The European Parliament adopted, by 531 votes to 68 with 12 abstentions, under the consultation procedure, a legislative resolution amending the proposal for a Council regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 639/2004 on the management of fishing fleets registered in the Community outermost regions. The report had been tabled for consideration in plenary by Pedro GUERREIRO (GUE/NGL, PT) on behalf of the Committee on Fisheries.
The main amendments adopted – under the consultation procedure – are as follows:
- a new recital states that 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 ;
- one amendment aims to provide a more realistic time horizon with a view to achieving the goals laid down in the Commission proposal. In view of limited shipyard capacity, the extension up to 31 December 2009 as initially proposed does not appear sufficient. Parliament felt that a three-year extension (31 December 2008 - 31 December 2011) was more appropriate;
- by way of derogation from 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 this Regulation
- by way of derogation from Regulation (EC) No 2792/1999, public aid for the renewal of fishing vessels may be granted until 31 December 2009."
- 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 (fleet renewal and modernisation), 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.