The European Parliament adopted a resolution drafted by Carmen FRAGA ESTEVEZ (PPE-ED, ES), which introduces a number of "fishermen-friendly" changes to the Commission proposal. These changes are part of a compromise agreement reached by the rapporteur and the Commission. (Please see the summary of 12/04/2005.)
In addition, certain deadlines were amended by Parliament:
- the Council will designate, before 31 December 2005 (rather than 2004), protected areas occurring, in particular, totally or partially beyond the territorial seas of Member States, including the types of fishing activities banned or authorised in such areas;
- Member States shall designate, before 31 December 2005 (rather than 2004), further protected areas within their territorial waters in which fishing activities may be banned or restricted;
Finally, there were several technical changes in the Annex, inter alia, dealing with the length of longline hooks for certain species, and the breadth of dredges.