Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-12-14-Speech-3-298"
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"en.20051214.20.3-298"2
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".
Mr President, I should like to thank all colleagues for their support so far for my report. This report replaces a number of existing legal measures which provide the basis for current funding beyond monies provided by the European Fisheries Fund. This is in line with the policy of achieving better regulation and simplification of legislation. It sets out objectives for: expenditure, rules for eligibility of expenditure, the level of the Commission contribution and control measures. The key areas covered are: control and enforcement, data collection, scientific advice, governance of the CFP and international matters. The total budget foreseen for 2007-2013 is EUR 2 625 million, although the actual amounts, as the Commissioner has said, will depend on the EU budget negotiations.
The financial support for the collection of data on the impact of fisheries on the environment in relation to adopting an ecosystem-based approach is also important. Almost 60% of all the money goes on international fishing agreements, and it is only right that we make sure this amounts to value for money and is a fair development.
Expenditure on agreements should be eligible for Community financing only if it has been recommended as value for money under an evaluation report on the relevant agreement. It is also important to develop control capacities of third countries to ensure sustainable fishing monitoring and control of fishing activities.
If cuts need to be made in the Commission’s indicative budget, savings should be found from the international relations area, the largest budget area.
I thank colleagues for their support and urge them to support this report tomorrow, and I wish everybody a Happy Christmas.
On control and enforcement, the aim is to improve the control of fishing activities in order to combat those fishing activities that are damaging the conservation of resources within and outside Community waters. This is to be achieved by providing Community financial support to Member States to reduce weaknesses in their fisheries control programmes and by assisting coordination of control measures, particularly via the Community Fisheries Control Agency.
Within the area of data collection and scientific advice, Community support will allow for the collection and management of the data needed to evaluate the state of fisheries resources and the fishing industry within and outside Community waters. This will assist the Member States to establish multiannual, aggregated and science-based data sets which incorporate biological, environmental and economic information.
In the area of governance, the goal is to ensure the involvement of stakeholders at all stages of policy development up to and including implementation.
In the area of international relations and the law of the sea, Community financial support is given for the conclusion of fisheries agreements with third countries, including partnership agreements, and participation in international organisations relating to fisheries or the law of the sea. This area is allocated the lion’s share of the budget – EUR 1 592.5 million, of which EUR 1 522.5 million will go to fisheries agreements. In addition, some money has been allocated to technical and administrative assistance, including related staff costs.
However, although the sums allocated by the Commission have been increased in committee, MEPs expressed concern that the allocation would not cover all the tasks required. These have been increased by enlargement and the need to collect data on the new seas – for example, current data on the Black Sea scarcely exists.
Uncertainty over funding – not least as we await a new EU budget – poses the question of whether more funds can be made available, and if so, how they should be allocated. If more funding is not available, then the question of whether funding is appropriately allocated by this proposal arises.
The creation of RACs is a vital and most welcome development. They will play a key role in the management of the CFP. However, we need to ensure that the RAC areas are adequately supported. They are unlikely to generate sufficient resources of their own after the start-up phase and, indeed, the operating costs are certain to increase after the start-up phase, as the RACs and their working groups – the North Sea RAC already has four of them – progressively generate and implement new projects in support of management guidance to the Commission. Even in the start-up phase, the level of support to the RACs from the Commission diminishes progressively and steeply and continues to do so, year on year, as the RAC itself is expected to become increasingly self-supporting. Moreover, the secretariats of the RACs have only limited capacity to seek alternative sources of funding, notably from Member States.
There is only limited opportunity – or justification – to pass the burden of cost on to the stakeholders – members of the general assembly and executive committees – especially as individual stakeholders – such as NGOs – seek to be involved in several RACs simultaneously, which incurs significant resource costs. It is vital to press for finance to be available for RACs beyond the initial five-year period."@en1
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