Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-07-09-Speech-3-491"
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"en.20080709.41.3-491"2
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"Mr President, let me first extend my gratitude to the Fisheries Committee and especially to its rapporteur, Mrs Fraga, for her report.
This revised protocol has set the fishing possibilities and the financial contribution for the period 1 August 2010 to 31 July 2012. It is the result of a long and complex negotiation process between the European Commission and Mauritania that was launched in October 2007, following serious under-utilisation of the protocol by European ship-owners, namely under-utilisation for cephalopods and the small pelagic species.
The main changes introduced in the new protocol are, firstly, related to the duration of the protocol, which we have extended from two to four years, and, secondly, a reduction of the fishing possibilities for cephalopods, following scientific advice, and for small pelagics, following the actual utilisation and the forecasts for the European Union fleet. Thirdly, an overall reduction of the financial contribution over a four-year period, from an average of EUR 86 million per year to an average of EUR 72.25 million per year, but with an increase within this allocation of the part dedicated to supporting the country’s fisheries policy: from EUR 11 million per year in 2008-9 to EUR 20 million per year in 2011-2012. Fourthly, there is a revised procedure for dealing with infringements in Mauritanian waters.
This is a well-balanced protocol which conciliates the different interests: the need to adjust the EU financial contribution to reduced fishing possibilities for the EU fleet, and the importance of giving greater support to the fisheries sector in Mauritania so as to encourage the integration of this sector into the Mauritanian National Development strategy.
The Fisheries Partnership Agreement contributes 20% of the budgetary revenues of the Mauritanian state, compared to approximately 30-35% in the period 2004-2005. The Fisheries Partnership Agreement amounts to 80% of the overall revenues from the fisheries sector within the state budget. The European Community fishing effort in the Mauritanian EEZ represents 20% of the overall effort – that is both artisanal and industrial fleets.
During the negotiations, the Mauritanian side asked the Commission to make every effort to pay the first annual financial contribution by the end of August 2008. This contribution is crucial for the Mauritanian national budget considering, as I said earlier, that annual payments under the Fisheries Partnership Agreement represent 15 to 20% of the country’s budget. It is also of vital importance for EU operators in the region whose activities may suffer in the event of non-payment before that date – that is due to non-ratification on the Community side.
I would also like to make reference to the question of relative stability, which was also raised by one of the Member States during the June Council, and to remind you that the Commission has no legal obligation to apply the previous allocation of fishing possibilities (i.e. relative stability) under the Fisheries Partnership Agreement, that is agreements which have a financial compensation, such as the one we are considering today. This is because it needs to guarantee that the allocation reflects the best possible option for ensuring value for money (i.e. optimisation of the utilisation for the financial contribution). Under these agreements, fishing possibilities should be allocated according to other criteria such as the utilisation rate of the previous protocol, the Member States’ requests during negotiations and historical fishing possibilities allocated to the Member States and also the situation/capacity of the fleet."@en1
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