92002E1697

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1697/02

by Ilda Figueiredo (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(12 June 2002)

Subject: Compensation for fishermen and ship-owners in the event of temporary cessation of activities

Small-scale coastal fishing is of great socio-economic importance for the fishing communities dependent on it. Periods of temporary cessation of activity, for example because of biological rest periods, call for due compensation. In the case of Portugal, storms and poor sea conditions during long periods in winter are of particular significance, as are biological rest periods, particularly for sardines in the North, and fishing for bivalves using dredges in the Algarve.

Commissioner Fischler, in his answer to Written Question E-1648/01(1) of 12 June 2001, said that there is provision for such compensation in Community legislation and it may be granted to Member States, in accordance with the criteria specified in Regulation (EC) No 2792/1999(2) of 17 December 1999 laying down the detailed rules and arrangements regarding Community structural assistance in the fisheries sector. However, this fact, albeit positive, does not in itself ensure the implementation of this measure in the various Member States of the European Union.

In view of this, can the Commission say whether, in the context of the revision of the common fisheries policy, it intends to introduce a system of Community aid to compensate fishermen and ship-owners in the event of temporary cessation of activities, to be financed or cofinanced by the Community budget?

(1) OJ C 364 E, 20.12.2001, p. 167.

(2) OJ L 337, 30.12.1999, p. 10.

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(8 July 2002)

Article 16 (Temporary cessation of activities and other financial compensation) of Council Regulation (EC) No 2792/1999 of 17 December 1999 laying down the detailed rules and arrangements regarding Community structural assistance in the fisheries sector provides for compensation to be paid where fishing activities are stopped temporarily.

As part of the reform of the common fisheries policy, the draft Council Regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 2792/1999 contains a number of changes to Article 16, including the extension from two to three months of the period for which compensation may be granted in the event of unforeseen circumstances arising in particular from biological causes.

Where the Council adopts a multiannual management plan or the Commission or one or more Member States adopt emergency measures, the limits set for the period 2000-2006 of EUR 1 million or 4 % of the financial contribution from the Community awarded to the industry in the Member State in question may be exceeded, provided the measure includes a decommissioning programme for the withdrawal, in the two-year period following adoption of the measure, of a certain number of fishing vessels with a fishing effort at least equivalent to that of vessels whose fishing activities are suspended as a result of the plan or emergency measure.