The European Parliament adopted a resolution drafted by Paulo CASACA (PES, PT) and made a few amendments to the Commission’s proposal:
-recitals had stated that pilot projects on electronic recording and reporting as well as on remote sensing have proved to be valid and cost-effective. Parliament deleted this and stated that such methods of monitoring still require a series of adjustments before definitive conclusions can be reached as to their use;
-the master’s obligation to record and send information by electronic means will exempt the master of the vessel from any obligation to record such information on paper.
There are some new clauses:
- information will be made available for scientific research, but such information will not contain sensitive or secret commercial information, and confidentiality must be ensured for all information electronically recorded and transmitted by the masters;
- Community Agencies may use the images in order to carry out their duties and shall share those images to the greatest extent possible;
- the Commission will specify in a detailed financial table the source of the financing as well as the total costs and how those are shared between the Community and the Member States;
- The Community will grant a financial assistance to national authorities and fishermen with a view to facilitating the purchase of equipment, its installation and special training;
- The Commission must finance, jointly with the Member States, the costs relating to the installation of Vessel Monitoring Systems in vessels of more than 15 metres in length (overall) and to the sending of messages directly linked to the electronic logbook;
-the entry into force of the legislation is set at 1 January 2008, rather than 1 January 2006.