Verbatim report of proceedings

Wednesday, 15 September 2004 - Strasbourg

3. Vote

  President. We now come to the vote⁽¹⁾.

Proposal for a decision (B6-0030/2004) on setting up a temporary committee on policy challenges and budgetary means of the enlarged Union 2007-2013

(Parliament adopted the decision)

Report (A6-0001/2004) by Philippe Morillon on behalf of the Committee on Fisheries on the proposal for a Council regulation on the conclusion of the Protocol defining, for the period 3 December 2003 to 2 December 2007, the fishing opportunities and the financial compensation provided for by the Agreement between the European Economic Community and the Government of Mauritius on fishing in the waters of Mauritius (COM(2004) 0197 – C5-0179/2004 – 2004/0071(CNS))

(Parliament adopted the legislative resolution)

Report (A6-0002/2004) by Philippe Morillon on behalf of the Committee on Fisheries on the proposal for a Council regulation on the conclusion of the Protocol defining for the period 1 January 2004 to 31 December 2006 the tuna fishing opportunities and the financial contribution provided for in the Agreement between the European Economic Community and the Democratic Republic of Madagascar on fishing off Madagascar

(COM(2004)0218 – C5-0186/2004 – 2004/0070(CNS))

(Parliament adopted the legislative resolution)

Report (A6-0003/2004) by Philippe Morillon on behalf of the Committee on Fisheries on the proposal for a Council regulation on the conclusion of the Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters concerning the extension of the Protocol setting out the fishing opportunities and financial contribution provided for in the Agreement between the European Economic Community and the Republic of Cape Verde on fishing off the coast of Cape Verde for the period 1 July 2004 to 30 June 2005 (COM(2004)0183 – C5-0189/2004 – 2004/0058(CNS))

(Parliament adopted the legislative resolution)

That concludes the voting.

EXPLANATIONS OF VOTE

- Decision B6-0030/2004

  Queiró (PPE-DE), in writing. (PT) I voted in favour of setting up a temporary committee on policy challenges and budgetary means of the enlarged Union 2007-2013, because it strikes me as crucial that we monitor this process very carefully, and gather and coordinate points of view on the different items of the budget that Parliament will evaluate through its various parliamentary committees.

Parliament’s political priorities in these negotiations must be in line with the structure of the new financial perspective. I feel that it is crucial that Parliament’s final position should be incorporated into the Council’s common position, so that the negotiations can begin in a climate of mutual understanding of the European Project’s orientation in the near future.

I feel that this process must make use of internal coherence comprising all of the institutions’ assets and that all efforts must be channelled not only into the negotiations themselves, but, most importantly, into placing greater value on the aims of the Lisbon Strategy, and on an energetic economic and social cohesion policy that will continue to enable convergence in levels of well-being among the peoples of the various Member States.

  Ribeiro (GUE/NGL), in writing. (PT) Although we voted in favour of setting up a temporary committee on political priorities and budgetary means of the future financial perspective 2007-2013, there are two questions that we would like to see resolved.

Firstly, the committee’s work must not be allowed to replace, reduce or subordinate the parallel work, in accordance with procedure, that will take place in the other parliamentary committees. This committee must bring added value, in close cooperation and in discussion with the various parliamentary committees, and must not be a motive for blocking or watering down. It is obvious, as far as we are concerned, that opinions on the regulations of the different funds proposed, specifically at the levels of cohesion, social affairs and the productive economy, must be developed in the relevant parliamentary committees.

Secondly, different political and nationality groups must be guaranteed representation. We therefore welcome the fact that an agreement has been reached to increase the size of this committee to 50 members, provided that this representation is guaranteed.

  Ribeiro e Castro (PPE-DE), in writing. (PT) I voted in favour of Parliament setting up this temporary committee on policy challenges and budgetary means of the European Union.

I sincerely hope that the guidance of the group chairmen and of the Conference of Presidents was passed on, as they consider that this historical moment and its practical implications for a Europe of over 450 million citizens justifies this particular committee. This methodology must enable the views of the different committees concerned to be gathered, considered and coordinated, thereby contributing to a more precise definition of Parliament’s political priorities, which will be reflected in the future financial perspectives.

This must not serve to weaken positions already taken by Parliament, clearly opposed to reducing EU resources or abandoning, or simply weakening, the aims and policies of cohesion. This is not a matter, in my view, of setting a new starting point. On the contrary, this temporary committee must at least adopt the Commission’s proposal on the financial perspectives and must seek to set more ambitious targets as regards the EU’s budgetary resources. It must also move more quickly in its cohesion aims. This is the challenge in these times of an enlarged Union and the new constitutional Treaty.

- Morillon Report (A6-0001/2004)

  Goudin, Lundgren and Wohlin (IND/DEM), in writing. (SV) We believe that the European Union’s policy on fisheries agreements must be reviewed. Over-exploitation of fishing waters forces people into ever-greater poverty and robs the marine environment of a vital link in the food chain. It would be better if those countries with which the EU signs fisheries agreements were instead given assistance so that they themselves could develop their own fisheries.

We do not accept Amendment No 7 by the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, whereby the Commission would be given an independent source of income. We believe that, if the EU concludes a fisheries agreement with a third country, the total amount of the financial compensation for this third country must be funded by those EU Member States whose fishing vessels exploit the relevant opportunities under the agreement. Those Member States might then each themselves decide whether they, in turn, are to fund this expenditure by imposing taxes upon their respective fishing vessels.

  Queiró (PPE-DE), in writing. (PT) I voted in favour of the report by Mr Morillon on the proposal for a Council regulation on the conclusion of the Protocol defining, for the period 3 December 2003 to 2 December 2007, the fishing opportunities and the financial compensation provided for by the Agreement between the European Economic Community and the Government of Mauritius on fishing in the waters of Mauritius, because I feel that it is crucial to coordinate the protection of the EU’s interests in the area of fishing with the management of maritime resources and with the development of the populations that depend on fishing. The EU must make an accurate assessment of the sustainability of fishing agreements with third countries, given that specific measures have taken on greater importance in the correct implementation of Community actions aimed at developing local communities, especially coastal communities that rely on traditional fishing. Community tuna shipowners will also be protected, through measures imposing greater control over fishing activities aimed at combating illegal fishing. Those measures will make a contribution towards ensuring responsible fishing in the Indian Ocean.

  Ribeiro (GUE/NGL), in writing. (PT) It has become vitally important to safeguard fishing opportunities for Community fleets, in particular the Portuguese fleet, in third-country exclusive economic zones, not only from the point of view of economics and of safeguarding jobs, but also the survival of countless regions that depend on fishing in the EU, in particular the outermost regions.

Much of the Portuguese distant water fishing fleet has been disappearing owing to the fact that opportunities have been decreasing and the cost of licences increasing, and that the common fisheries policy rewards those who scrap boats and is set to stop giving aid for repairing fleets – in this respect Portugal has been an ‘exemplary pupil’. This also leads us to feel that the amendments aimed at passing on the costs to the tuna shipowners do not make sense.

These agreements, which are commercial in nature, may also contribute towards the sustainable management of fishing resources and towards the development of local fishing communities. The current Fisheries Protocol, which runs until 2 December 2007, will enable the seven Portuguese surface longliners to continue to operate as they have been doing.

  Ribeiro e Castro (PPE-DE), in writing. (PT) The issue here is the conclusion of another fishing agreement between the EU and various Indian Ocean countries, in this case Mauritius. This agreement, with the necessary adaptations, extends the successive agreements concluded in the field since 1989.

Although this a relatively modest agreement from a financial point of view and solely concerns tuna, the highly migratory nature of the species makes this agreement even more important to Community tuna shipowners. The agreement also makes economic sense given that the value of catches far exceeds the cost of the protocol to the EU.

The further advantages of concluding the agreement, such as creating jobs on fishing vessels, in ports, auctions, processing factories, shipyards and service industries both in the EU and in Mauritius itself, strike me as similarly beneficial.

Given that right now seven of the 90 Community vessels in Mauritian waters are Portuguese, I voted in favour of the report before us, as I feel that the amendments suggested by the rapporteur add value to this Proposal for a Regulation.

  Titford (IND/DEM), in writing. These fisheries deals show the European Union in its worst possible light: greedy, exploitative and behaving like a colonial power.

Over the last five years I have campaigned against this appalling environmental degradation and tried to highlight the human cost to the indigenous black African communities. In 2003 and early 2004 over 100 MEPs had, at last, begun to listen. Now I see that opposition has fallen to 70 or 80. The reason, I am told, is that the deals have been reformed.

But I would be very cautious about the word 'reform' in an EU context. Invariably it is meaningless. In the case of Africa, it means that some aspects of the deal may be slightly less bad. It is the whole principle that is wrong and that is why UKIP will continue to oppose these deals until that tragic continent gets its fishing grounds back.

- Morillon Report (A6-0002/2004)

  Queiró (PPE-DE), in writing. (PT) I voted in favour of the report by Mr Morillion on the proposal for a Council regulation on the conclusion of the Protocol defining for the period 1 January 2004 to 31 December 2006 the tuna fishing opportunities and the financial contribution provided for in the Agreement between the European Economic Community and the Democratic Republic of Madagascar on fishing off Madagascar, because I am in favour of responsible and sustainable fishing. This Protocol sets fishing opportunities for the Community tuna fleet and promotes the development of cooperation based on respect for the laws and regulations under Malagasy national fisheries policy. The new Protocol’s global cost is identical to that of the previous Protocol. This agreement is equally crucial to the Malagasy economy, providing an important source of currency and creating jobs for local seamen, as well as in the processing industry and surveillance activities.

  Ribeiro (GUE/NGL), in writing. (PT) This eighth Protocol to the Fisheries Agreement with the Democratic Republic of Madagascar runs until the end of 2006 and defines the tuna fishing opportunities for Community fleets – which include six Portuguese surface longliners – pursuant to the other agreements on tuna concluded by the Community with Indian Ocean countries, which we broadly welcome.

Nevertheless, one question that raises a number of doubts is the so-called exclusivity clause, which suggests that vessels flying the flag of a Member State cannot obtain a licence by any means other than this Protocol. In practice, it will be forbidden to make any further agreements, such as bilateral agreements, which strikes us as excessive and also constitutes interference in the internal politics of individual Member States. This is particularly so given that there are countries that enjoy traditional, historical relations that are not covered by the Community Agreement.

  Ribeiro e Castro (PPE-DE), in writing. (PT) This agreement, which focuses solely on tuna, is another of the agreements concluded by the EU with Indian Ocean countries, enabling the European fleet to continue to operate in the waters off Madagascar.

I feel that the EU’s fisheries policy must stress the need for transparency, which is especially important in agreements of this nature, the objective of which is not simply about European interests. Indeed, the development of the Malagasy economy, respect for the environment and the sustainability of the fishing effort in Madagascar’s territorial waters are three areas that must not be overlooked in this Protocol.

I share the rapporteur’s concern that the Malagasy Government must take steps to monitor fisheries activities more closely. Otherwise, the balance of resources and his assertion that coastal communities must benefit from this Protocol will be in jeopardy.

I therefore voted in favour.

- Morillon Report (A6-0003/2004)

  Queiró (PPE-DE), in writing. (PT) I voted in favour of the report on the proposal for a Council regulation on the conclusion of the Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters concerning the extension of the Protocol setting out the fishing opportunities and financial contribution provided for in the Agreement between the European Economic Community and the Republic of Cape Verde on fishing off the coast of Cape Verde for the period 1 July 2004 to 30 June 2005, given the mutual benefits for both the Community and for Cape Verde that will result from the conclusion of this agreement.

We understand that this extension is an attempt to improve certain aspects of this agreement, in view of the fact that the authorities of this country, of which the official language is Portuguese, do not have a reliable study of the state of resources and of the repercussions of the targeted measures designed to develop Cape Verde’s fisheries sector. Cape Verde and its fishing communities can only benefit if this situation is rectified.

  Ribeiro (GUE/NGL), in writing. (PT) We welcome this report in view of its social and economic importance to the Republic of Cape Verde and to those countries whose fleets are involved – the Spanish, Portuguese and French fleets – amounting to 117 vessels. The report focuses mainly on tuna, but also covers demersal species.

The extension of the current fisheries agreement for a further year – until 30 June 2005 – will enable tuna shipowners to pursue their fisheries activities in the exclusive economic zone of Cape Verde, including the two Portuguese pole-and-line vessels and the ten Portuguese surface longliners. The Portuguese fleet is, furthermore, allowed to catch up to 630 gross registered tonnes (GRT) by bottom trawling. These fishing opportunities appear miniscule, however, in view of the traditional and historical relations between Portugal and Cape Verde, but this is also a reflection of the fisheries policies of a CFP that has gradually led to the destruction of distant water fishing fleets, as in the case of the Portuguese fleet.

  Ribeiro e Castro (PPE-DE), in writing. (PT) The issue before us is the extension of the fisheries Protocol between the EU and Cape Verde for the period 1 July 2004 to 30 June 2005, which focuses mainly on tuna and which is intended to enable Community tuna shipowners to continue to pursue their fisheries activities in the exclusive economic zone of Cape Verde.

The Commission says that a thorough assessment of the current Protocol must be carried out for this relationship with Cape Verde to continue, and for a new agreement for the coming years to be concluded. Like the rapporteur, I feel that this commitment by the Commission is opportune and welcome.

In view of the advantages for Community tuna shipowners, of the fact that the value of the catches far exceeds the cost of the agreement, of the mutual benefits for both the EU and Cape Verde and of the fact that these catches can supply the Community market, I must welcome the conclusion of this Protocol, which has been improved by the proposals tabled by the rapporteur.

I voted in favour.

IN THE CHAIR: MR TRAKATELLIS
Vice-President

(1) Appointment of Members of Parliament to the ACP-EU Assembly and the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Forum – composition of delegations: see Minutes.