Activities of Norbert ERDŐS related to 2017/2118(INI)
Plenary speeches (2)
Towards a sustainable and competitive European aquaculture sector (A8-0186/2018 - Carlos Iturgaiz) HU
Towards a sustainable and competitive European aquaculture sector (short presentation) HU
Amendments (20)
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the aquaculture sector, comprising marine and freshwater fish farming, is an innovative, potentially high-technology economic sector requiring intensive structural and research investment and long-term operational and financial planning;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas the most complex procedures are those related to environmental requirements (impact studies and surveillance procedures), but, paradoxically, the slowness and complexity of these administrative procedures do not ensure environmental protection, indeed on the contrary sometimes making it difficult to establish sustainable aquaculture farms; whereas there are more differences than similarities between freshwater and marine aquaculture; whereas this sector requires completely different practices in terms of maintaining stocks, feeding and reproduction; whereas the necessary consideration must be given to these differences when drawing up regulations for EU aquaculture and, in particular, sustainable environmental standards;
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J
Recital J
J. whereas the EU environmental legislation is based on directives (the Marine Strategy Directive, the Birds and Habitats Directives, the Water Framework Directive), and it is therefore left to Member States and to local and regional administrations to apply it at their discretion; whereas, consequently, there is no uniform implementation throughout the EU and this leads to legal uncertainty for enterprises and farms; whereas discrepancies in the nature of marine and freshwater aquaculture call for different rules on environmental sustainability;
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J a (new)
Recital J a (new)
Ja. whereas freshwater and marine quotas and over-fishing mean that increased catch volumes will not be possible, so that future increases in demand will have to be met by aquaculture;
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J b (new)
Recital J b (new)
Jb. whereas the agro-ecological impact and balance of extensive polycultural carp farms and other, similar recirculating fish farms, where feeding is based largely on grain and which are widespread in many Member States, including landlocked countries such as Austria, Luxembourg, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, is clearly positive, since they provide significant environmental and ecosystem services and are important from the point of view of environmental protection, as well as maintaining habitats of Europe-wide importance; whereas, allowing for the risk of evaporation and seepage - the extent of which is balanced by the surrounding natural water bodies - these kinds of farms restore the water they use, generally in a better condition than before they used it; whereas in less active periods for fish farming, replenished fish ponds are a place to relax and feed and a breeding site for migrant and migratory birds and for domestic fauna living beside water; in addition, they reduce the strain on drainage systems which are full of excess inland water in the winter months, stabilise water levels in the subsoil and have a positive effect on plant-life living at the water's edge;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J c (new)
Recital J c (new)
Jc. whereas, in light of the above, acknowledges that this kind of freshwater fish farm also qualifies as an environmental protection service safeguarding the quality and quantity of water and deserves far more recognition and support from EU decision-makers than is currently the case;
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L a (new)
Recital L a (new)
La. whereas fish production combined with sustainable water management is extremely important both socially and in terms of job creation in small rural areas; whereas the specific nature of pond production makes it suitable for employing low-qualified and disadvantaged workers;
Amendment 142 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital AB a (new)
Recital AB a (new)
ABa. whereas the approximately EUR 1 280 million available in the current (2014-2020) programming period is not sufficient to develop the European aquaculture sector, and roughly one-and- a-half times as much in EU funding would be needed;
Amendment 145 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital AB b (new)
Recital AB b (new)
ABb. whereas freshwater aquaculture accounts for 20% of the performance of the sector in Europe as a whole, and EU support should match this proportion; whereas the divergent nature of freshwater aquaculture means that it needs special rules and a separate chapter in the legislation on the EU's common fisheries policy;
Amendment 148 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital AB c (new)
Recital AB c (new)
ABc. whereas freshwater aquaculture projects can also be carried out with ex- post financing, and whereas this often requires disproportionate effort from investors, with the result that in many cases, fish farmers do not dare to embark on projects; whereas the intensity of support is in most cases inadequate;
Amendment 150 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital AB d (new)
Recital AB d (new)
ABd. whereas in addition to development funds available through tendering, which are difficult to access, the aquaculture sector also needs secure income on a normative basis - a kind of direct payment which it would receive for its significant, permanently-available environmental-protection services: safeguarding and increasing biological diversity, landscape protection and maintenance; whereas this would be a kind of 'aquaculture greening', which might be termed 'marine aquaculture greening' in the case of marine fisheries and 'fish-pond greening' in the case of freshwater aquaculture;
Amendment 152 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Stresses the need to boost the development of and innovation in EU aquaculture, to improve the competitiveness of the sectorincluding both marine and freshwater sectors, to improve the competitiveness of the sector, to improve the EU's aquaculture production so that within 5 years it will approach the 3-5% annual global aquaculture growth target, to foster economic activity and diversification, to increase the sector’s contribution to food and nutrition security for EU citizens, and to improve the quality of life in coastal and inland areas;
Amendment 183 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Stresses that any sustainable European aquaculture policy must take account of the characteristics and different needs and challenges of the various types of aquaculture production (saltwater fish, freshwater fish, molluscs, crustaceans, seaweed and echinoderms), and develop tailor-made measures that also account for geographic differences and the potential effects of climate change; therefore calls on the Commission to devote a separate chapter of the draft legislation on the common fisheries policy post 2020 to freshwater aquaculture and to set out individual rules tailored to the characteristics of each sector (this applies in particular to rules on environmental sustainability) for marine and freshwater aquaculture;
Amendment 219 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Suggests, with regard to the administrative system, the use of a ‘one- stop shop’, which would take on and exercise all responsibilities, allowing relevant documents to be submitted to a single administrative body; believes this would significantly improve the relationship between the end-user and the different levels of public administration; therefore calls on the Member States to introduce a one-stop shop for fish farmers as soon as possible;
Amendment 275 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
24a. Calls on the Commission, Parliament and the Council to introduce a direct payment to fish farmers on a normative basis in the common fisheries policy post 2020. This would be for the significant, permanently-available environmental-protection services such as safeguarding and increasing biological diversity, landscape protection and maintenance provided by the aquaculture sector. This normative support, provided annually, would compensate for the shortfall in income resulting from the ecological services provided and would also cover losses due to 'damage' caused by fish-eating birds and animals (e.g. cormorants, otters, etc.). We recommend naming this annual payment after the 'greening' of EU aquaculture, and the term would have two forms depending on geographical location: marine aquaculture greening and fish-pond greening.
Amendment 314 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31 a (new)
Paragraph 31 a (new)
31a. Calls on the Commission to set aside a suitable amount from the EU's promotional budget for promoting fish and other fisheries and aquaculture products. Believes that a wide-ranging marketing campaign based on common principles and covering all the Member States, set up as a collective measure and with 80-100% support intensity, should be launched in order to increase the awareness and acceptance of EU aquaculture products.
Amendment 343 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38 a (new)
Paragraph 38 a (new)
38a. Calls on the Commission, Parliament and the Council to assign in the post-2020 fisheries policy at least the amount of EUR 1 280 million available in the current programming period to support aquaculture and indeed, if there is room for manoeuvre in the EU budget, to increase this amount. Also asks for at least one fifth of this amount to be made available to support freshwater aquaculture, as the performance of this sector is one fifth that of aquaculture in Europe as a whole;
Amendment 345 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38 b (new)
Paragraph 38 b (new)
38b. Calls on the Commission, Parliament and the Council to increase the support intensity of investment support for freshwater aquaculture to 75% in the post-2020 fisheries policy in order to boost the desire to invest and to provide much-needed help to fish farmers; calls in addition on the Commission to draw up, together with the European Investment Bank, an EU-level interest-rate support scheme for investing in aquaculture and financing liquid assets;
Amendment 346 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38 c (new)
Paragraph 38 c (new)
38c. Calls on the Commission, Parliament and the Council to ensure the payment of production-linked support for the first 3 years of operation of new aquaculture facilities in the post-2020 fisheries policy;
Amendment 347 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38 d (new)
Paragraph 38 d (new)
38d. Proposes also increasing EU support in the future for Research+Development+Innovation linked to aquaculture, with particular regard to areas affecting economic sustainability and international competitiveness such as energy- and resource-efficiency, the development of biological materials funding, reducing the burden on the environment, providing higher-level environmental services, etc.