(Consultation procedure)

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the Commission proposal to the Council (COM(2008)0444),

–   having regard to Articles 37 and 299(2) of the EC Treaty, pursuant to which the Council consulted Parliament (C6-0298/2008),

–   having regard to Rule 51 of its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the report of the Committee on Fisheries (A6-0388/2008),

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 the Commission.

Text proposed by the Commission   Amendment Amendment 1 Proposal for a regulation – amending act Recital 3 a (new) (3a)  In addition, there are fleets in the outermost regions consisting mainly of ageing vessels (dating back over 30 years in some cases), and it is therefore essential to ensure Community support for those fleets' renewal and modernisation, especially for the small-scale fleets, in order to improve the conditions for conservation of fish and fishermen's working and safety conditions in those regions. Amendment 2 Proposal for a regulation – amending act Recital 4 (4)  It is, therefore, appropriate to extend for one more year the deadline for the derogation set out in Article 2(5) of Regulation (EC) No 639/2004. (4)  It is, therefore, appropriate to extend to 2011 the deadline for the derogation set out in Article 2(5) of Regulation (EC) No 639/2004. Amendment 4 Proposal for a regulation – amending act Article -1 (new) Regulation (EC) No 639/2004 Article 2 – paragraph 2 Article -1 Article 2(2) of Regulation (EC) No 639/2004 shall be replaced by the following: "2. by way of derogation from Article 9(1)(c)(i) of Regulation (EC) No 2792/1999, public aid to modernise the fleet in terms of tonnage and/or power may be granted, within the limits of the specific reference levels provided for in Article 1 of this Regulation". Amendment 6 Proposal for a regulation – amending act Article -1 a (new) Regulation (EC) No 639/2004 Article 2 − paragraph 4 Article -1a Article 2(4) of Regulation (EC) No 639/2004 shall be replaced by the following: "4. by way of derogation from Article 9(1)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 2792/1999, public aid for the renewal of fishing vessels may be granted until 31 December 2009." Amendment 7 Proposal for a regulation – amending act Article 1 Regulation (EC) No 639/2004 Article 2 − paragraph 5 In Article 2(5) of Regulation (EC) No 639/2004, "31 December 2008" shall be replaced by "31 December 2009". In Article 2(5) of Regulation (EC) No 639/2004, "31 December 2008" shall be replaced by "31 December 2011". Amendment 8 Proposal for a regulation – amending act Article 1 a (new) Regulation (EC) No 639/2004 Article 6 Article 1a Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 639/2004 shall be replaced by the following: "The Commission shall submit to the European Parliament and the Council a report on the implementation of this Regulation until the expiry of the derogations provided for herein. As regards the measures referred to in Article 2, the Commission shall propose such adjustments as might be required in the light both of the changing socio-economic needs of the regions concerned and of the status of their fish stocks."