Incidents at the Matosinhos market

6.7.2000

ORAL QUESTION H-0624/00
for Question Time at the part-session in September 2000
pursuant to Rule 43 of the Rules of Procedure
by Manuel Pérez Álvarez
to the Council

During the night of 22 June 2000, various groups –  probably coastal fishermen from Poboa de Varsím and Matosinhos according to various sources – used blunt instruments to break open the doors of four Spanish lorries containing sardines in front of the premises of the company Docapesa S.A. at Matosinhos market. They then removed the fish from the lorries and sprayed it with diesel oil or similar products in order to damage it permanently, while uttering threats.

 

Apart from the damage caused to the four companies concerned – one of them calculated that the damage to the fish amounted to nine million pesetas and the damage to the vehicles to 300 000 pesetas – incidents of this kind should not be allowed to happen (a similar incident involving mackerel occurred in 1998).

 

What steps will the Council take to prevent any recurrence of such incidents, which are against the law but in particular are contrary to the spirit and principles underlying the European Union? Does it plan to make any arrangements to compensate for the unfair and deliberate damage caused?

 

 

Tabled: 06.07.2000

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