Meeting of the EU fisheries ministers - Main results
Bibliothèque Solvay - Bruxelles
© Xavier Remongin / Min.Agri.Fr
- On: 29.09.2008
- In: Brussels
In line with the formal meeting of the Fisheries Council on Monday 29 September in Brussels, the French Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries, Michel Barnier, held a morning meeting with his European counterparts and the European Commission for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Joe Borg, and the chairman of the European Parliament's Committee on Fisheries, Philippe Morillon, to take stock of the current common fisheries policy (CFP) and prepare its reform. In particular, this involved debating issues linked to resource conservation and fleet management, but also discussing the way the sector is governed.
In his introductory speech, Barnier recalled the fundamental principles of the current CFP, foremost of which is equal access for community fishermen to community waters and resources. The minister also opened a debate on the objectives of this common policy, asking how best to arbitrate and prioritise the biological, environmental, economic and social elements, before evoking the developments that could be made by the sector management tools.
The discussion between the 27 allowed the identification of some broad guidelines:
- All the Member States reiterated their attachment to the fundamental principles of the CFP, which are equal access to community waters and the regime of 6/12 miles, which allows the preservation of the activities of the coastal fishermen of a Member State.
- It was generally considered that the results of the CFP had not been fully satisfactory to date and significant improvements were suggested to enhance the dialogue between fishermen and scientists, to make the CFP simpler and more transparent and to bring this policy more into line with the environmental and maritime policies.
- In the main, the ministers reaffirmed the central role of the TACs (total allowable catches) and quotas, indicating their attachment to the relative stability of their distribution. The creation of an individual quota market at European level remained a very controversial idea.
- Several participants emphasised the difficulties caused by the current system with regard to safety and energy conservation and called for these to be examined at a more technical level.
This first constructive debate on the future reform of the CFP should now be continued to respond to the expectations of the sector and of civil society in the aim of ensuring more sustainable fishing activities, both from an environmental and an economic and social perspective.
Meeting of the EU fisheries ministers (Announcement)
Video – Meeting of the EU fisheries ministers
- Updated: 12.11.2008
