REPORT containing a motion for a non-legislative resolution on the draft Council decision on the conclusion of the Protocol on the implementation of the Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the European Community and the Republic of Cape Verde (2019-2024)

26.2.2020 - (08662/2019 – C9‑0004/2019 – 2019/0078M(NLE))

Committee on Fisheries
Rapporteur: Cláudia Monteiro de Aguiar

Procedure : 2019/0078M(NLE)
Document stages in plenary
Document selected :  
A9-0023/2020
Texts tabled :
A9-0023/2020
Debates :
Texts adopted :

MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT NON-LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION

on the draft Council decision on the conclusion of the Protocol on the implementation of the Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the European Community and the Republic of Cape Verde (2019-2024)

(08662/2019 – C9‑0004/2019 – 2019/0078M(NLE))

The European Parliament,

 having regard to the draft Council decision (08662/2019),

 having regard to the Protocol on the implementation of the Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the European Community and the Republic of Cape Verde (2019-2024) (08668/2019),

 having regard to the request for consent submitted by the Council in accordance with Article 43(2), Article 218(6), second subparagraph, point (a)(v), and Article 218(7) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) (C9-0004/2019),

 having regard to its legislative resolution of ... 2020[1] on the draft decision,

 having regard to Article 31(4) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 on the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP)[2],

 having regard to its resolution of 12 April 2016 on common rules in respect of application of the external dimension of the CFP, including fisheries agreements[3],

 having regard to the final report of February 2018 entitled ‘Ex-post and Ex-ante evaluation study of the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Cabo Verde’,

 having regard to Rule 105(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

 having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Development,

 having regard to the report of the Committee on Fisheries (A9-0023/2020),

A. whereas the Commission and the Government of Cape Verde have negotiated a new sustainable fisheries partnership agreement (EU-Cape Verde SFPA), together with an implementing protocol, for a five-year period;

B. whereas the overall aim of the EU-Cape Verde SFPA is to increase fisheries cooperation between the EU and Cape Verde, in the interests of both parties, by promoting a sustainable fisheries policy and sustainable exploitation of fishery resources in the Cape Verde exclusive economic zone (EEZ);

C. whereas the uptake of fishing opportunities under the previous EU-Cape Verde SFPA has ranged from 58 % to 68 %, with a good use for seiners and a moderate use for longliners and pole and line vessels;

D. whereas sharks constitute 20 % of catches, but the lack of scientific data means that the total figure may not be accurate and could be much higher;

E. whereas the EU-Cape Verde SFPA should promote more effective sustainable development of the Cape Verdean fishing communities and of related industries and activities, including fisheries science; whereas the support to be provided under the Protocol has to be consistent with the national development plans and the Blue Growth Action Plan for development within ecological limits, devised with the United Nations to increase production in, and professionalise, the sector in order to meet the local population’s food and employment needs;

F. whereas the EU’s commitments under international agreements should also be supported under the SFPA, namely the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular SDG 14, and whereas all EU actions, including the SFPA, must contribute to those objectives;

G. whereas the EU, through the European Development Fund, is contributing a multiannual budget of EUR 55 million to Cape Verde, focusing on one main sector, namely the Good Governance and Development Contract (GGDC);

H. whereas the SFPA should contribute to the promotion and development of the Cape Verdean fisheries sector and whereas basic infrastructure, such as ports, landing sites, storage facilities and processing plants, needs to be built or renovated;

I. whereas Parliament must be immediately and fully informed, at all stages, of the procedures relating to the Protocol and its renewal;

1. Takes the view that the EU-Cape Verde SFPA should pursue two equally important goals: (1) to provide fishing opportunities for EU vessels in the Cape Verde EEZ, on the basis of the best available scientific knowledge and advice and without interfering with conservation and management measures by the regional organisations to which Cape Verde belongs – notably the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) – or overrunning the available surplus; and (2) to promote further economic, financial, technical and scientific cooperation between the EU and Cape Verde in the field of sustainable fisheries and sound exploitation of fishery resources in the Cape Verde EEZ, while at the same time not undermining Cape Verde’s sovereign options and strategies relating to its own development; considers, at the same time and in the light of the high value of marine biology in Cape Verdean waters, that the agreement should guarantee the adoption of measures to mitigate accidental fishing by EU vessels in the Cape Verde EEZ;

2. Takes the view that measures should be taken to guarantee that the reference tonnage stipulated in the agreement is not exceeded;

3. Draws attention to the findings of the retrospective and prospective assessments of the Protocol to the EU-Cape Verde 2014-2018 SFPA, produced in May 2018, which stated that the Protocol had on the whole proved to be effective, efficient, appropriate to the interests involved, and consistent with the Cape Verdean sectoral policy, with a high degree of acceptability to stakeholders, and which recommended the option of concluding a new protocol; emphasises that there is scope for more effective progress in terms of fisheries cooperation between the EU and Cape Verde and considers that the new protocol should therefore go beyond previous protocols in the implementation of this agreement, in particular with regard to development support for the Cape Verdean fisheries sector;

4. Supports the need for significant progress in the development of the Cape Verdean fisheries sector, including the fishing industry and related activities, and calls on the Commission to take all necessary measures, including a possible revision and the bolstering of the sectoral support component of the agreement, along with the creation of conditions to increase the absorption rate of this support;

5. Considers that the EU-Cape Verde SFPA will not achieve its objectives if it does not contribute to increasing added value in Cape Verde as a result of the exploitation of its fishery resources;

6. Maintains that the EU-Cape Verde SFPA and the Protocol thereto have to be aligned with the national development plans and the Blue Growth Plan for the development within ecological limits of the Cape Verdean fisheries sector, which are priority areas for EU support and for which the necessary technical and financial assistance must be mobilised, and specifically should:

 strengthen institutional capacity and improve governance: drafting legislation, building on management plans and supporting the implementation of said legislation and management plans;

  tighten up monitoring, control and surveillance in the Cape Verde EEZ and surrounding areas;

 strengthen measures to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities, including in inland waters;

 strengthen partnerships with other countries interested in fishing activity in the Cape Verde’s EEZ, namely by means of fisheries agreements, and ensure transparency by publishing any content thereof, and by establishing a regional programme to train and use observers;

 support the establishment and improvement of a data collection programme that enables Cape Verdean authorities to understand the resources available and support the scientific assessment of resources, resulting in decision-making based on the best available scientific knowledge;

 enable the construction and/or renovation of key infrastructure for fisheries and related activities, such as landing quays and ports (both industrial and artisanal, for example at the port of Mindelo, São Vicente island), sites for storing and processing fish, markets, distribution and marketing infrastructure, and quality analysis laboratories;

 support and improve working conditions for all workers, in particular for women in all fishing-related activities, including not only commercialisation but also transformation, fisheries management and science;

 support the scientific knowledge necessary for the establishment of marine-protected areas, including their implementation, monitoring and control;

 limit bycatches of sensitive species, such as marine turtles;

 enable the reinforcement of organisations representing men and women in the fishing industry, especially those involved in small-scale artisanal fisheries, thereby helping to strengthen technical, management and negotiating capabilities;

 serve to set up and/or refurbish basic and vocational training centres, thereby raising the skill levels of fishers, seafarers and women in the fisheries sector and other blue economy-associated activities;

 strengthen measures to encourage young people to engage in fishing;

 enhance scientific research capabilities and the ability to monitor fishery resources and the marine environment;

 improve the sustainability of marine resources overall;

7. Welcomes the fact that the agreement does not concern small pelagic fish that are of great importance for the local population and for which there is no surplus;

8. Expresses its concern about the potentially detrimental impact of fishing activities on the shark population in the Cape Verde EEZ;

9. Considers that a more detailed evaluation of the benefits that the implementation of the Protocol brings to local economies (employment, infrastructure, social improvements) is necessary;

10. Considers it desirable to improve the quantity and accuracy of data on all catches (target species and bycatches), on the conservation status of fishery resources and on the impact of fishing activity in the marine environment, and to improve the implementation of sectoral support funding in order to enable a more exact assessment of the impact of the agreement on the marine ecosystem, fishing resources and local communities, including its social and economic impact;

11. Considers that, in the light of the possible closure of or placing of restrictions on fisheries, local fishing needs should be addressed first, on the basis of sound scientific advice, in order to ensure that resources are sustainable;

12. Calls on the Commission and the Cape Verdean authorities to improve data collection on and the monitoring of stocks in the context of overfishing, with a particular focus on sharks;

13. Calls on the Commission and the Member States, in their cooperation and official development assistance policies centring on Cape Verde, to bear in mind that the European Development Fund and the sectoral support laid down in this SFPA should complement each other in order to contribute to the strengthening of the local fisheries sector and to ensure that the country has full sovereignty over its own resources; calls on the Commission to facilitate, through the European Development Fund and other relevant instruments, the necessary steps for the provision of infrastructure which, by reason of its scale and cost, cannot be built solely by means of sectoral support within the framework of the SFPA, for example fishing ports (both industrial and artisanal);

14. Supports the need to increase the contribution of the SFPA to the local creation of direct and indirect jobs, either on vessels operating under the SFPA or in fishing activities, both upstream and downstream; considers that the Member States can play a key role and an active part in capacity-building and training efforts to this end;

15. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to further strengthen their cooperation with Cape Verde, to evaluate possibilities for enhancing future development assistance, primarily under the new Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI) proposed as part of the EU’s budget for 2021-2027, and particularly taking into account the good use of EU funds in Cape Verde and the country’s political stability in a complex geopolitical context, which must be supported and rewarded;

16. Calls on the Commission to urge the Republic of Cape Verde to use the financial contribution provided by the Protocol to strengthen its national fisheries industry in the long term, encourage demand for local investment and industrial projects, and encourage the growth of a sustainable blue economy, thereby creating local jobs and boosting the attractiveness of fishing activities to young generations;

17. Calls on the Commission to send to Parliament and make publicly available the minutes and conclusions of the meetings of the Joint Committee provided for in Article 9 of the agreement and the findings of the annual evaluations; calls on the Commission to enable representatives of Parliament to attend Joint Committee meetings as observers and to encourage the participation of Cape Verdean fishing communities and associated stakeholders;

18. Considers that information should be compiled on the benefits that implementation of the Protocol brings to local economies (employment, infrastructure, social improvements);

19. Calls on the Commission and the Council, acting within the limits of their powers, to keep Parliament immediately and fully informed at every stage of the procedures relating to the Protocol and, if applicable, of its renewal, pursuant to Article 13(2) of the Treaty on European Union and Article 218(10) of the TFEU;

20. Draws the attention of the Commission, and particularly the Council, to the fact that persisting in proceeding with the provisional application of international agreements before Parliament has given its consent is not compatible with the guiding principles of the Interinstitutional Agreement on Better Law-Making, that this practice greatly diminishes Parliament’s status as the only directly democratically elected EU institution, and that it also damages the democratic credentials of the EU as a whole;

21. Calls on the Commission to better integrate the recommendations made in the EU-Cape Verde SFPA and to take them into account, for instance, in the procedures for the renewal of the Protocol;

22. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, and the Government and Parliament of the Republic of Cape Verde.


 

 

OPINION OF THE COMMITTEE ON DEVELOPMENT (3.12.2019)

for the Committee on Fisheries

on a motion for a non-legislative resolution on the draft Council decision on the conclusion of the Protocol on the implementation of the Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the European Community and the Republic of Cape Verde (2019-2024)

(2019/0078M(NLE))

Rapporteur for opinion: Catherine Chabaud

 

SUGGESTIONS

The Committee on Development calls on the Committee on Fisheries, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following suggestions into its motion for a resolution:

1. Notes that, in a context of overfishing, while the European Union is committed to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), particularly SDG 14 (on conserving and sustainably using the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development), the new reference tonnage represents an increase of 60% in comparison with the current protocol; calls, therefore, for very careful monitoring of stocks, with particular attention to pelagic sharks, whose vulnerability is stressed by scientists;

2. Calls for the use of measures to reduce bycatches to be obligatory for the European Union's long-distance fleet and explicitly stated in all sustainable fisheries partnership agreements;

3. Calls on the Commission and Cape Verde to provide more detailed information about the cumulative effects that the various fisheries agreements in force in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) concerned have on the resource, and about the development of industrial fishing activities in the region;

4. Considers that, in view of the many challenges facing Cape Verde, this Protocol and the financial contribution should contribute to the following priorities:

  promoting a sustainable blue economy by supporting small-scale local fisheries, the cold chain, the modernisation of port infrastructure, food hygiene and safety and the strengthening of the position of women and young people in local fisheries, who play an important part in marketing and processing;

 supporting artisanal fishing and involving local fishing communities more in determining initiatives to be carried out by way of sectoral support, for example by providing support in the form of training;

  improving scientific knowledge and cooperation in this ocean region by enabling local scientists to travel on board vessels operating in this area, in view of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030), so as to make the local population aware of this knowledge and its use;

  fostering local economic development and strengthening coastal communities dependent on marine resources;

  participating in ambitious European Union and Cape Verde contributions to the International Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development;

  in the context of support for the sector, stepping up monitoring, control and surveillance of fisheries, thus preventing illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, notably by improving governance, capacity building and training on this matter in cooperation with the local administration, but also supporting the introduction of innovative surveillance techniques such as satellite-based vessel monitoring systems, particularly on small islands which have to manage fishing activities within the 200 miles that make up their EEZ; 

  enabling the Union and the Republic of Cape Verde, in accordance with the objective of the Protocol, to work more closely on promoting a sustainable fisheries policy and on the responsible exploitation of fisheries resources in Cape Verde waters, preventing all forms of overexploitation in Cape Verde's EEZ;

  combating pollution by supporting the collection of plastics by local fishermen;

5. Calls for transparency regarding the use of EU sectoral funding in order to allow for better monitoring; calls, therefore, for closer cooperation between the various Commission departments concerned and suggests that the EU delegation to Cape Verde could contribute to the monitoring of this protocol;

6. Recalls that transparent scientific data should always form the basis for any decisions made at EU level concerning the Protocol's renewal in order for the Union to be able to fulfil its environmental commitments;

7. Insists that this agreement should be adapted to Cape Verde’s needs and priorities, notably those outlined in Cape Verde’s Blue Economy Plan;

8. Calls on the Commission to ensure that the enlarged pan-African political framework for fisheries – sustainable fisheries partnership agreements – clearly arranges for as many stakeholders (civil society, local fishing communities, scientists) as possible, from both parties, to be involved in the talks and in implementing the Protocol;

9. Recommends that this agreement be brought into line with other programmes, financed by other donors such as the World Bank, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations or the African Development Bank, to prevent duplication and to ensure public awareness of the different financing sources for different projects.

10. Recalls that marine resources cross borders; therefore calls, with a view to bolstering regional and global strategies for fisheries governance with third countries, for the cumulative effect of the fisheries agreements concluded with countries in the region to be taken into account.


PROCEDURE – COMMITTEE ASKED FOR OPINION

Title

Conclusion of the Protocol on the implementation of the Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the European Community and the Republic of Cape Verde (2019-2024)

References

2019/0078M(NLE)

Committee responsible

 

PECH

 

 

 

 

Opinion by

 Date announced in plenary

DEVE

24.10.2019

Rapporteur

 Date appointed

Catherine Chabaud

17.9.2019

Discussed in committee

7.11.2019

 

 

 

Date adopted

3.12.2019

 

 

 

Result of final vote

+:

–:

0:

22

2

0

Members present for the final vote

Hildegard Bentele, Dominique Bilde, Charles Goerens, Mónica Silvana González, Pierrette Herzberger-Fofana, György Hölvényi, Martin Horwood, Rasa Juknevičienė, Beata Kempa, Pierfrancesco Majorino, Lukas Mandl, Norbert Neuser, Michèle Rivasi, Louis Stedman-Bryce, Marc Tarabella, Tomas Tobé, Miguel Urbán Crespo, Chrysoula Zacharopoulou, Bernhard Zimniok

Substitutes present for the final vote

Alessandra Basso, Stéphane Bijoux, Marlene Mortler, Caroline Roose, Carlos Zorrinho

 

 


 

 

FINAL VOTE BY ROLL CALL IN COMMITTEE ASKED FOR OPINION

22

+

ECR

Beata Kempa

GUE/NGL

Miguel Urbán Crespo

ID

Alessandra Basso, Bernhard Zimniok

PPE

Hildegard Bentele, György Hölvényi, Rasa Juknevičienė, Lukas Mandl, Marlene Mortler, Tomas Tobé

RENEW

Stéphane Bijoux, Charles Goerens, Martin Horwood, Chrysoula Zacharopoulou

S&D

Mónica Silvana González, Pierfrancesco Majorino, Norbert Neuser, Marc Tarabella, Carlos Zorrinho

VERTS/ALE

Pierrette Herzberger-Fofana, Michèle Rivasi, Caroline Roose

 

2

-

ID

Dominique Bilde

NI

Louis Stedman-Bryce

 

0

0

 

 

 

Key:

+ : for

- : against

0 : abstentions

 

 


 

 

 

PROCEDURE – COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE

Title

Conclusion of the Protocol on the implementation of the Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the European Community and the Republic of Cape Verde (2019-2024)

References

2019/0078M(NLE)

Date of consultation / request for consent

16.10.2019

 

 

 

Committee responsible

 Date announced in plenary

PECH

24.10.2019

 

 

 

Committees asked for opinions

 Date announced in plenary

DEVE

24.10.2019

BUDG

24.10.2019

 

 

Not delivering opinions

 Date of decision

BUDG

24.9.2019

 

 

 

Rapporteurs

 Date appointed

Cláudia Monteiro de Aguiar

24.7.2019

 

 

 

Discussed in committee

20.1.2020

 

 

 

Date adopted

19.2.2020

 

 

 

Result of final vote

+:

–:

0:

23

2

0

Members present for the final vote

Clara Aguilera, François-Xavier Bellamy, Isabel Carvalhais, Rosa D’Amato, Giuseppe Ferrandino, João Ferreira, Søren Gade, Francisco Guerreiro, Anja Hazekamp, Niclas Herbst, France Jamet, Pierre Karleskind, Predrag Fred Matić, Francisco José Millán Mon, Cláudia Monteiro de Aguiar, Grace O’Sullivan, Manuel Pizarro, Caroline Roose, Bert-Jan Ruissen, Ruža Tomašić, Peter van Dalen

Substitutes present for the final vote

Benoît Biteau, Nicolás González Casares, Gabriel Mato, Annalisa Tardino, Javier Zarzalejos

Date tabled

26.2.2020

 


 

FINAL VOTE BY ROLL CALL IN COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE

23

+

ECR

Bert-Jan Ruissen, Ruža Tomašić

GUE/NGL

João Ferreira

ID

Annalisa Tardino

NI

Rosa D'Amato

PPE

François-Xavier Bellamy, Peter van Dalen, Niclas Herbst, Gabriel Mato, Francisco José Millán Mon, Cláudia Monteiro de Aguiar, Javier Zarzalejos

RENEW

Søren Gade, Pierre Karleskind

S&D

Clara Aguilera, Isabel Carvalhais, Giuseppe Ferrandino, Nicolás González Casares, Predrag Fred Matić, Manuel Pizarro

VERTS/ALE

Francisco Guerreiro, Grace O'Sullivan, Caroline Roose

 

2

-

GUE/NGL

Anja Hazekamp

ID

France Jamet

 

0

0

 

 

 

 

 

Key to symbols:

+ : in favour

- : against

0 : abstention

 

 

 

Last updated: 18 March 2020
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