Verbatim report of proceedings

Tuesday, 4 April 2006 - Strasbourg

5. Decision on urgent procedure

Proposal for a Council regulation on the conclusion of the Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the European Community and the Kingdom of Morocco [COM(2005)0692 C6-0040/2006 2005/0280(CNS)]

  Philippe Morillon (ALDE), chairman of the Committee on Fisheries. – (FR) Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I am actually speaking here on behalf of the Committee on Fisheries, of which I am the chairman, to inform you that, yesterday evening, a large majority, 14 votes to 9, of the committee voted against the Council request for urgent procedure on the proposal tabled by our colleague Mr Varela Suanzes-Carpegna on the regulation on the conclusion of the Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the European Community and the Kingdom of Morocco.

This is because, were we to agree to this request, it would amount to signing a blank document regarding this agreement, at a time when the discussions within our committee are far from complete, as shown by the liveliness of yesterday's debates, and at a time when the Committee on Development, which has a particular interest in this type of agreement, has not yet issued its opinion. We are, of course, aware of the importance of this agreement both for the Moroccan Government and for European fishermen themselves. That is why we propose to deal with this matter under an accelerated procedure that will allow us, following further discussions at the next meeting of the committee on 18 and 19 April, to vote on the report in committee on 2 May, and thus to submit it to Parliament during the following plenary session in May.

As far as we are aware, the initial payments should not be made until the end of June. We therefore do not think that this final period of reflection, which we consider to be necessary within Parliament, will cause any major difficulties.

  Heinz Kindermann (PSE). – (DE) Mr President, I am in favour of this being treated as an urgent matter. It really is necessary for the Spanish fishermen, and in their interests, that they should be able to fish with effect from the beginning of the season on 1 May. They have for years now had no opportunity to go about their fishing business, and a delay would not essentially change anything whatever about the current ratification process or the content of the treaties.

  Carmen Fraga Estévez, on behalf of the PPE-DE Group. – (ES) Mr President, my political group is opposed to the Council’s request to apply the urgent procedure until Parliament is provided with the information that is essential in order to guarantee that this fisheries agreement is the appropriate legal framework for the Community fleet to be able to carry out its fishing activities normally.

  Daniel Varela Suanzes-Carpegna (PPE-DE), rapporteur. – (ES) Mr President, I am speaking pursuant to Rule 134(3), as rapporteur for this report, to inform the House that the rapporteur is against the urgent procedure. I am against because, this being such a delicate issue, which has not been entirely concluded, involving an agreement which is still subject to substantial alterations by both sides, we cannot deny the competent committee, the Committee on Fisheries, its rightful report, debate and vote.

Ladies and gentlemen, we do not want any shocks in the application of this agreement in the future, as has happened in the past. We want to provide the fisheries sector with guarantees of legal certainty, that what has been agreed will be fully implemented and that this agreement is viable. The Committee on Development has already given its opinion and we shall take its report into account. The Committee on Fisheries has not done so yet.

With the compromise that I proposed yesterday to the Chairman of the Committee on Fisheries, which that committee has approved, my intention is not to delay the report but to speed it up so that it may be available in this House in May and so that we can conclude this issue under ideal conditions, since the first deadline for the first financial compensation ends on 30 June. We shall be on time and, in light of what Mr Kindermann has said, I would point out that for many of the species that are included in the agreement a biological rest period begins this month and next month, and they will not therefore be affected.

For these reasons, we are asking that our committee work during the remaining time so that we can bring a report from the competent committee to the House. This is why we are rejecting the urgent procedure today.

(Parliament rejected the request for urgent procedure)⁽¹⁾

Proposal for a Regulation of the Council amending Regulations (EEC) No 2771/75 and (EEC) No 2777/75 with regard to the application of exceptional market support measures [COM(2006)0153 C6-0111/2006 2006/0055(CNS)]

  Joseph Daul (PPE-DE), Chairman of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development. – (FR) Mr President, yesterday the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development unanimously agreed to support the Commission request for urgent procedure on exceptional market support measures for eggs and poultry.

In view of the major crisis currently facing the avian sector in a number of Member States, we think it is vital to reach a decision quickly, and, by adopting urgent procedure, the European Parliament will be in a position to express an opinion on the Commission's proposal. It will thus demonstrate that it is able to react quickly to respond to the expectations of the citizens. The Commission submitted the request for urgent procedure at the end of last week, and we will respond on Thursday. I think that this is a good example for our citizens in terms of our response to a major crisis.

(Parliament agreed to urgent procedure)⁽²⁾

(1) For further details: see Minutes.

(2) For further details: see Minutes.