23 May 2006 - Brussels, Belgium
- Late yesterday, a damaging proposal on how to
spend nearly €4 billion of fishing subsidies was
blocked preventing a disastrous increase in the
capacity of the European fleet.
Spain, France, Italy, Poland,
Greece and Estonia were seeking a reverse of the
2002 Fisheries Council decision not to provide
funds for new engines as well as other unsustainable
measures within the forthcoming European Fisheries
Fund (EFF).
“It was the courageous decision
by the UK and Germany to block the Commission’s
compromise proposal that has averted disaster,”
said Jim Leape, WWF’s Director General. “Their
continued commitment in the months ahead will
be crucial to ensuring that EU subsidies support
fishermen while protecting the marine environment.”
A renegotiation of the EFF will
take place under the Finnish Presidency in the
second half of the year.
Notes to editors:
• The European Fisheries Fund is the instrument
that will guide the distribution of EU fishing
subsidies for the period 2007-2013. It replaces
the existing instrument known as the Financial
Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG).
• The Commission’s compromise
position threatened to allow the replacement of
engines using Community Money on Aid for the replacement
of engines and aid for the renewal and modernisation
of the fleet for small scale coastal fishing.
This comes on top of State Aid allowed for modernisation
of engines. The European Commission is therefore
presenting a compromise position that contradicts
the objectives stated in the Common Fisheries
Policy reform.
• In the run up to the EU Fisheries
Council meeting, Ministers from Belgium, Denmark
and Finland received more than 20,000 e-mails
from WWF campaigners asking them to use their
Council vote to block agreement of the European
Fisheries Fund (EFF) until later in the year.
• Last December the Fisheries
Council, based on the already weak proposal from
the European Commission, set Total Allowable Catches
and quotas for 2006 at a level 45% above scientific
advice.
