51995PC0055

Proposal for a Council Regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 3699/93 laying down the criteria and arrangements regarding Community structural assistance in the fisheries and aquaculture sector and the processing and marketing of its products

(95/C 85/03)

COM(95) 55 final - 95/0058(CNS)

(Submitted by the Commission on 22 March 1995)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 43 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament,

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee,

Whereas Council Regulation (EC) No 3699/93 (1) lays down the criteria and arrangements regarding Community structural assistance in the fisheries and aquaculture sector and the processing and marketing of its products;

Whereas the fishing industry is now undergoing far-reaching changes in the context of a serious crisis; whereas the necessary adjustments to the industry entailed by the application of the common fisheries policy as laid down in Council Regulation (EEC) No 3760/92 of 20 December 1992 establishing a Community system for fisheries and aquaculture (2) are creating a need for an extensive range of accompanying measures of a socio-economic nature;

Whereas a range of socio-economic accompanying measures to assist enterprises and individuals in the fishing industry as well as areas dependent on fishing is already available at Community level in the general context of the Structural Funds;

Whereas these measures are not, however, sufficient to prevent the fishing industry from losing dynamic and skilled members through the reduction of fishing capacity; whereas appropriate measures should therefore be implemented at Community level, in particular to assist the oldest fishermen;

Whereas the social partners have been consulted pursuant to Article 3 of the agreement annexed to the Protocol on social policy,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EC) No 3699/93 is hereby amended as follows:

1. The following Article 14a is inserted after Article 14:

'Article 14a

Measures of a socio-economic nature

1. The Member States may take measures of a socio-economic nature associated with restructuring of the Community fisheries sector within the meaning of Article 11 of Regulation (EEC) No 3760/92.

2. Financial assistance from the FIFG may only be granted for the following measures;

(a) part-financing of national early-retirement schemes for fishermen, and then only if the following conditions are fulfilled:

- at the moment of permanent cessation of the fishing activites of the vessel, the age of the beneficiaries of the measure shall be not more than 10 years from the legal retirement age for the purposes of the legislation in force in the Member State,

- the beneficiaries can justify their claim with at least 10 years' active employment as a fisherman.

However, no financial assistance may be granted from the FIFG for any pension contributions paid out in anticipation of the normal age of retirement.

In each Member State, for the entire programming period within the meaning of Article 3, the number of beneficiaries may not exceed the number of jobs eliminated on board fishing vessels as a result of those vessels' permanently stopping fishing activities within the meaning of Article 8 (2), or because of the permanent transfer of vessels to a third country in the context of the creation of a joint enterprise within the meaning of Article 9 (3);

(b) granting individual compensatory payments to fishermen, on the basis of an eligible cost limited to ECU 7 000 per individual beneficiary, provided the vessel on which the beneficiaries were employed has been the object of measures to permanently stop its activities within the meaning of Article 8 (2), or to permanently transfer it to a third country in the context of the creation of a joint enterprise within the meaning of Article 9 (3);

(c) aid for the establishment of bad-weather unemployment funds and mechanisms for the financial compensation of fishermen when the market value of products landed fluctuates sharply, in the form of a flat-rate non-refundable advance and on the basis of an eligible cost limited to the amount of contributions called up in the first year of operation. There shall, however, be no FIFG contribution towards operating such funds and mechanisms.

3. The Member States shall adopt the necessary provisions to forbid any one fisherman accumulating benefits from more than one of the measures referred to in paragraph 2 (a) and (b). They shall also make the necessary arrangements to ensure that the beneficiaries of the measure referred to in paragraph 2 (a) permanently give up work as fishermen and that the compensation referred to in paragraph 2 (b) is refunded on a pro rata temporis basis where the beneficiaries return to their work as fishermen within a period of less than six months after the decision to grant them the compensation.`

2. In Annex IV, paragraph 2.1, the text of the 'Group 2` indent shall be supplemented as follows: 'including the measures referred to in Article 14a (2), point (c).`

3. In Annex IV, paragraph 2.2, the text of the 'Group 2` indent shall be supplemented as follows: 'including the measures referred to in Article 14a (2), points (a) and (b).`

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on . . .

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

(1) OJ No L 346, 31. 12. 1993, p. 1.

(2) OJ No L 389, 31. 12. 1992, p. 1.