REPORT on the proposal for a Council regulation amending Council Regulation (EC) No 2115/2005 of 20 December 2005 establishing a recovery plan for Greenland halibut in the framework of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation

6.11.2009 - (COM(2009)0127 – C7‑0006/2009 – 2009/0041(CNS)) - *

Committee on Fisheries
Rapporteur: Carmen Fraga Estévez

DRAFT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION

on the proposal for a Council regulation amending Council Regulation (EC) No 2115/2005 of 20 December 2005 establishing a recovery plan for Greenland halibut in the framework of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation

(COM(2009)0127 – C7‑0006/2009 – 2009/0041(CNS))

(Consultation procedure)

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the Commission proposal to the Council (COM(2009)0127),

–   having regard to Article 37 of the EC Treaty, pursuant to which the Council consulted Parliament (C7-0006/2009),

–   having regard to Rule 55 of its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the report of the Committee on Fisheries (A7-0046/2009),

1.  Approves the Commission proposal;

2.  Calls on the Council to notify Parliament if it intends to depart from the text approved by Parliament;

3.  Asks the Council to consult Parliament again if it intends to amend the Commission proposal substantially;

4.  Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council and Commission.

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Council Regulation (EC) No 2115/2005 of 20 December 2005 contains the Community legislation establishing a recovery plan for Greenland halibut within the framework of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation[1] (NAFO).

A number of modifications to this recovery plan were adopted at the NAFO meeting held in Lisbon in September 2007. Those amendments relate to enhanced measures for catch reporting and additional control measures designed to enhance at-sea inspections for vessels entering and leaving the NAFO regulatory area.

The changes concern the following aspects in particular:

- requirements relating to entry to the NAFO regulatory area for vessels with catches of 50 tonnes or more on board, and obligations regarding the communication of data to the NAFO secretariat and conditions governing fishing in the area;

- the regular communication to the NAFO secretariat every five or three days of catches taken in NAFO Subarea 2 and Divisions 3KLMNO.

These measures, which were approved by the European Union, were adopted on a temporary basis through Council Regulation (EC) No 40/2008 of 16 January 2008[2] and Council Regulation (EC) No 43/2009 of 16 June 2009[3] fixing for 2008 and 2009 respectively the fishing opportunities and associated conditions for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks.

In this regard, the rapporteur wishes to express her disagreement with the method repeatedly used by the Commission, i.e. transposing recommendations made by regional fisheries management organisations (RFMOs) through regulations setting total allowable catches (TACs) and quotas.

In this case, the measures concerned were adopted by NAFO two years ago, and the Commission's attempt to justify these delays by citing a lack of human resources is no longer sustainable. The transposition of recommendations issued by RFMOs is an extremely important instrument both in the fight against illegal fishing and in order to prevent a legal vacuum for Community fleets, and even if such recommendations are provisionally incorporated through other regulations, these delays mean that the legislation is confused and damage the European Union's credibility.

The Commission must therefore assign sufficient resources to work connected with RFMOs as soon as possible.

At all events it is clear that, despite the delay, the Commission proposal is exclusively intended to incorporate a rule which is already binding for the European Union and which includes the legislative recasting of texts.

Bearing in mind the purpose of the consultation, your rapporteur therefore proposes that we approve the proposal for a Council regulation.

• [1]  OJ L 340, 23.12.2005, p. 3.
• [2]  OJ L 19, 23.1.2008, p. 1.
• [3]  OJ L 22, 26.1.2009, p. 1.

PROCEDURE

Title	A recovery plan for Greenland halibut in the framework of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation
References	COM(2009)0127 – C7-0006/2009 – 2009/0041(CNS)
Date of consulting Parliament	31.3.2009
Committee responsible        Date announced in plenary	PECH 14.7.2009
Rapporteur(s)        Date appointed	Carmen Fraga Estévez 1.9.2009
Discussed in committee	30.9.2009
Date adopted	3.11.2009
Result of final vote	+: –: 0:	21 0 0
Members present for the final vote	Antonello Antinoro, Kriton Arsenis, Alain Cadec, João Ferreira, Carmen Fraga Estévez, Pat the Cope Gallagher, Marek Józef Gróbarczyk, Carl Haglund, Isabella Lövin, Guido Milana, Britta Reimers, Ulrike Rodust, Struan Stevenson, Catherine Trautmann, Jarosław Leszek Wałęsa
Substitute(s) present for the final vote	Jean-Paul Besset, Izaskun Bilbao Barandica, Ole Christensen, Werner Kuhn, Raül Romeva i Rueda, Ioannis Tsoukalas
Date tabled	6.11.2009