P9_TA(2020)0135

Protocol on the implementation of the Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the European Community and the Republic of Cape Verde (2019-2024) (Resolution)

European Parliament non-legislative resolution of 18 June 2020 on the draft Council decision on the conclusion of the Protocol on the implementation of the Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the European Community and the Republic of Cape Verde (2019-2024) (08662/2019 — C9-0004/2019 — 2019/0078M(NLE))

(2021/C 362/20)

The European Parliament,

—	having regard to the draft Council decision (08662/2019),

—	having regard to the Protocol on the implementation of the Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the European Community and the Republic of Cape Verde (2019-2024) (08668/2019),

—	having regard to the request for consent submitted by the Council in accordance with Article 43(2), Article 218(6), second subparagraph, point (a)(v), and Article 218(7) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) (C9-0004/2019),

—	having regard to its legislative resolution of 18 June 2020 (1) on the draft decision,

—	having regard to Article 31(4) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 on the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) (2),

—	having regard to its resolution of 12 April 2016 on common rules in respect of application of the external dimension of the CFP, including fisheries agreements (3),

—	having regard to the final report of February 2018 entitled ‘Ex-post and Ex-ante evaluation study of the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Cabo Verde’,

—	having regard to Rule 105(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

—	having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Development,

—	having regard to the report of the Committee on Fisheries (A9-0023/2020),

A.	whereas the Commission and the Government of Cape Verde have negotiated a new sustainable fisheries partnership agreement (EU-Cape Verde SFPA), together with an implementing protocol, for a five-year period;

B.	whereas the overall aim of the EU-Cape Verde SFPA is to increase fisheries cooperation between the EU and Cape Verde, in the interests of both parties, by promoting a sustainable fisheries policy and sustainable exploitation of fishery resources in the Cape Verde exclusive economic zone (EEZ);

C.	whereas the uptake of fishing opportunities under the previous EU-Cape Verde SFPA has ranged from 58 % to 68 %, with a good use for seiners and a moderate use for longliners and pole and line vessels;

D.	whereas sharks constitute 20 % of catches, but the lack of scientific data means that the total figure may not be accurate and could be much higher;

whereas the EU-Cape Verde SFPA should promote more effective sustainable development of the Cape Verdean fishing communities and of related industries and activities, including fisheries science; whereas the support to be provided under the Protocol has to be consistent with the national development plans and the Blue Growth Action Plan for development within ecological limits, devised with the United Nations to increase production in, and professionalise, the sector in order to meet the local population’s food and employment needs;

F.	whereas the EU’s commitments under international agreements should also be supported under the SFPA, namely the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular SDG 14, and whereas all EU actions, including the SFPA, must contribute to those objectives;

G.	whereas the EU, through the European Development Fund, is contributing a multiannual budget of EUR 55 million to Cape Verde, focusing on one main sector, namely the Good Governance and Development Contract (GGDC);

H.	whereas the SFPA should contribute to the promotion and development of the Cape Verdean fisheries sector and whereas basic infrastructure, such as ports, landing sites, storage facilities and processing plants, needs to be built or renovated;

I.	whereas Parliament must be immediately and fully informed, at all stages, of the procedures relating to the Protocol and its renewal;

Takes the view that the EU-Cape Verde SFPA should pursue two equally important goals: (1) to provide fishing opportunities for EU vessels in the Cape Verde EEZ, on the basis of the best available scientific knowledge and advice and without interfering with conservation and management measures by the regional organisations to which Cape Verde belongs — notably the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) — or overrunning the available surplus; and (2) to promote further economic, financial, technical and scientific cooperation between the EU and Cape Verde in the field of sustainable fisheries and sound exploitation of fishery resources in the Cape Verde EEZ, while at the same time not undermining Cape Verde’s sovereign options and strategies relating to its own development; considers, at the same time and in the light of the high value of marine biology in Cape Verdean waters, that the agreement should guarantee the adoption of measures to mitigate accidental fishing by EU vessels in the Cape Verde EEZ;

Takes the view that measures should be taken to guarantee that the reference tonnage stipulated in the agreement is not exceeded;

Draws attention to the findings of the retrospective and prospective assessments of the Protocol to the EU-Cape Verde 2014-2018 SFPA, produced in May 2018, which stated that the Protocol had on the whole proved to be effective, efficient, appropriate to the interests involved, and consistent with the Cape Verdean sectoral policy, with a high degree of acceptability to stakeholders, and which recommended the option of concluding a new protocol; emphasises that there is scope for more effective progress in terms of fisheries cooperation between the EU and Cape Verde and considers that the new protocol should therefore go beyond previous protocols in the implementation of this agreement, in particular with regard to development support for the Cape Verdean fisheries sector;

Supports the need for significant progress in the development of the Cape Verdean fisheries sector, including the fishing industry and related activities, and calls on the Commission to take all necessary measures, including a possible revision and the bolstering of the sectoral support component of the agreement, along with the creation of conditions to increase the absorption rate of this support;

Considers that the EU-Cape Verde SFPA will not achieve its objectives if it does not contribute to increasing added value in Cape Verde as a result of the exploitation of its fishery resources;

Maintains that the EU-Cape Verde SFPA and the Protocol thereto have to be aligned with the national development plans and the Blue Growth Plan for the development within ecological limits of the Cape Verdean fisheries sector, which are priority areas for EU support and for which the necessary technical and financial assistance must be mobilised, and specifically should:

—	strengthen institutional capacity and improve governance: drafting legislation, building on management plans and supporting the implementation of said legislation and management plans;

—	tighten up monitoring, control and surveillance in the Cape Verde EEZ and surrounding areas;

—	strengthen measures to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities, including in inland waters;

—	strengthen partnerships with other countries interested in fishing activity in the Cape Verde’s EEZ, namely by means of fisheries agreements, and ensure transparency by publishing any content thereof, and by establishing a regional programme to train and use observers;

—	support the establishment and improvement of a data collection programme that enables Cape Verdean authorities to understand the resources available and support the scientific assessment of resources, resulting in decision-making based on the best available scientific knowledge;

—

enable the construction and/or renovation of key infrastructure for fisheries and related activities, such as landing quays and ports (both industrial and artisanal, for example at the port of Mindelo, São Vicente island), sites for storing and processing fish, markets, distribution and marketing infrastructure, and quality analysis laboratories;

—	support and improve working conditions for all workers, in particular for women in all fishing-related activities, including not only commercialisation but also transformation, fisheries management and science;

—	support the scientific knowledge necessary for the establishment of marine-protected areas, including their implementation, monitoring and control;

—	limit bycatches of sensitive species, such as marine turtles;

—	enable the reinforcement of organisations representing men and women in the fishing industry, especially those involved in small-scale artisanal fisheries, thereby helping to strengthen technical, management and negotiating capabilities;

—	serve to set up and/or refurbish basic and vocational training centres, thereby raising the skill levels of fishers, seafarers and women in the fisheries sector and other blue economy-associated activities;

—	strengthen measures to encourage young people to engage in fishing;

—	enhance scientific research capabilities and the ability to monitor fishery resources and the marine environment;

—	improve the sustainability of marine resources overall;

Welcomes the fact that the agreement does not concern small pelagic fish that are of great importance for the local population and for which there is no surplus;

Expresses its concern about the potentially detrimental impact of fishing activities on the shark population in the Cape Verde EEZ;

Considers that a more detailed evaluation of the benefits that the implementation of the Protocol brings to local economies (employment, infrastructure, social improvements) is necessary;

10.

Considers it desirable to improve the quantity and accuracy of data on all catches (target species and bycatches), on the conservation status of fishery resources and on the impact of fishing activity in the marine environment, and to improve the implementation of sectoral support funding in order to enable a more exact assessment of the impact of the agreement on the marine ecosystem, fishing resources and local communities, including its social and economic impact;

11.

Considers that, in the light of the possible closure of or placing of restrictions on fisheries, local fishing needs should be addressed first, on the basis of sound scientific advice, in order to ensure that resources are sustainable;

12.

Calls on the Commission and the Cape Verdean authorities to improve data collection on and the monitoring of stocks in the context of overfishing, with a particular focus on sharks;

13.

Calls on the Commission and the Member States, in their cooperation and official development assistance policies centring on Cape Verde, to bear in mind that the European Development Fund and the sectoral support laid down in this SFPA should complement each other in order to contribute to the strengthening of the local fisheries sector and to ensure that the country has full sovereignty over its own resources; calls on the Commission to facilitate, through the European Development Fund and other relevant instruments, the necessary steps for the provision of infrastructure which, by reason of its scale and cost, cannot be built solely by means of sectoral support within the framework of the SFPA, for example fishing ports (both industrial and artisanal);

14.

Supports the need to increase the contribution of the SFPA to the local creation of direct and indirect jobs, either on vessels operating under the SFPA or in fishing activities, both upstream and downstream; considers that the Member States can play a key role and an active part in capacity-building and training efforts to this end;

15.

Calls on the Commission and the Member States to further strengthen their cooperation with Cape Verde, to evaluate possibilities for enhancing future development assistance, primarily under the new Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI) proposed as part of the EU’s budget for 2021-2027, and particularly taking into account the good use of EU funds in Cape Verde and the country’s political stability in a complex geopolitical context, which must be supported and rewarded;

16.

Calls on the Commission to urge the Republic of Cape Verde to use the financial contribution provided by the Protocol to strengthen its national fisheries industry in the long term, encourage demand for local investment and industrial projects, and encourage the growth of a sustainable blue economy, thereby creating local jobs and boosting the attractiveness of fishing activities to young generations;

17.

Calls on the Commission to send to Parliament and make publicly available the minutes and conclusions of the meetings of the Joint Committee provided for in Article 9 of the agreement and the findings of the annual evaluations; calls on the Commission to enable representatives of Parliament to attend Joint Committee meetings as observers and to encourage the participation of Cape Verdean fishing communities and associated stakeholders;

18.

Considers that information should be compiled on the benefits that implementation of the Protocol brings to local economies (employment, infrastructure, social improvements);

19.

Calls on the Commission and the Council, acting within the limits of their powers, to keep Parliament immediately and fully informed at every stage of the procedures relating to the Protocol and, if applicable, of its renewal, pursuant to Article 13(2) of the Treaty on European Union and Article 218(10) of the TFEU;

20.

Draws the attention of the Commission, and particularly the Council, to the fact that persisting in proceeding with the provisional application of international agreements before Parliament has given its consent is not compatible with the guiding principles of the Interinstitutional Agreement on Better Law-Making, that this practice greatly diminishes Parliament’s status as the only directly democratically elected EU institution, and that it also damages the democratic credentials of the EU as a whole;

21.

Calls on the Commission to better integrate the recommendations made in the EU-Cape Verde SFPA and to take them into account, for instance, in the procedures for the renewal of the Protocol;

22.

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, and the Government and Parliament of the Republic of Cape Verde.

(1) Texts adopted, P9_TA(2020)0134.

(2) OJ L 354, 28.12.2013, p. 22.

(3) OJ C 58, 15.2.2018, p. 93.