on the proposal for a Council regulation concerning the conclusion of the Partnership Agreement in the fisheries sector between the European Community and the Union of the Comoros

(COM(2006)0096 – C6‑0103/2006 – 2006/0032(CNS))

(Consultation procedure)

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the proposal for a Council regulation (COM(2006)0096)(1),

–   having regard to Article 37 and Article 300(2) of the EC Treaty,

–   having regard to Article 300(3), first subparagraph, of the EC Treaty, pursuant to which the Council consulted Parliament (C6‑0103/2006),

–   having regard to Rules 51 and 83(7) of its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the report of the Committee on Fisheries and the opinions of the Committee on Budgets and the Committee on Development (A6‑0242/2006),

1.  Approves conclusion of the agreement;

2.  Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council and Commission, and the governments and parliaments of the Member States and the Union of the Comoros.

(1) Not yet published in OJ.

The first agreement between the European Union and the Islamic Federal Republic of the Comoros was signed in 1988. It was repealed and replaced by this partnership agreement, which was negotiated and initialled by the two parties on 24 November 2004 and is renewable for two additional seven-year periods. The relevant protocol, in force since 1 January 2005 and applicable until December 2010, was adopted by Parliament in October 2005 under a separate procedure.

The rapporteur deplores the subsidiary role played by the European Parliament in this procedure. The legislative proposal should have been examined at the same time as the protocol, which was the subject of an excellent report by Carmen Fraga Estévez (A6-0260/2005 fin.), the explanatory statement of which contained a detailed analysis of the coordinated economic and social policies of this partnership agreement.

The agreement forms part of the new partnership approach to the external dimension of the Common Fisheries Policy, as proposed by the Commission in its communication to the European Parliament and approved by the Council in its conclusions of June 2004. Partnership agreements will replace the old bilateral fisheries agreements, hitherto regarded simply as access agreements, with a view to more effectively contributing to the consistency of fishery, environmental and development cooperation policies. The aim is to reconcile the protection of the European fishery sector's interests and the maintenance of its long-distance fleet, with due respect for the rules of responsible and sustainable fishing, with the creation or improvement of developing countries' capacity to exploit their marine resources, increase their local added value and ensure the fairest possible price for the payment of the Community fleet's access rights.

Especially in view of the fact that the agreement concerns a small country with serious economic and social problems, the rapporteur considers that the principles and objectives on which it is based are appropriate, as are the implementing measures contained in the agreement with a view to giving it practical effect.

The rapporteur welcomes, in particular, the full respect shown for Comorian sovereignty in all the measures to be taken under the agreement and the emphasis placed on ongoing political dialogue between the parties , both directly and within the relevant international organisations, with a view to transferring and sharing of the necessary know-how to guarantee the responsible management of fishery resources, the development of the fishing sector in the Comoros, and the promotion of cooperation between Community and Comorian economic operators.

In view of the above, it is proposed that the European Parliament give its political approval to the agreement.

SHORT JUSTIFICATION

Under Article 178 of the European Community Treaty, the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) must take into account the development objectives set out in Article 177 of the Treaty, mainly the fight against poverty and the sustainable development of local populations.

The European Parliament's Development Committee has called the attention of the Council and the Commission to that obligation when drafting successive opinions on the old fisheries agreements and new fisheries partnership agreements submitted to it by the European Commission.

This new proposal for a Fisheries Partnership Agreement with the Comoros could have been a good opportunity for the Commission to propose to Council to take on board our committee's views, thereby observing the Treaty obligations.

The committee considers the reference made at the end of article 1 of the Fisheries Partnership Agreement to "related activities" insufficient when seen in terms of these development objectives.

Article 1 and Article 7 of the Fisheries Partnership Agreement should clearly state that the scope and the financial contribution under the agreement should address projects aimed at the development of coastal populations living on fisheries.

It is time for Commission and Council to observe what the European Community Treaty clearly states. Union institutions must be the first to respect the Treaty.

This proposal for a Council regulation was submitted to Parliament only five months after the publication of Regulation (EC) n°1660/2005 of 6 October 2005, whereby European boats can fish in Comoros waters until 31 December 2010.

In our opinion to the European Parliament's Fisheries Committee of May 2005, we clearly said that the Commission should have observed the "integrated framework for fisheries partnership agreements with third countries".

The Commission preferred to follow the negotiations under the old fisheries agreements system and the submission of the present legal text is a confirmation that Parliament's Development Committee was right.

What Parliament is now being asked to do is to accept the replacement of the existing legal text by a new one renegotiated according to the new framework for fisheries partnership agreements.

We have no objections to that replacement, we simply regret that, having failed to listen to us, the Commission has spent time and money that could have been saved.

AMENDMENTS

The Committee on Development calls on the Committee on Fisheries, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following amendments in its report:

Text proposed by the Commission(1)   Amendments by Parliament Amendment 1 Recital 3 (3) The Fisheries Partnership Agreement provides for improved economic, financial, technical and scientific cooperation in the fisheries sector with a view to guaranteeing the conservation and sustainable exploitation of resources, as well as partnerships between undertakings aimed at developing economic activities in the fisheries sector and related activities in the common interest. (3) The Fisheries Partnership Agreement provides for improved economic, financial, technical and scientific cooperation in the fisheries sector with a view to guaranteeing the conservation and sustainable exploitation of resources, as well as partnerships between undertakings aimed at developing economic activities in the fisheries sector and the development of coastal populations living on fisheries, mainly through support for the creation of small local fish canning and processing industries and the marketing of fish.

PROCEDURE

(1) Not yet published in OJ.