PURPOSE : to reform the Common Fisheries Policy (Framework Regulation).
COMMUNITY MEASURE : Council Regulation 2371/2002/EC on the conservation and sustainable exploitation of fisheries resources under the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).
CONTENT : after lengthy and difficult discussions, the Council adopted the three proposals on the reform of the CFP (refer to CNS/2002/0115 and CNS/2002/0116). It should be noted that the German and the Swedish delegation voted against.
The aims of the initial proposals were:
- to improve the conservation of fish stocks by setting multi-annual management plans on the basis of sound scientific advice; the current management system is based on the fixation at the end of each year of TACs and quotas for the next year;
- to tackle the over-capacity of the EU fleet by restricting public aid to measures concerning safety on board vessels which do not involve capacity in terms of tonnage or power;
- to prevent the EU expansion of the fishing fleet, by withdrawing an equivalent capacity without public aid before introducing a new capacity; the current system of fleet reduction is based on MultiAnnual Guidance Programme (MAGP);
- to address the social problems of fishermen who have to leave fishing by excluding public aid for the transfer of fishing vessels, including in the context of joint enterprises, aid for
constructing new fishing vessels and to restrict the aid to modernisation of fishing vessels to improve safety on board;
- to improve control and enforcement by creating a joint inspection structure;
- to develop the involvement of stakeholders in the CFP by creating the Regional Advisory Councils (RACs) at local and regional levels.
The adoption of these texts represents a major change in the Common Fisheries Policy, in particular with regard to:
- the abolition of public aid for the renewal of the fleet after 31 December 2004;
- the introduction of recovery plans for stocks below Safe Biological Limits and management plans for stocks of within safe biological limits;
- increased premiums for the scrapping of vessels in order to achieve additional reductions in fishing effort resulting from recovery plans for the period 2003-2006.
ENTRY INTO FORCE : 01/01/2003.�