(Consultation procedure)

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the Commission proposal to the Council (COM(2002) 355)(1) and the amended proposal COM(2003) 384)(2),

–   having regard to Article 37 of the EC Treaty, pursuant to which the Council consulted Parliament (C5&nbhy;0431/2003)

–   having regard to Rule 67 of its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the report of the Committee on Fisheries (A5&nbhy;0437/2003),

1.  Approves the Commission proposal as amended;

2.  Calls on the Commission to alter its proposal accordingly, pursuant to Article 250(2) of the EC Treaty;

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

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

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

Text proposed by the Commission   Amendments by Parliament Amendment 1 Article 8, paragraph 3, subparagraph 2 Member States shall not issue a special fishing permit to vessels which are so configured that they lack on-board offal processing facilities or adequate capacity to retain offal on board, or the ability to discharge offal on the opposite side of the vessel to that where longlines are hauled. Vessels shall be so configured that they dispose of on-board offal processing facilities or adequate capacity to retain offal on board, or the ability to discharge offal on the opposite side of the vessel to that where longlines are hauled.

(1) OJ C 262, 29.10.2002, p. 295. (2) Not yet published in OJ.