un campo da coltivare. Proprio perché è un campo da coltivare c'è un emendamento che il nostro gruppo ha sostenuto, e che in parte è stato recuperato dalla proposta della collega Rodust, che riguarda la creazione di una rete importante di nursering, cioè gli asili per i pesci, i luoghi nei quali poter costruire le condizioni affinché il mare produca di più e aiuti i pescatori ad avere maggiore risorsa. Nella proposta dell'emendamento è indicata anche una percentuale e invito i colleghi a votarla. In commissione è passato il principio e spero che l'Aula faccia un passo in avanti.

 
  
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  Pat the Cope Gallagher, thar ceann an Ghrúpa ALDE. – A Uachtaráin, cuirimse fáilte roimh an Choimisinéir agus go háirithe roimh an Uachtarán-in-Oifig, Simon Coveney, anseo inniu. Tá áthas ar ndóigh orm deis a fháil páirt a ghlacadh sa díospóireacht thábhachtach seo faoi athbhreithniú ar Chomhbheartas Iascaigh an Aontais agus, ar ndóigh, déanaimse comhghairdeas chomh maith le mo chara Ulrike Rodust a rinne an-obair.

The Irish seafood sector employs some 11 000 people and contributes up to EUR 700 million annually in national income. The fishing, processing and aquaculture sectors create and maintain jobs in rural, coastal and small island communities, where there is often no source of alternative employment.

We have a collective duty, not only in Ireland but throughout the Union, to these communities. In our country, over 80% of vessels in the fleet are below 15 metres in length, and they fish mainly inshore and from coastal islands. These islands off the coast of Ireland are characterised by their dependence on small vessels at the mercy of adverse weather conditions on the Atlantic seaboard. This is a unique, dramatic and harsh aspect of the common fisheries policy, and indeed of our European heritage, which we lose at our peril. I am pleased by the support I have received for my amendment on small coastal islands at committee stage, and I am hopeful of the same support at plenary.

Furthermore, the Hague Resolution of 1976 reinforces the right to protect, sustain and develop island communities, and I am seeking to enshrine in the reform this commitment which is already recognised in the recitals. Decision-making procedures under the new reform must be simplified. I am pleased by the decision of the committee to support my amendment, which recommends the introduction of a standardised control and enforcement regime. It is very difficult to understand how something can be a criminal offence in one Member State and be dealt with by an administrative sanction in another Member State. This leads to an unlevel playing field within the Union. In my view, a common system will help to address key issues surrounding illegal fishing.

A move to regional structures is absolutely essential. The issue of discards is a complex and multi-faceted one; it is not a simple one, as suggested by the celebrity chefs. I will continue, in the context of trialogue negotiations, to emphasise again and again that a solution to discards must be based on avoidance and minimisation in the first instance, and appropriate incentives to encourage compliance and stakeholder support.

In conclusion, it would be remiss of me, in the presence of the Commissioner and the rapporteur for the trade sanctions, not to mention the unsustainable fishing which is being carried out in the North-East Atlantic in relation to mackerel.

(The President cut off the speaker)

 
  
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  Ian Hudghton, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group. – Mr President, I recently had occasion to look back over my 14 years in this Parliament. Lo and behold, in a speech here in Strasbourg in February 1999, I said – and I quote – ‘I firmly believe that bringing the decision-making process closer to those who are most affected by the CFP and are responsible for its implementation would lead to more respect for the provisions of the CFP and a more successful policy per se’.

In January 2001, I said ‘I contend that the principal objective of the CFP, namely the conservation of fish stocks, has not been realised, and as result we have had to face dramatic year-on-year fluctuations in quotas. In addition, we must re-examine the process by which, and the level at which, decisions are made. A system of zonal management should be established’, and so on.

I restate that not in order to indicate how smart I might have been, but rather to illustrate the sad indictment of the failure of the CFP since we in this Parliament were saying those things, and since now we hear many Members saying exactly the same things. However, one significant improvement in the general situation is that everybody now accepts that the CFP has been a failure, and that includes the Commissioner. Thank you Commissioner. Hopefully this time, with our co-decision power, rather than the consultative input that we had in the past, we can actually get somewhere.

I will be supporting measures which are designed to eliminate the scandal of discards, because that is another subject that I was raging about many years ago. It is still the case that the CFP is causing discards to a large extent.

I think we should be building on the few successes that we have had in recent years, for example the 12-mile zone, where management by the fishing nations themselves has been relatively successful, Scotland’s own efforts through its selectivity measures, through real-time closures decided upon by locals and moved around as required by the situation, CCTV observation and conservation credits, in order to provide the incentive that was mentioned.

So decentralisation is still for me the number one objective. For that reason, I oppose amendments like 253, which would centrally impose the closure of 10 % of waters, rather than leaving these matters to be decided on the basis of real circumstances. That amendment is going in the opposite direction of decentralisation.

(The President cut off the speaker)

 
  
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  Marek Józef Gróbarczyk, w imieniu grupy ECR. – Panie Przewodniczący! Przede wszystkim chciałbym podziękować i pogratulować pani Ulrice Rodust za ogromną pracę, jaką włożyła w przygotowanie tego trudnego sprawozdania. Wypracowany kompromis świadczy o niezwykłym zaangażowaniu sprawozdawczyni. Potrzebę reformy wspólnej polityki rybołówstwa odczuwają wszyscy: rybacy, przetwórcy, społeczność nadmorska oraz środowisko naturalne. Dotychczasowa wspólna polityka rybacka kładzie się cieniem na koncepcję centralnego zarządzania zasobami bez uwzględnienia specyfiki poszczególnych akwenów. Najbardziej znamiennym i niezrozumiałym efektem dotychczasowej wspólnej polityki rybołówstwa jest marnotrawstwo tysięcy ton zdrowych ryb poprzez nakaz stosowania odrzutów. To bowiem największy paradoks wspólnej polityki rybołówstwa przyczyniający się do degradacji środowiska naturalnego i branży rybołówstwa.

Wspólna polityka rybacka opiera się na kilku podstawowych filarach – zasadniczy stanowi regionalizacja, która w znacznie większym stopniu niż dotychczas będzie kształtować regulacje w zakresie poszczególnych akwenów. Warto przy tej okazji odnieść się do ułomności Traktatu z Lizbony, który uniemożliwia przeprowadzenie pełnej regionalizacji, co potwierdza potrzebę przeprowadzenia zmian. Drugi zasadniczy element wspólnej polityki rybackiej to pozostawienie prawa do połowów decyzji państw członkowskich. Obligatoryjne wprowadzenie przez Komisję Europejską sprzedaży kwot połowowych byłoby niezwykle szkodliwe dla przyszłości rybołówstwa i tworzyłoby prywatne strefy wód, gdzie zasoby stanowić by miały jedynie wartość finansową.

Kolejnym elementem wspólnej polityki jest ochrona drobnego rybołówstwa – to przede wszystkim przedsiębiorstwa rodzinne, niezwykle wrażliwe na zachowanie wspólnego rynku. Wielu obszarom nadmorskim rybołówstwo na małą skalę daje możliwość tworzenia wielu, wielu miejsc pracy przy zachowaniu zrównoważonego podejścia. Ostatni element to akwakultura, która musi stanowić uzupełnienie branży rybackiej, a jej rozwój w sposób znaczący powiększa rynek pracy. Nowa wspólna polityka rybacka stwarza możliwości rozwoju akwakultury. Jednocześnie chcę powiedzieć, że grupa ECR będzie popierać omawiane sprawozdanie.

 
  
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  Νικόλαος Σαλαβράκος, εξ ονόματος της ομάδας EFD. – Κύριε Πρόεδρε, το κείμενο της προτάσεως της κυρίας Rodust είναι πολύ ικανοποιητικό και υπάρχουν και λογικές τροπολογίες που πιστεύω να υπερψηφιστούν αύριο, εις τρόπον ώστε να καταλήξουμε σε μια νέα αλιευτική πολιτική για την Ευρώπη που θα ισχύσει για τα επόμενα δέκα χρόνια.

Σύμφωνα με τα διαθέσιμα στοιχεία γίνεται υπεραλίευση του 75% των ιχθυαποθεμάτων της Ένωσης, ενώ ποσοστό μεγαλύτερο του 60% στα ευρωπαϊκά ύδατα αλιεύονται πέραν της μεγίστης βιώσιμης απόδοσης. Η πλεονάζουσα αλιευτική ικανότητα του στόλου, ο ελλιπής έλεγχος, η έλλειψη αξιόπιστων επιστημονικών δεδομένων και η μη συμμόρφωση των κρατών μελών στις επιστημονικές γνωμοδοτήσεις επί σειρά ετών είναι μερικά από τα προβλήματα τα οποία καλούμεθα να επιλύσουμε.

Η Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση χάνει ετησίως δυνητικά έσοδα της τάξεως των 2 δισεκατομμυρίων περίπου ευρώ γιατί δεν μπορεί να διαχειριστεί την αλιεία της με βιώσιμο τρόπο. Η καθιέρωση της μέγιστης βιώσιμης απόδοσης, όπως υιοθετήθηκε από την Επιτροπή Αλιείας, πιστεύω ότι θα επιφέρει σημαντικά οικονομικά, περιβαλλοντικά και κοινωνικά οφέλη.

Ακόμα η πρόταση για απαγόρευση των απορρίψεων κρίνεται κατά βάση ορθή, καθώς κανείς δεν θέλει να γίνεται κατασπατάληση πόρων, ειδικότερα στις δύσκολες οικονομικές συγκυρίες που διανύουμε. Ωστόσο, όμως, θα πρέπει να είμαστε προσεκτικοί ως προς τις κοινωνικοοικονομικές επιπτώσεις αυτού του μέτρου.

Συγχαρητήρια στην κυρία Rodust και όλους τους συναδέλφους οι οποίοι εργάστηκαν για αυτήν την έκθεση καθώς και το προσωπικό. Στο σημείο αυτό θέλω επίσης να εξάρω την καλή συνεργασία της κυρίας Δαμανάκη.

 
  
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  Mikael Gustafsson, för GUE/NGL-gruppen. – Herr talman! Det finns mycket man skulle kunna säga om fiskeripolitiken, men jag hinner bara göra två korta nedslag.

För det första: Vi måste stoppa slöseriet där helt ätbar fisk kastas överbord. Vi behöver ett förbud mot detta för att kunna få ett hållbart fiske. Alla fångster måste tas i land. Inget får kastas tillbaka i havet.

För det andra, angående det maximala hållbara uttaget (MSY, Maximum Sustainable Yield): Idag är 2 av 3 fiskarter överfiskade. Att ligga över MSY innebär att komma tillrätta med det här problemet. Det är att tänka på framtiden att hellre lägga sig på den säkra sidan än att riskera att fiskbestånd försvinner.

Om vi nu under ett antal år genomför mer striktare regler kan det till 2020 innebära för fiskeindustrin att fångsterna har ökat, att fiskarnas löner har stigit och att vi har skapat tusentals nya jobb.

För att få ett hållbart fiske som tar hänsyn till våra ekosystem måste vi ta viktiga steg idag. Fiskeriutskottets förslag är bra och skulle säkert kunna förstärkas ytterligare. Men jag ber dock alla att lägga bort kortsiktiga intressen och i stället se till helheten. Det kommer att betala sig i framtiden med mera fisk, med större fiskar, många fler jobb i fiskeindustrin och stärkta ekosystem.

 
  
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  Diane Dodds (NI). - Mr President, I want to convey my appreciation to our rapporteur Ms Rodust on the painstaking work that she has done in bringing this report to this stage. I also want to convey a welcome to Minister Coveney to this House. The Minister is no stranger to Northern Ireland’s fishing sector and we look forward to positive action during his time in charge in the Council.

Let me focus on some specific policy areas. I agree that this Parliament is right to support a ban on the discarding of fish. This is morally indefensible and should end. However, we must recognise that it is the very rules of the common fisheries policy that have contributed to such a situation. As well as this vote today, Commissioner, I urge you to act in haste and look at the policies already in place which contribute to the discarding of fish and remedy this situation.

I would commend those Member States which have already launched initiatives to deal with fish discarding, and I want to recognise that the industry in Northern Ireland is being proactive with continuing work on gear selectivity.

On regionalisation we are moving in the right direction. Regional advisory councils are central to the policy, but they need to have the appropriate remit and resources to allow them to deliver a regional policy where decisions are based at regional level and not in the normal top-down Brussels fashion.

On 3 November 1976 the Council agreed a resolution that extended the fishing zones of Member States in the North Sea and North Atlantic to 200 miles. Annex 7 to this resolution recognised the so-called ‘Hague preference’ in order to take account of the needs of certain local communities particularly dependent upon fishing.

Greenland, the Irish Republic and the northern part of the United Kingdom were defined as ‘Hague preference’ regions. Northern Ireland, as part of the United Kingdom, should benefit from the Hague resolution, but does not. In fact, for some considerable time, our fishermen have had fishing opportunities taken away from them because of the resolution. Fishermen from other parts of Europe not classified as Hague regions are penalised in a similar way.

(The speaker agreed to take a blue-card question under Rule 149(8))

 
  
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  James Nicholson (ECR), blue-card question. – Ms Dodds, I am grateful to you for letting me put a question. You ended on the Hague Preference, and Mr Hudghton earlier on referred to how long he has been in this House. I have been here a lot longer than he has. Ever since I have been in this House, the Hague Preference – would you not agree – has been the most discriminatory policy against Northern Ireland fishermen that has ever been seen. The Hague Preference worked totally against the small fishermen.

 
  
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  Diane Dodds (NI), blue-card answer. – Mr Nicholson, thank you for your intervention. Yes, the Hague preference does discriminate against Northern Ireland’s fishermen. That resolution is 36 years old. Far from enshrining it in a new common fisheries policy, we should be reviewing it.

Can I also say that the discarding of fish is wrong, Mr Nicholson, and our fishermen in Northern Ireland have been proactive in the matter of selective gears to try to eliminate this problem. We now need the Commission also to look at the rules around the CFP and make sure that they are not contributing to the problem as well.

 
  
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  Antonello Antinoro (PPE). - Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, grazie alla signora Commissario, grazie al Consiglio. Io chiaramente mi associo all'essere contento per il dibattito che oggi si svolge e che soprattutto ci vedrà impegnati domani con un voto che, per la prima volta, come commissione per la pesca ci vede partecipare al processo codecisionale.

Il tema però è un altro. Ho ascoltato tutti gli interventi e mi ha anche lasciato un attimo impressionato ciò che dicevano i colleghi presenti in questo Parlamento da molti anni, che hanno forse sentito le stesse parole negli anni passati e che oggi si ritrovano a riascoltarle, e io non vorrei che ci ritrovassimo ad ascoltarle fra qualche anno per chi vi sarà al posto nostro.

Il lavoro che è stato fatto dalla collega Rodust è forse il massimo possibile, però ci sono alcuni punti sui quali noi come gruppo del PPE ci siamo ritrovati in una posizione diversa, non per principio, non perché vogliamo essere contro un percorso che forse non ci ha visti partecipi in modo organico. È chiaro che sulla gestione tramite il rendimento massimo sostenibile pensiamo le stesse cose di ciò che è stato detto stamattina. È chiaro che sull'obbligo di sbarco delle catture indesiderate siamo d'accordo che ci vogliono regole certe e che i rigetti non possono essere così indiscriminati. È chiaro che sulla regionalizzazione abbiamo lo stesso principio. Però, così come questa riforma esce dalla commissione non ci ha soddisfatto in modo particolare. Ciò che suggeriva la collega Fraga prima, con l'emendamento per esempio sui rigetti da lei proposto, credo sia la corretta formula per la transizione.

Io credo che la riforma vada fatta e dobbiamo andare avanti, però probabilmente un maggior punto di sintesi sarebbe stato sicuramente sia a vantaggio della sostenibilità della pesca che a vantaggio dei nostri pescatori, perché poi la riforma deve scontrarsi quotidianamente con il vivere dei nostri pescatori e qualcuno gli deve pur spiegare che l'Europa lavora per loro e non lavora contro di loro. Così com'è appare forse che non lavora soltanto per loro. Allora, io mi auguro che nel proseguo …

(Il Presidente interrompe l'oratore)

 
  
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  Илияна Малинова Йотова (S&D). - Г-жо Комисар, поздравявам Ви за смелата реформа, която ни предложихте. Искрено искам да поздравя и докладчика, г-жа Rodust, която успя да ни представи един наистина убедителен регламент. Около 3 000 изменения и над 100 постигнати компромиса говорят сами за себе си, за трудната работа, в която се постигна златното сечение между защитата на рибните видове, интересите на рибарите и развитието на рибарската индустрия.

Безспорно постижение е изискването за премахване на свръхулова, за да се достигне до възстановяване на рибните запаси, както и забраната за изхвърляне на улов в открито море. Наред с регулирането на отношенията с трети страни и на индустриалния риболов, от особено значение е акцентът върху крайбрежния риболов, който храни стотици хиляди семейства в страните от Съюза.

Заедно с доклада за аквакултурата на колегата Guido Milana и предстоящото приемане на новия фонд за рибарство, настоящият регламент създава много добри предпоставки за развитието на сектора, откриване на нови работни места, участие на жените и развитието на крайморските райони и сладководните басейни.

Няма как да не отбележа вниманието, отделено за създаването на регионалните организации за управлението на рибарството. Изразявам удовлетворението на рибарите от Черноморието — нов регион за Европейския съюз, и съм убедена, че бъдещата регионална дирекция за Черно море ще има огромна роля за запазване на морските ресурси и развитието на рибарството.

 
  
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  Nils Torvalds (ALDE). - Herr talman! Fiskeripolitiken hör till ett av Europas största misslyckanden. Idag står vi inför att ändra det. Två tredjedelar av Europas fiskebestånd har varit besvärligt överfiskade. Överfiske är inte bara en ekologisk katastrof, utan det är samtidigt en ekonomisk och social katastrof. Det betyder färre fångster och mindre ekonomi i våra kustsamhällen. Den här spiralen kan vi bryta i morgondagens omröstning.

Jag vill här passa på att tacka Ulrike Rodust för hennes utmärkta och hårda arbete med betänkandet. Vielen dank, frau Rodust, das war außerordentlich gut gemacht. En av huvudpunkterna i omröstningen är att nå maximal hållbar avkastning. Det betyder fisk på borden också i fortsättningen.

En annan huvudpunkt är att få ett förbud på utkast. Varje år slänger man ut 1,7 miljoner ton död eller döende fisk överbord, det är ett omoraliskt slöseri. Låt oss alltså förändra Europas fiskeripolitik här och imorgon.

 
  
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  Raül Romeva i Rueda (Verts/ALE). - Señor Presidente, estamos ante un momento histórico, y ya no nos queda margen. Si queremos salvar los peces, los mares y océanos y, por ende, la actividad pesquera bien entendida, debemos cambiar radicalmente el rumbo.

Está en nuestras manos dejar atrás la política suicida de vaciar sin razón ni sentido los mares y océanos, y empezar a trabajar de forma seria y responsable en favor de una actividad necesaria y que, precisamente por ello, debe ser sostenible.

Pero para ello debemos ser claros, tajantes. Debemos dejar de apoyar a quienes nos han llevado a esta situación; a quienes han sobreexplotado los mares por ceguera o por avaricia; a quienes pescan más, mucho más, de lo que los mares pueden permitirse; a quienes pescan mal o de forma ilegal e ilícita. Y, en cambio, debemos apoyar a aquellos buques que pescan con un impacto muy bajo, a quienes capturan de forma selectiva, menos dañina para el medio, más responsable, y con más sensibilidad social y ambiental.

Está en nuestras manos cambiar el rumbo y empezar de una vez ...

(El Presidente retira la palabra al orador)

 
  
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  Struan Stevenson (ECR). - Mr President, first of all let me congratulate Ulrike Rodust for her fortitude and all her hard work on this reform package.

Every speaker has mentioned the need to end discards. Of course, we support that absolutely, but we must not forget, as Diane Dodds told us, that it was the Commission who introduced the plethora of regulations that forced fishermen to discard fish. That is why an important part of this reform is regionalisation, devolving day-to-day management back to the Member States. I am so glad that Maria Damanaki, since she came here, has recognised that micro-management from the centre has failed.

So I welcome moves towards fishing up to MSY levels and I welcome the introduction of regionalisation and the ending of discards, but there are still some missing links. We need more, and better, science on all of our fish stocks. We need to ask ourselves why, after years of cod recovery plans in the North Sea, cod stocks are still not significantly improving. We need to look at the impact of climate change, and indeed the impact of sea mammal predation on fish stocks. That seems to me to be the missing link in all the Commission’s work.

I am glad that in Simon Coveney we have a Minister who is now willing to tackle the interinstitutional dispute and get the multiannual plans back on track.

 
  
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  John Stuart Agnew (EFD). - Mr President, for 40 years we waited for the Commission to grace us with some amendments to the common fisheries policy, in which time the EU has emaciated the British fleet to half its size, ruined local jobs and coastal towns and destroyed our fish stocks. So while I am glad that the obscene practice of discards is being addressed, it cannot be denied that the EU has a terrible record in the fishing industry.

This reform package does not change the fact that no matter who a person votes for, no matter which party is in power, no matter how bad the policy, nothing can be done in the UK to change it. The British people and Parliament and Her Majesty the Queen will also be alarmed to discover that Amendment 63 would create a new power, without a word of objection by Her Majesty’s Government or the Tories. That power is sovereignty over the sea bed as opposed to merely controlling the fish in the water above it.

Any new power must mean a UK referendum. Therefore, if this amendment is carried it must be the subject of a UK referendum under Mr Cameron’s referendum lock. UKIP has tabled amendments calling for the repatriation of fishing policy and the reintroduction of the 200 mile limit for fishing in accordance with UN law. We have not heard what powers Mr Cameron wants back. Does he want to repatriate fishing or is he happy to keep it in the hands of Brussels bureaucrats or, worse, extend the powers of the EU over the UK sea bed 12 nautical miles from our coast without a referendum?

 
  
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  João Ferreira (GUE/NGL). - Discutimos aqui um regulamento fundamental para o futuro do setor das pescas. Numa coisa todos parecem estar de acordo – a atual política comum das pescas, do ponto de vista social, ambiental e económico é um desastre. A questão que se coloca é o que diremos daqui a dez anos da reforma que agora discutimos. A nossa posição é muito clara, esta não é a reforma que era necessário fazer-se. Foram introduzidas inquestionáveis melhorias à proposta inicial da Comissão, destaco a eliminação de qualquer referência às concessões de pesca transferíveis, que isto seja o suficiente para a Comissão enterrar de vez a ideia de tentar privatizar o bem comum que são os recursos pesqueiros. Mas as alterações positivas introduzidas são ainda insuficientes. Persiste uma política fortemente centralizada, distante da realidade complexa e diversificada que caracteriza as pescas europeias, realidade que aconselharia antes uma gestão de proximidade apoiada no conhecimento, que tenha em conta a realidade e as particularidades de cada país, de cada zona de pesca, de cada frota e dos recursos, que envolvesse os pescadores nas soluções e na sua implementação.

Sejamos claros, o quadro institucional criado pelo Tratado de Lisboa, que estabelece como uma competência exclusiva da União Europeia a conservação dos recursos biológicos no mar, é um obstáculo a esta gestão de proximidade, um obstáculo que mais tarde ou mais cedo terá de ser removido. A necessária definição de objetivos ambientais tem de ser acompanhada da definição de objetivos sociais e económicos, imprescindíveis em qualquer política de pescas. Uma política de pescas não é, não deve ser, uma mera política de conservação de recursos, muito embora não a dispense. É uma evidência que sem peixe não pode haver pesca, uma evidência que muitos ignoraram, perigosamente, durante muito tempo, alguns ainda ignoram, mas é igualmente uma evidência que sem pescadores também não há pesca e também são muitos os que ignoram, perigosamente, esta outra dimensão que qualquer política de pescas deve ter.

 
  
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  Andrew Henry William Brons (NI). - Mr President, of course British withdrawal from the EU and the recovery of exclusive use of our waters would solve the problem, but in the mean time any attempt to improve the common fisheries policy must be welcomed. Ending the practice of discarding dead and dying fish back into the sea is self-evidently right. The practice must be ended, whether it involves under-sized fish that have been caught accidentally, or less valuable fish that are discarded to make way for more valuable fish, so-called ‘high-grading’. Of course, enforcement with regard to the latter practice might be rather difficult.

Enabling Member States to enact their own conservation measures within a 12-nautical-mile zone is clearly desirable, but the Member State must be able to enforce that against other Member States. The rapporteur’s proposal that fishing concessions should cease to be freely transferable is particularly good. It would stop concessions from being bought and sold, and the concessions would remain the property of each Member State.

Successful policymaking is dependent on accurate supporting information. It has been estimated that stocks of 70% of the species caught in the EU have not been assessed accurately. The report particularly does not fully address the problem of incompatibility between the conservation of fish stocks and the survival of fishing industries. The only solution is for countries that have provided the bulk of the fish stock to be given priority in their own waters.

 
  
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  Alain Cadec (PPE). - Monsieur le Président, Monsieur le Ministre, Madame la Commissaire, chers collègues, je souhaite d'abord remercier notre rapporteure Ulrike Rodust pour son travail.

Le vote du règlement de base est un moment important pour le Parlement européen, colégislateur sur ce dossier depuis l'adoption du Traité de Lisbonne, comme nous l'a rappelé la Commissaire tout à l'heure.

Le Parlement expose enfin sa position. Nous, députés européens de la commission de la pêche, avons comme priorité la préservation de la ressource. Comme je le dis souvent: pas de poisson, pas de pêcheurs. C'est pourquoi nous avons fait des plans pluriannuels l'un des éléments essentiels de cette réforme. La réforme de la politique commune de la pêche, nous la voulons durable du point de vue environnemental, mais aussi du point de vue social et économique.

L'objectif des améliorations apportées au texte de la commission, c'est de permettre un juste équilibre entre la préservation de la ressource et le maintien de l'activité économique sur nos régions côtières. J'appelle tous nos collègues à soutenir l'amendement sur l'obligation de débarquement proposé par le PPE. Cet amendement est un compromis raisonnable qui permet de maintenir cet objectif très ambitieux qu'est l'obligation de débarquement de toutes les captures, mais il permet aussi d'aménager cette mesure pour la rendre réaliste et applicable par le secteur de la pêche. Il est par ailleurs impensable de créer un marché parallèle de poissons sous taille ou non commercialisables. Ce serait contreproductif pour la ressource. Je vous demande de soutenir cet amendement.

Dans le cadre de cette réforme, nous voulons maintenir les stocks au niveau du rendement maximum durable, de façon à pouvoir offrir du poisson de qualité aux générations futures. Nous devons également tout mettre en œuvre pour maintenir l'emploi dans les régions littorales. La pêche est un secteur économique qui a de l'avenir, nous devons le prouver par notre vote demain.

Cette réforme est l'acte fondateur d'une nouvelle organisation du secteur de la pêche; ne passons pas à côté! Mes chers collègues, demain le pragmatisme doit l'emporter sur le dogmatisme.

 
  
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  Dolores García-Hierro Caraballo (S&D). - Señor Presidente, Señorías, es evidente que las primeras reformas pesqueras, y esta es la tercera, han fracasado, por la falta, en primer lugar, de compromiso de los Gobiernos a la hora de aplicar criterios científicos y medidas efectivas de control y de prevención de la sobreexplotación.

Se trata de una propuesta que intenta no ser la panacea pero sí modificar esta situación. Durante más de un año se ha venido trabajando con el conjunto del sector, con los grandes operadores, con los pequeños, con las organizaciones ambientales, con las instituciones, con las comunidades, con el Consejo.

La falta de consenso no puede atribuirse a la señora Rodust ni al Grupo socialdemócrata, a veces el consenso significa tener una predisposición positiva a cambiar las cosas y no es precisamente oponiéndose a esta reforma como se defienden.

No se trata de defensores de los peces o de defensores de las empresas, sino de garantizar que todos puedan seguir pescando en el futuro de manera sostenible y garantizando la seguridad alimentaria de todos los ciudadanos. Esto no es un negocio, el mar no pertenece a quienes lo han venido sobreexplotando.

Como española he trabajado por defender los intereses de España que son compatibles con la Unión Europea, por el principio de prevención, por que no se pesque más de lo que el mar nos puede dar, por minimizar los descartes, por ayudar a los jóvenes, a las mujeres y a la pesca costera artesanal, y por respetar las normas laborales y los derechos humanos y los protocolos.

(El Presidente retira la palabra a la oradora)

 
  
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  Gesine Meissner (ALDE). - Herr Präsident, Frau Kommissarin, Herr Minister, liebe Kolleginnen und Kollegen! Wir haben diese Woche die Chance auf eine wirkliche Reform im Fischereisektor, und es ist ganz wichtig, dass wir sie nutzen. Im Moment sind tatsächlich die Meere überfischt, der Atlantik zu 50 %, das Mittelmeer sogar bis zu 80 % – doch es geht auch anders. Wir haben in Norddeutschland die Erfahrung gemacht, dass bei der Einhaltung von strikten Fangquoten sich tatsächlich Bestände erholen. Hering war einmal ein wirklich überteuerter Fisch, den sich fast keiner mehr leisten konnte. Jetzt haben sich inzwischen Hering, Scholle und Dorsch alle wieder erholt.

Es geht also, und es ist wichtig, der Wissenschaft zu folgen und sogar darüber hinaus zu gehen, damit sich die Fischbestände erholen und damit wir dieses alte Handwerk wirklich sichern können. Das sollten wir nicht nur in der EU tun, sondern auch darüber hinaus bei partnerschaftlichen Fischereiabkommen, denn Fisch ist ein wichtiger Eiweißlieferant weltweit, und ich denke, wenn wir tatsächlich Frau Rodust mit ihren sehr guten Vorschlägen folgen und morgen dafür stimmen, dann stimmen wir gleichzeitig auch für die Zukunft und für gesunde und lebendige Meere.

 
  
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  Julie Girling (ECR). - Mr President, I would like, along with everyone else, to pay tribute to the Commissioner, to the rapporteur, and indeed to the shadows and everybody on the Committee on Fisheries who have been working so hard on this report.

If you listened to the debate in the Chamber today, you would think that tomorrow’s vote in plenary was a bit of a done deal. The voices in support of the report are strong, and it looks as though it is all going to be plain sailing. Well, this is simply not the case. We in the Chamber now are a self-selected group of interested people. I want to talk to those Members of the plenary who are not here in the Chamber. I want to say something to them that I hope they will listen to. Do not listen to the siren call of the EPP amendment for a 10 % allowance on discards. This is being promoted as pragmatic. It is not pragmatic. It is unambitious and it is downright dangerous. Stick to the vote in the committee and hold the line. We know that we can do it with discards. We have proven it in the south west of England. Millions of us demand the change…

(The President cut off the speaker)

 
  
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  Bastiaan Belder (EFD). - Het visserijbeleid moet ecologisch, economisch en sociaal duurzaam zijn. Morgen nemen we belangrijke beslissingen. Hoe gaan we dat doen? Rationeel of emotioneel? Het debat over het teruggooiverbod is erg zwart-wit gevoerd. De werkelijkheid is echter complexer. Zorgvuldigheid is belangrijk.

Ik heb over het teruggooien advies gevraagd bij Noorwegen. Zij zijn 25 jaar geleden gestart met een teruggooivermindering. Enkele belangrijke lessen zijn:

1. Het kan alleen stap voor stap. De Noren zijn gestart met een teruggooiverbod voor slechts 1 soort.

2. Het is learning by doing.

3. De Noren zeggen: 100 % reductie is niet mogelijk. Maatwerk en uitzonderingen zijn nodig, in het bijzonder voor gemengde visserijen.

Het amendement van de EPP op artikel 15 is daarom zeer goed. Dit amendement doet recht aan de complexe werkelijkheid. Maatwerk is alleen mogelijk via de meerjarenplannen.

Ik steun dat amendement.

Zorgvuldigheid is belangrijk. Wij zijn hier nota bene bezig met het maken van wetgeving! Laten we morgen kiezen voor wetgeving die ambitieus én uitvoerbaar is.

 
  
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  Gabriel Mato Adrover (PPE). - Señor Presidente, señora Comisaria, señor Ministro, hemos llegado al punto clave en el proceso de reforma de la Política Pesquera Común. Y es el momento de preguntarnos si es esta la reforma a la que se aspiraba y, sobre todo, si es la reforma de todos y para todos.

Cuando afrontamos los trabajos sobre la reforma nos encontramos ante una propuesta que en su origen trataba de ser, en cierto modo, ambiciosa y equilibrada. Se exigía llevar las poblaciones de peces a niveles de explotación sostenible, se proponía extender los planes multinacionales de pesca a todas las poblaciones de peces de la Unión Europea, y se prohibía la odiosa práctica de los descartes. Todas estas obligaciones se veían facilitadas por la flexibilidad que otorgaba la regionalización.

Por otro lado, y en línea con la Estrategia Europa 2020, se incitaba al crecimiento empresarial al instaurar un sistema de concesiones transferibles de pesca, por un período largo de tiempo, sistema a través del cual la industria podría ser capaz de planificar su actividad económica a medio y largo plazo, facilitando las inversiones, aumentando su competitividad y haciéndola independiente de los subsidios, incrementando asimismo su responsabilidad y reduciendo los descartes.

Sin embargo, a día de hoy, parece evidente que gran parte de esta ambición se ha perdido a lo largo del camino. La reforma que hemos negociado hasta el momento quiere estar particularmente centrada en su versión medioambiental. Y yo creo que, a pesar de algunas cuestiones, es un reto que aceptamos todos.

No me extenderé en los descartes, todos queremos su prohibición, pero también queremos que sea efectivamente realizable.

Creo sinceramente que el éxito de esta reforma va a estar marcado por el modelo de regionalización que finalmente diseñemos.

Y, por último, termino contestando a las preguntas que me hacía al principio: esta no es la reforma a la que se aspiraba, y hoy en día no es la reforma de todos, ni para todos. Confío en que durante los diálogos a tres bandas seamos capaces de avanzar para que esto sea así. Por mi parte, como presidente de la Comisión de Pesca, no voy a cejar en el empeño de lograr una PPC para todos.

 
  
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  Isabelle Thomas (S&D). - Monsieur le Président, si l'on veut un avenir pour la pêche européenne et si l'on souhaite qu'elle contribue à notre autonomie alimentaire, nous devons éviter deux erreurs.

La première serait de minimiser l'impact dévastateur de la surpêche. Pour éviter qu'une trop forte pression sur la ressource mette en péril la reconstitution des stocks, le texte propose le RMD, et j'y souscris pleinement. Pourquoi, cependant, ne pas s'en tenir au RMD, et céder à la surenchère avec la formulation "au-delà du RMD"? C'est un choix idéologique, en contradiction avec la logique scientifique du RMD, sur la base duquel doivent être calculés les quotas. Il est bien dommage que nous n'ayons pas fait preuve d'autant d'audace avec les données scientifiques. L'Europe ne dispose pas à ce jour de la moitié des données sur ces stocks halieutiques. Et pourtant, aucun calendrier n'est prévu dans le texte qui nous est soumis.

La seconde erreur qui nous est interdite est de mettre en péril nos capacités de production alimentaire. À l'instar de pans entiers de notre industrie abandonnée, nous devons protéger notre activité de pêche. Or, le débarquement obligatoire des rejets risque de détruire nos entreprises de pêche les plus fragiles, particulièrement les pêcheries multispécifiques et leurs emplois. Outre que cette mesure ne ressuscitera pas les poissons – car un poisson mort reste un poisson mort, même débarqué –, il y avait des choix plus efficaces contre les rejets, notamment l'exigence de sélectivité, la modernisation des navires et les plans de gestion.

Le texte a connu des améliorations grâce aux débats et à Mme Rodust: je pense à la suppression des concessions de pêche transférables et à son corollaire, le marché des droits de pêche. Mais il reste encore du travail, si nous ne voulons pas dans quelques années nous lamenter sur le fait que l'Union européenne (inaudible) 90% de sa consommation de produits de la mer.

 
  
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  Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy (ALDE). - Mevrouw de commissaris, mijnheer de minister, de Noordzee was altijd een van de allerbelangrijkste visgronden van Europa. Deze zee, de Noordzee, leek bodemloos, een soort perpetuum mobile. Het kon niet op, de vis bleef maar komen. En toen werd het 1977. De laatste haring leek uit de Noordzee gevist. Vissers stapten wanhopig over op andere, nog niet commerciële vissoorten. Europa stond met de rug tegen de muur en kon niet anders dan een zesjarig vangstverbod voor haring afkondigen. En laat ik dat even herhalen: zes jaar lang mocht er niet gevist worden op haring!

Een dergelijke maatregel zou nu politiek onmogelijk zijn, kijk maar naar de blauwvintonijn. Maar na zes jaar was de stand hersteld en kon men de zee weer op. 45 Jaar later realiseren wij ons dat de wereldzeeën zijn wat toen de Noordzee was, niet meer bodemloos, maar één groot aquarium. Mevrouw de commissaris en mevrouw Rodust, ik wil u hartelijk danken voor uw inzet. En, collega's, of wij het nu willen of niet, of het ons politiek uitkomt of niet, natuurwetten bepalen uiteindelijk de grenzen en niet de economische belangen op korte termijn.

 
  
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  Maria do Céu Patrão Neves (PPE). - Senhor Presidente, Senhora Comissária, Senhor Ministro, a votação do regulamento de base, estruturante do futuro da política comum de pescas, é o momento decisivo da reforma pelo que agradeço e felicito a relatora e os relatores-sombra pelo trabalho desenvolvido até ao presente. Reitero o meu compromisso para com uma reforma profunda que venha resolver os problemas há muito diagnosticados e que se têm vindo a agravar. Precisamos de recuperar os stocks para que haja mais peixe, mas também de valorizar a primeira venda para que se possa pescar menos e de dignificar a profissão para desenvolver um empreendedorismo que otimize os recursos, ou seja, é preciso aceitar o desafio de procurar um equilíbrio entre os três pilares da pesca – o ambiental, o económico e o social – em vez de cedermos à atração do facilitismo ou à pressão das ONG, de priorizar o ambiental e de deixar os restantes para depois. A equação simples de que hoje se fecha a pesca para que amanhã haja mais peixe e depois de amanhã se volte a pescar é utópica. Os pescadores e as suas famílias vivem do seu trabalho, todos os dias, e não se pode desligar e ligar a pesca como se de um interruptor se tratasse. Eis o que só funciona nos gabinetes de alguns políticos mas não na vida real dos pescadores.

E jamais alcançaremos o sucesso nesta reforma sem o envolvimento direto e a participação ativa do setor. Eis o que se verifica com a proposta sobre as rejeições que o PPE apresenta a este plenário e que tem de ser aprovada porque é a única realista e exequível e que contribui para a preservação dos recursos haliêuticos e que tem o compromisso do setor.

A salvaguarda das zonas biogeográficas sensíveis é também essencial para o equilíbrio dos três pilares da PCP nas regiões ultraperiféricas. Esta é igualmente uma proposta do PPE que espera o apoio de todos os grupos e em particular da relatora. Seria estranho e paradoxal que as preocupações ambientais da relatora e dos socialistas em geral não se estendessem aos interesses das regiões mais pobres e mais dependentes da pesca que desejam...

(O Presidente retira a palavra à oradora)

 
  
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  Kriton Arsenis (S&D). - Mr President, our European fishermen can no longer make ends meet. There is not enough fish in our seas, and tomorrow’s vote is our last chance to change this.

I fully support the Commissioner’s proposal on MSY and the discard ban. However, Madam Commissioner, there was a key measure missing from your proposal. With your help, and a lot of work from colleagues, we managed to get Parliament’s proposal through, namely the establishment of fish stock recovery areas. This will allow us to restore levels of fish and increase the income of fishermen throughout the European Union by increasing both the quantity and the size of fish caught. These areas will be identified and co-managed by local fishermen. A unique sense of ownership of the sea and its resources and a real form of rationalisation will be established.

I want to call upon all Members of this Parliament to give this measure some teeth and vote for Amendment 253. This is the main novel idea that Parliament is introducing in this regulation.

Give fish and fishermen a chance. Vote for Amendment 253.

 
  
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  Werner Kuhn (PPE). - Herr Präsident, Frau Kommissarin Damanaki! Ich glaube, es ist eine gute Fügung, dass der Ratsvorsitz in den Händen der Irischen Republik liegt, denn Irland ist eine große Fischereination, und ich denke, es ist notwendig, dass wir diese Politik und unsere gemeinsame Fischereireform, die für die nächsten zehn, fünfzehn und zwanzig Jahre gelten soll, mit pragmatischen Lösungen versehen. Da haben wir zwei zentrale Themen, die auch herausgearbeitet worden sind. Ich danke auch der Berichterstatterin und allen Schattenberichterstattern, dass sie diese Herkulesaufgabe in Angriff genommen haben, bei 3000 Änderungsanträgen auch vernünftige Kompromisse hinzubekommen.

Der Aufbau und Erhalt der Fischbestände auf MSY-Niveau – das heißt, der maximale Dauerertrag soll 2020 erreicht werden – ist ein hehres Ziel, und wir wollen da auch den wissenschaftlichen Vorgaben konsequent folgen. Aber ich kann es einfach nicht nachvollziehen, warum darüber hinaus noch Ziele gesetzt werden sollen, die nicht genau definiert sind. Deshalb, verehrte Kolleginnen und Kollegen, habe ich dazu auch einen Änderungsantrag eingebracht. Alle Fraktionen im Europäischen Parlament sind sich einig, dass ein komplettes Anlandegebot für alle Fänge, die in Fischereigebieten hier in Europa gefangen werden, gilt. Das muss gesetzlich festgelegt werden. Die Praxis des Rückwurfes ist wirklich nicht mehr haltbar. Frau Damanaki hat es gesagt: 23 % guter Speisefische und exzellenter Eiweißträger werden wieder ins Meer zurückgeworfen. Aber wir wollen natürlich auch den Beifang möglichst minimieren. Da ist es wichtig, dass den Fischern selektives Fanggerät zur Verfügung gestellt wird.

Da brauchen wir natürlich, wenn wir sie fördern wollen, auch ein gültiges Budget, und das wird wahrscheinlich vor Mitte diesen Jahres nicht greifbar sein. Auch der Trilog wird bis 2013 dauern. Ich glaube, 2014, am 1.1., schon ein komplettes Rückwurfverbot einzuführen, ist zu früh. Da müssen wir uns Gedanken machen, wie das funktionieren soll, über eine pragmatische Lösung, und dazu gehören auch die langfristigen........

(Der Präsident entzieht dem Redner das Wort)

 
  
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  Luis Manuel Capoulas Santos (S&D). - Senhor Presidente, também queria saudar o Senhor Ministro Simon Coveney por estar presente, Senhora Comissária Damanaki, a reforma da política comum de pescas em que estamos empenhados não será certamente a reforma perfeita mas constituirá um passo importante no sentido de uma política de pescas mais sustentável do ponto de vista ambiental, sem descurar a sua dimensão económica e social. Também me associo aos votos que foram feitos à relatora pelo seu difícil trabalho e pelo acolhimento de algumas das minhas principais preocupações, como sejam a liberdade que deve ser dada a cada Estado-Membro para escolher o sistema de gestão dos seus direitos de pesca e a canalização para fins de solidariedade social das capturas acessórias até agora lançadas ao mar.

Considero que as propostas em torno das questões como as devoluções e o rendimento máximo sustentável, em particular contra a progressividade da sua implementação, ainda que exigentes, são realistas e responsáveis. Também apoio a prioridade que se pretende conceder aos planos plurianuais ajustados a cada pescaria...

(O Presidente interrompe o orador)

 
  
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  Rareş-Lucian Niculescu (PPE). - Doresc să subliniez importanţa acordată în cadrul acestui raport sectorului acvaculturii, care este esenţial pentru securitatea alimentară, pentru creşterea economică şi pentru ocuparea forţei de muncă în regiunile rurale. De peste 10 ani, însă, acvacultura europeană este într-o situaţie de stagnare. Dacă producţia mondială creşte cu 5-6% pe an, producţia Uniunii a rămas aceeaşi, în condiţiile în care produsele de acvacultură reprezintă în prezent 25% din consumul european.

Acvacultura de apă dulce are un potenţial ridicat în statele europene şi avem obligaţia de a o considera o prioritate. Acvacultura de apă dulce poate ajuta la redresarea economică a unui important număr de zone rurale, iar producţia internă poate contribui la dezvoltarea sectorului procesării, de asemenea un sector important din punct de vedere economic.

Nu în ultimul rând, să nu uităm faptul că, în prezent, mai mult de 90% din întreprinderile de acvacultură din Uniunea Europeană sunt întreprinderi mici şi mijlocii şi furnizează aproximativ 80 000 de locuri de muncă. Acestor întreprinderi le datorăm întregul nostru sprijin. Din păcate, statul pe care îl reprezint nu produce în prezent decât o mică parte din produsele de acvacultură disponibile, în jur de 1%. Sper că noile măsuri introduse în politica privind pescuitul vor putea da un impuls acestui sector, pe care ne propunem să-l dezvoltăm.

 
  
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  Jens Nilsson (S&D). - Herr talman! Vi är framme vid en punkt där vi kan ta ett historiskt beslut, och mina hjältinnor i det sammanhanget är kommissionären och vår föredragande, Ulrike Rodust. Jag är glad att vi kan få stopp på rovfisket och få en hållbar politik.

Jag vill lyfta två saker som har betydelse också. Det ena är fiskodling, som tidigare talare var inne på. Det är en växande marknad i norra Europa och vi måste se till att det sker på ett hållbart sätt. Det skapar jobb, men det måste ske på ett ur miljösynpunkt hållbart sätt och där har vi ett jobb att göra för att säga vad som är hållbart och inte.

Den andra punkten är sportfiske/fritidsfiske, som är så otroligt viktigt för den växande turistnäringen. Där får vi inte slå sönder det som vi har i Sverige och som är väldigt bra, nämligen lokala fiskevårdsområden där alla intressenter är med och tar ansvar och äger frågan om ett hållbart fiske i sitt område. Detta har stor betydelse för sportfisket och det vill jag att vi ska slå vakt på och det får inte slås sönder genom EU direktiv.

 
  
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  Lambert van Nistelrooij (PPE). - Voorzitter, in de visserij gaat het inderdaad om duurzaamheid en tegelijkertijd om regionalisatie, innovatie en modernisering. En er ligt een goed voorstel. Ik wijs op de dynamiek in de sector. Een dergelijk instrument van overdraagbare, verhandelbare quota is daarbij een goed instrument. Het helpt ook om oude boten uit de vaart te nemen en tegelijkertijd zuinige en betere vissersboten te introduceren. De lidstaten kunnen daar het best zorgen voor de uitvoering. Innovatie geldt ook voor heel de sector.

Kijk ook naar de bijvangst. Er zijn nieuwe systemen waarmee je de vis, zonder dat hij doodgaat, levend overboord zet. Er zijn systemen die dat mogelijk maken. Wij moeten dit soort innovatie stimuleren, niet blokkeren. Ik vraag dat de commissaris eens kijkt naar het voorbeeld van Nederlandse vissers uit Volendam, de gebroeders Schilder, die zo'n visspoelmachine hebben ontwikkeld.

Ten slotte maken de Europese fondsen, niet alleen het visserijfonds maar ook de regionale fondsen, het mogelijk om ook anders te werken. Het gaat erom om economische en sociale activiteiten in kustzones stimuleren. Ik wilde dit benadrukken, zeker voor de komende jaren. Het gaat immers om de duurzaamheid niet alleen op zee, maar ook in de kustzones voor de mensen die in de visserij werkzaam zijn.

 
  
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  Antolín Sánchez Presedo (S&D). - Señor Presidente, en la primera ocasión en que el Parlamento Europeo colegisla sobre una reforma pesquera, y tras más de 2 500 enmiendas, yo quiero felicitar a la ponente, Ulrike Rodust, por conseguir compromisos y por posibilitar que, en este Pleno, el motivo realmente fundamental del debate es cómo vamos a implementar la transición en la política de descartes, que es una parte, pero no el conjunto de la reforma pesquera.

Yo habría deseado una reforma que estableciera una política pesquera europea, eliminando el principio de estabilidad relativa, y evitando que la flota de altura quede al margen de las reglas del mercado interior. Pero reconozco que la reforma propuesta es una reforma responsable, sostenible y competitiva; que la ponente, en su informe, ha fortalecido la dimensión socioeconómica en el ámbito de la sostenibilidad; que se fortalece también la flota pesquera y la acuicultura de pequeña escala; que se abordan aún mejor los problemas del rendimiento máximo sostenible, y que se dan buenos pasos en el ámbito de los descartes.

Todo esto todavía puede mejorarse. Yo creo que debemos aprovechar las enmiendas para asegurar que el establecimiento de las áreas de reserva no se realice de forma unilateral y proteccionista, sino que se haga con garantías de la Unión Europea, y para mejorar algunos aspectos.

 
  
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  Agnès Le Brun (PPE). - Monsieur le Président, Madame le Commissaire, Monsieur le Ministre, l'Union européenne s'est engagée depuis de nombreuses années dans une politique de reconstitution des stocks halieutiques, dont l'avenir de la pêche dépend. Il est vrai que la proposition de la Commission européenne a repris cet objectif et, évidemment, nous nous en félicitons, et il faut s'en féliciter.

Mais je crains fort que le rapport de Mme Rodust n'entraîne un dangereux déséquilibre. Prendre en compte les considérations environnementales, c'est bien, et c'est nécessaire; prendre en compte les considérations socio-économiques, c'est mieux, et, surtout, c'est indispensable.

Prenons le seul point des rejets: la pêche ne vaut-elle pas mieux qu'un match dogmatique? L'interdiction brutale, radicale, des rejets est une mesure irréaliste et surtout inapplicable, qui démontre une méconnaissance des réalités de la pêche. Tout d'abord, elle ne règlerait rien; ensuite, elle mettrait en péril un nombre considérable d'emplois. Avons-nous oublié la crise que nous traversons? Avons-nous oublié les deux autres piliers du trépied du développement durable: le pilier social et le pilier économique?

En adoptant l'amendement 15, nous choisirons la voie de la raison et celle qui conduit véritablement à la durabilité. La réduction des rejets, la préservation de la ressource sont, faut-il le répéter, des objectifs qui sont partagés par tous, du législateur au pêcheur. Mais refusons le simplisme idéologique. Le législateur ne peut pas proposer un avenir au pêcheur en sacrifiant son présent. Ouvrir la porte au pêcheur de demain, ce n'est pas lui fermer la porte ou même lui claquer la porte au nez aujourd'hui.

 
  
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  Mario Pirillo (S&D). - Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, un ringraziamento alla collega Rodust per il difficile lavoro svolto. È ormai assodata e di tutta evidenza scientifica la riduzione degli stock ittici e la nuova politica comune della pesca integra questa necessità gettando le basi normative per una gestione della pesca sostenibile. Sarà necessario che il raggiungimento di questi obiettivi trovi supporto nello strumento finanziario, che dovrà essere coerente con quanto affermato nel regolamento di base per consentire alle marinerie che attraversano un periodo di grande difficoltà economica l'acquisizione di attrezzature idonee per evitare danni agli ecosistemi marini e in grado di rendere il settore della pesca economicamente redditizio. Finalmente giungiamo alla definizione della pesca artigianale che trova adesso nel regolamento una sua maggiore garanzia. Mi auguro che su questo punto in sede di Consiglio si riesca a mantenere e a difendere il difficile lavoro svolto dal Parlamento.

 
  
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  Salvatore Iacolino (PPE). - Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, non vi è dubbio che questa riforma della pesca potrebbe segnare un passo avanti significativo nell'individuare una cornice ampiamente condivisa rispetto ad uno sviluppo sostenibile dove anche la redditività economica possa essere garantita.

Tuttavia, non tutto quello che è stato previsto risponde alle esigenze e alle valutazioni di una parte importante di questo Parlamento e il gruppo del Partito popolare europeo ha espresso infatti alcune riserve importanti. Mi riferisco ai rigetti, per esempio, dove la quota prevista sembra veramente insostenibile soprattutto in alcuni mari e mi riferisco al Mar Mediterraneo, provenendo io da una regione – la Sicilia – nella quale queste vicende sono viste talvolta come una modalità aggressiva per ridurre un ruolo che nel tempo ha avuto la pesca, non soltanto la pesca di fascia costiera e quella artigianale.

La questione del rigetto è una questione seria, una questione che deve essere tenuta in debito conto per i costi che può provocare rispetto ad una pratica che impone evidentemente una serie di costi ulteriori secondo le previsioni della commissione. Misure compensative per i giovani pescatori sembrano necessarie e ineluttabili, come un'acquacoltura e una pesca collegata al turismo di particolare rilievo e riteniamo che la regionalizzazione sul Mediterraneo sia un fatto di particolare rilievo.

 
  
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  Ole Christensen (S&D). - Tak, hr. formand, og tak til Ulrike Rodust for hendes gode arbejde med denne betænkning. Det er hårdt at sige det, men den gamle fiskeripolitik har spillet fallit. Der er ingen, der har været tilfreds med den, uanset om det er fiskeriet, forskere, miljøorganisationer, kystsamfund eller politikere. Det bliver der forhåbentlig rettet op på nu. Vi får nu et mere bæredygtigt fiskeri, ved at vi får større bestande, stop for udsmid af spisefisk – og væk med reglerne, der har bidraget til dette! Og vi får endnu mere regionalisering. Der er nemlig brug for en helt ny regional forvaltning af fiskeriet. Om den nye fiskeripolitik bliver en succes, det afhænger af det ansvar, der nu forhåbentlig overlades til bl.a. RAC’erne. Vi skal have mere tillid tilbage til fiskeriet, og jeg håber, at også fiskerne kan se, at vi nu prøver at tage politisk ansvar for en fejlagtig politik. Tak for det.

 
  
 

Intervenciones con arreglo al procedimiento de solicitud incidental de uso de la palabra («catch the eye»)

 
  
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  Seán Kelly (PPE). - A Uachtaráin, fáiltím roimh an gCoimisinéir agus roimh mo chomhghleacaí, an t-Uasal Coveney. Tá a fhios agam go ndéanfaidh sé an-jab.

We have had a wide-ranging debate. There are three points I just want to highlight.

The first is the multiannual plans. I think they are absolutely vital and will make a big difference. Second, Mr Nilsson mentioned the importance of sport fishing. I think that is something we should develop far more in terms of tourism both for coastal and for rural communities, and we should not lose sight of that. The third point is discards. Thankfully we are beginning to deal with it. It is a failed policy, but it must be addressed in a proportionate and sensible manner so that small-scale fishermen are not discriminated against in the short term.

One other point, which I have asked the Commission about before, relates to the big factory ships which have mincers on board, catch fish, mince it and dispose of it. Are we going to tackle these seriously or are we not? Because I think that is fundamental for dealing with the whole discard issue. Real determination is needed.

 
  
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  Luís Paulo Alves (S&D). - A reforma da PCP representa a oportunidade para uma gestão de proximidade que promova a sustentabilidade dos recursos haliêuticos e a viabilidade das comunidades costeiras dependentes da pesca. Nesse sentido, será muito positiva a criação do CCR para as regiões ultraperiféricas como os Açores, que ajude a promover uma abordagem ecossistémica e que tenha em conta o carácter sensível das nossas especificidades. Por seu turno, é fundamental que as zonas marítimas identificadas como biogeograficamente sensíveis nos estudos científicos sejam alvo da nossa legislação em conformidade para as proteger. Como tal, é necessário proteger os montes submarinos e bancos de pesca que se encontram para além das 100 milhas já salvaguardadas para as nossas regiões.

No comércio com países terceiros, devemos assegurar também reciprocidade das condições exigidas de modo a garantir a igualdade de tratamento e a concorrência justa com os nossos operadores, salvaguardando a saúde pública, como propus e foi aprovado pela Comissão das Pescas.

 
  
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  Ana Miranda (Verts/ALE). - Senhora Comissária, Senhor Ministro, os representantes das nações pesqueiras querem uma mudança autêntica, uma reforma que há muito tempo pedimos e em que agora, por fim, o Parlamento tem voz. A reforma da política pesqueira precisa com urgência de apoiar a pequena pesca costeira e artesanal, que é a que mais emprego cria nas zonas costeiras, diferenciar entre a aquicultura extensiva e intensiva, entre mariscar, cultivar mexilhão ou grandes explorações aquícolas, alteração que agradecemos à relatora Sra. Rodust, ter em conta a dimensão social da pesca, viver dignamente de pescar, de fazer redes, de vender peixe e outras atividades económicas. Planos de gestão para que o setor económico pesqueiro participe e codecida ativamente como instrumento de ordenação pesqueira, que assegure o bem-estar das pescas...

(O Presidente retira a palavra à oradora)

 
  
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  Peter van Dalen (ECR). - Voorzitter, mijn steun vandaag zal afhangen van het amendement van mevrouw Fraga. Het is een cruciaal amendement dat moet worden aangenomen, want een volledig teruggooiverbod zal leiden tot grote problemen voor de visserijsector. Daarom is het belangrijk dat de Commissie eerst kijkt naar de effecten van zo'n teruggooiverbod. Want nu in één klap zo'n maatregel invoeren, dat zal slecht uitpakken, met name voor de gemengde visserij. En laten wij na dat onderzoek bepalen welke concrete maatregelen haalbaar zijn, zeker ook voor de beheersplannen per soort. Na een dergelijk onderzoek kunnen wij stapsgewijs de ongewenste bijvangsten afbouwen.

Er zit wel één grote tegenstrijdigheid in dit hele debat en het gaat over dat teruggooiverbod. Europa wil dat teruggooiverbod invoeren, maar hoe kan het dan zijn dat velen de pulskor niet willen invoeren? De pulskor is een innovatieve vistechniek die de bijvangsten enorm reduceert. Wij moeten die pulskor toelaten!

 
  
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  Paul Murphy (GUE/NGL). - Mr President, the common fisheries policy has meant 40 years of unsustainable fishing and it has been a disaster for our coastal communities. It has favoured the large fishing barons who, in pursuit of profit, have used unsustainable methods that have brought our fish stocks to the point of collapse.

I support the opposition in this report to the Commission’s proposals for individual transferable quotas, which would have amounted to a de facto privatisation of the seas. Small and medium-sized fishermen in coastal communities are in real danger of losing their jobs and way of life. The Commission’s own projections show employment in the sector is set to decline by 60% over the next 10 years, with the heaviest losses falling on those small and medium-sized fishermen.

Small fishermen, workers in the industry and coastal communities must be put at the heart of the management of the fishing industry. With planning and democratic management of quotas, they could be assured of a fair income and sustainable use of this vital resource.

 
  
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  John Bufton (EFD). - Mr President, we are only too aware of the failings of the current common fisheries policy. The continued dominance of issues including over-fishing, discarding and depletion of stocks, demonstrate that the EU’s fisheries management has to date proved ineffective. In the light of this, I propose that the Commission go beyond making the legislative changes proposed in this report and ultimately fully repatriate fishing policy back to the Member States.

In the UK we have seen what was once a healthy and buoyant fishing industry more than halved by the EU’s common fisheries policy. Fishing fleets have been destroyed, fishing ports left derelict and our coastal waters diminished to little more that a bit part of EU common waters.

More than this, the UK provides the EU with 70% of its fishing but we are allowed only 13% by value of the quota species catch. This means that we are giving away to EU interests about GBP 2 billion a year in fish plus the value-added cost of boat building and repair, fish processing employment and ancillary services; in total about GBP 5 billion.

 
  
 

(Fin de las intervenciones con arreglo al procedimiento de solicitud incidental de uso de la palabra («catch the eye»)

 
  
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  Maria Damanaki, Member of the Commission. − Mr President, I would like to thank all the Members for their interventions. The Commission tabled its own proposal – the initial proposal – a year and a half ago.

All these months we have been discussing it intently among ourselves, and we have all worked very hard – Ms Rodust, the shadow rapporteurs, the Council, the Commission, everybody – to go for a good deal. So we have pragmatism and realism here. I was very proud to support the general approach taken by the Council last June, I am very proud to support the deal we have with the Committee on Fisheries, and I am very proud to be flexible and include a lot of good ideas that were put forward over those months.

We also had a dialogue with the industry and with thousands of citizens all around Europe, which is why we have now adopted a more flexible approach to discards. We are now adopting a step by step approach – the gradual approach you asked for. This is a more realistic approach, a fishery by fishery approach, an approach that first and foremost concerns having better and more selective gears and, on land, having everything that we need to take advantage of all the good food we have in our hands.

Through this dialogue I can also say we have greater regionalisation, as far as this can be achieved, in order to give the Member States, the industry itself and also our citizens the possibility to decide upon their own issues. We also have social sustainability, because we will have positive measures. For the first time we are going to have special treatment for small-scale fisheries. With sustainability of the stocks by 2022 we can have 30% more jobs and 25% additional income for our fisheries.

So we have done a lot. I would like to reiterate that the Commission is very willing to discuss, through the trialogues with the Council, and with Parliament, any other good ideas that will be voted on tomorrow. I really think that this is an opportunity for us. For the first time, Mr President, Parliament is discussing and being decisive about a fisheries policy. This is a good sign for future generations.

 
  
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  Simon Coveney, President-in-Office of the Council. − Mr President, I am glad to see that the cameras are here and the Chamber is filling up for the conclusion of the fisheries debate this morning. First of all, can I thank all of the speakers today for what has been an informative debate, and can I just say a number of things before concluding?

I think everybody agrees, regardless of what group you come from or how you will vote tomorrow, that there does need to be a fundamental reform of the common fisheries policy. As we have been reminded by Ms Lövin and others today, we cannot continue to import nearly 70% of the fish that we consume in the European Union when we have waters in the European Union that have the capacity to produce a lot more fish.

We cannot continue, as the Commissioner has reminded us, to discard an average of 23% of the fish that we catch. In many fisheries it is far far higher than that. We cannot continue to allow over-fishing when we know that it is preventable through modernisation, improved selectivity and better management of our stocks.

I do not think it is appropriate for the President of the Council to give any advice or support to individual amendments tomorrow. That is a decision for you to make on behalf of Parliament as you formulate your position tomorrow, I hope, which will then become a negotiating position during a trialogue codecision process that I am looking forward to.

But I would encourage you to get the job done tomorrow if possible, so that we can move ahead with the process of decision-making and finding a satisfactory conclusion.

You face the same challenges that we in the Council face when we debate and decide and vote on final positions, namely to try and put in place a new common fisheries policy that not only makes sense to us as policymakers, but that can actually be implemented, and can fundamentally change the way in which our fishing industry operates, the way in which decisions are made, preferably at a regional basis in the future, and the way in which our stocks are managed – whether by regionalisation, whether by MSY and whether we look at biomass or mortality in measuring that, whether it is how we collect and how we finance the collection of data, or whether it is on the difficult issue of discards where we need to bring an industry with us, as well as making ambitious and fundamental reform in this process.

I wish you well tomorrow with the decisions you need to make. I look forward to working with you and the key players, in particular Ms Rodust, other rapporteurs, shadow rapporteurs and coordinators from groups, as we find, I hope, a compromise at the end of this process that is not driven by party-political interests or by ideology but by a practical determination to make a fundamental and sensible reform of the common fisheries policy that is in line with what most people outlined in their contributions today.

Thank you for the invitation to be here and I look forward to working with you and the Commission to make something real happen before the end of the Irish Presidency.

 
  
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  Ulrike Rodust, Berichterstatterin. − Herr Präsident! Ich danke für die vielen lobenden Worte und somit für die breite Unterstützung heute hier in diesem Hause. Schade ist es allerdings, dass Teile der EVP mich nun nicht unterstützen können. Frau Fraga Estévez findet meinen Bericht schlecht, hörte ich, sie sagt, es gibt keine TFCs. Nun, dafür gibt es auch keine Mehrheit hier im Hause. Man befürchtet zu Recht, dass es zu Konzentrationen kommen könnte und dass die reichen Fischer die kleinen armen Fischer aufkaufen.

Frau Patrão Neves unterstellt, wir denken nicht genügend an die Fischer. Das stimmt nicht. Wir wissen doch: Ohne Fischer keine Fische. Das Ziel der Reform ist es doch, dass wir dafür sorgen, dass wir wieder gesunde und gute Bestände haben. Herr Kuhn hat Angst, dass es nicht genügend Geld und Zeit geben wird für die Rückwürfe. Wir werden mit Pilotprojekten starten. Wir werden einen umsetzbaren Kalender haben, und wir werden natürlich Gelder für selektives Fanggerät haben.

An alle Kolleginnen und Kollegen vom Mittelmeer: Die Mittelmeerverordnung gilt nach wie vor. Ich bitte Sie, das nicht alles durcheinanderzuwerfen. Es gibt Regeln, die haben mit der GFP gar nichts zu tun. Und zur Beruhigung: An den Küsten wird es weiter Förderung geben – für Aquakultur, für Jungfische, für Küsten- und Tourismusorte.

Also, zusammengefasst: Ich danke allen Abgeordneten, Assistenten, Advisern, insbesondere denen der Schattenberichterstatter, und ihren Teams, der Kommission und ihren Mitarbeitern, dem Rat, vielen Dank auch, Herr Minister, für die sehr ermunternden Worte. Ich danke den Fischereiverbänden aus Norden und Süden, großen und kleinen, den Umweltverbänden, den Tierschützern, Menschenrechtsverbänden und allen NGOs, die mitgearbeitet haben. Es gab eine Petition mit 150 000 Unterschriften. Sterneköche haben über eine Million Unterschriften gesammelt. Gibt es einen größeren Beweis dafür, wie die Bürger sich einmischen und uns zuschauen? In diesem Sinne danke ich Ihnen allen und freue mich auf die weitere Zusammenarbeit.

 
  
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  El Presidente. − Se cierra el debate.

La votación tendrá lugar el miércoles, a las 11.30 horas.

Declaraciones por escrito (artículo 149 del Reglamento)

 
  
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  Robert Dušek (S&D), písemně. – Dosavadní společná rybářská politika (SRP) v podstatě selhala. V současné situaci je politicky nemožné najít kompromis mezi udržitelným rybolovem a zlepšením ekonomické situace podniků v rybolovu působících. Stále diskutujeme, o kolik je možné snížit zisky těchto firem. Pokud bude k masivnímu rybolovu docházet nadále a beze změny, bude se zde za pár let řešit, jak je vůbec komerční rybolov možno obnovit. Konat musíme nyní! Projednávané nové nařízení má proto vytvořit ambiciózní základ pro změnu SRP. Prioritní je přijetí stanovení maximálního udržitelného výnosu, povinnosti vykládky veškerých úlovků, systému individuálních a kolektivních koncesí k rybolovu i nařízení o partnerství se třetími zeměmi v rámci rybolovu, které by třetí země zavazovalo ke stejnému postupu jako země EU. Povinnost vykládky kompletního výlovu a z ní vyplývající zákaz odlovu výmětů je jednou ze základních podmínek, aby vůbec k obnovení vylovených rybích populací mohlo dojít. Také je nezbytné, aby se na budoucí SRP přímo podílely členské státy a usilovaly o její dodržování. Bez této spolupráce nemůže být nikdy politika EU v oblasti rybolovu přínosná. Věřím, že zpráva o nové společné rybářské politice bude přijata a přinese tak posun v závazku zachování rybolovu, který máme k budoucím generacím.

 
  
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  Béla Glattfelder (PPE), írásban. Az új Közös Halászati Politikának nagyobb figyelmet kell fordítania az akvakultúrára, azon belül is az édesvízi haltenyésztésre. A tengeri halászat nem fenntartható: a világ tengereinek 30%-a túlhalászott, azaz nem marad annyi hal a vízben, amennyi a populáció fennmaradásához szükséges. Az ENSZ élelmezésügyi szervezete, a FAO szerint emiatt 2012-ben már jelentősen, 2%-kal csökkent a kihalászott halmennyiség. Az akvakultúra ezzel szemben fenntartható módon biztosítja a haltermelést. Az édesvízi haltenyésztés, amelyhez Magyarország kiváló adottságokkal rendelkezik, nemcsak az élelmiszer-biztonsághoz járul hozzá, hanem jelentős számú munkahelyet teremthet és a biodiverzitás fenntartását is segíti, hiszen a halastavak, mint vizes élőhelyek számtalan madár- és egyéb állatfaj számára biztosítanak életteret, nagyrészük Natura 2000 védettség alatt áll. A 2014-2020 közötti költségvetési időszakban ezért jóval nagyobb pénzügyi támogatást kell nyújtani az akvakultúra-ágazatnak az EU költségvetéséből.

 
  
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  Wojciech Michał Olejniczak (S&D), na piśmie. Wynegocjowana w Parlamencie reforma wspólnej polityki rybołówstwa pozwoli na poprawę stanu środowiska naturalnego oraz sytuacji rybaków w Unii Europejskiej. Wielkim osiągnięciem Parlamentu, a w szczególności Grupy Socjaldemokratów, jest wprowadzenie wiążącego zakazu przełowu ryb oraz powstrzymanie odrzutu ryb.

Unii Europejskiej potrzebna jest reforma, która ochroni i uratuje środowisko naturalne przed zniszczeniem, a jednocześnie zapewni godne dochody sektorom rybołówstwa i przetwórstwa rybnego. Problem przełowienia nie dotyczy bowiem jedynie środowiska naturalnego, ale również rybaków oraz konsumentów. Powodem niekorzystnej sytuacji tych pierwszych jest ustanowienie kwot połowowych. Każdego roku ministrowie zajmujący się rybołówstwem w poszczególnych państwach członkowskich ślepo ustanawiali zbyt wysokie kwoty – najczęściej po prostu po to, by nie stracić swojego elektoratu. Negocjatorom Parlamentu udało się jednak osiągnąć kompromis, który spowoduje, że reforma nie będzie tym razem jedynie mglistą obietnicą poprawy sytuacji rybaków a jednocześnie zapewni konsumentom łatwiejszy i tańszy dostęp do ryb.

Od czasu ostatniej, przeprowadzonej 10 lat temu, reformy wspólnej polityki rybołówstwa temat powoli się rozwija. Rada podejmuje bardziej racjonalne decyzje. Reforma, którą dziś poparliśmy, idzie o krok dalej, zobowiązując państwa członkowskie do trwałego i zracjonalizowanego ustalania kwot. Wprowadzenie maksymalnie zrównoważonego odłowu od 2015 roku pozwoli ochronić nasze morza przed przełowieniem, jak również zapewni poczucie stabilności rybakom oraz konsumentom.

 
  
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  Pavel Poc (S&D), písemně. Pro Českou republiku jako vnitrozemský stát s rozvinutým a tradičním produkčním rybářstvím je samozřejmě důležitým bodem reformy společné rybářské politiky (SRP) otázka sladkovodní akvakultury. Uvědomujeme si ale, že v komplexní reformě SRP jde o víc. Reforma společné rybářské politiky je ojedinělá šance, jak zvrátit současný stav, který vede nevyhnutelně ke kolapsu celého rybářského sektoru a k vážnému poškození mořského prostředí s nevratnými důsledky. Rovnováha světových oceánů je narušena nadměrným rybolovem. Jednoduše řečeno, vylovíme více ryb, než je jejich možná schopnost přirozené reprodukce. Ohroženy jsou nejen zbylé a ubývající druhy ryb a dalších mořských živočichů, ale především celé mořské ekosystémy a v důsledku i rybáři a všichni, kdo jsou na rybolovu závislí. Větší populace ryb znamená logicky vyšší výnosy. Znamená to také větší ryby, protože současný bezprecedentní tlak na rybí populace zvýhodňuje ty ryby, které jsou menší a snadněji tak uniknou rybářským sítím. SRP má ale mnoho dalších závažných cílů. Patří mezi ně ukončení praktiky výmětů, odstraňování žraločích ploutví nebo regulace rybolovu v chráněných oblastech. Evropský parlament má poprvé v historii možnost ovlivnit budoucí podobu SRP a jedinečnou šanci odvrátit krizi světových oceánů a zlepšit podmínky evropských rybářů.

 
  
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  Jarosław Leszek Wałęsa (PPE), na piśmie. Dziękuję za głos i dziękuję pani Rodust oraz wszystkim kontrsprawozdawcom za pracę nad tym ważnym sprawozdaniem. Niestety pomimo długiej pracy cały czas nie jest ono zrównoważone, szczególnie w kwestii wdrażania legislacji środowiskowej. Moim zdaniem zbudowana została hierarchia między polityką rybacką a ochroną środowiska, choć powinny one być równorzędne. Nie można na przykład uzależniać pieniędzy z Europejskiego Funduszu Morskiego i Rybackiego od sprawności administracyjnej Ministerstwa Środowiska. A takie przepisy na niekorzyść rybaków w sprawozdaniu pani Rodust się pojawią.

Inną bardzo ważną kwestią jest regionalizacja, czyli zarządzanie rybołówstwem z poziomu regionalnego z uwzględnieniem specyfiki poszczególnych akwenów. Reforma powinna przyczynić się do rozdziału ról w tej dziedzinie. Prawodawcy unijni określać będą główne ramy i podstawowe zasady prawne, natomiast faktyczne decyzje wykonawcze będą podejmowane na niższym szczeblu, bliżej rybackiej rzeczywistości. Regionalizacja powinna być filarem reformy Wspólnej Polityki Rybołówstwa. Niestety jej kształt zaproponowany przez sprawozdawczynię jest niezadowalający.

W środowym głosowaniu poprę założenia reformy i będę głosował za sprawozdaniem pani Rodust. Chciałbym jednak podkreślić, że uważam, że sprawozdanie nie jest optymalne. Poprę je jednak, bo jest stanowiskiem Parlamentu Europejskiego w sprawie reformy WPRyb i stanowi punkt wyjścia do dalszych negocjacji. Liczę jednak, że na dalszych etapach prac zostanie bardzo udoskonalony.

 
  
  

(La sesión se interrumpe durante unos minutos a la espera de la comparecencia de François Hollande, Presidente de la República Francesa)

 
  
  

VORSITZ: MARTIN SCHULZ
Präsident

 
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