Activities of Carmen FRAGA ESTÉVEZ related to 2009/2106(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Green Paper on reform of the common fisheries policy (debate)
Amendments (48)
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
Fa. whereas fisheries is one of the predominant activities that use the sea and its resources and should thus be considered a key part of IMP management,
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)
Recital I a (new)
Ia. whereas this new reform of the CFP should already constitute a better alignment of fisheries policy with the single market rules,
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J a (new)
Recital J a (new)
Ja. whereas the conservation and management policy has been the greatest failure of the CFP and has not been amended or updated since its creation, and whereas it is therefore necessary to focus on designing a new fisheries conservation and management model,
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J b (new)
Recital J b (new)
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M a (new)
Recital M a (new)
Ma. whereas small-scale fleets and those of a larger-scale industrial nature have very different characteristics and problems that cannot be fitted into a uniform model and thus have to be treated differently,
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital P a (new)
Recital P a (new)
Pa. whereas the CFP's external policy is essential to guarantee supplies to industry and consumers since over one-third of Community production comes from international fishing grounds and waters belonging to the EEZs of third countries,
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital Q a (new)
Recital Q a (new)
Qa. whereas many of the jobs in the fisheries sector are currently being filled by workers from third countries, as this work is becoming less and less attractive for young people in the Community,
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital R a (new)
Recital R a (new)
Ra. whereas the sharp decline in the prices for most fish species in recent years has had a very negative impact on producers' incomes whilst these producers have, at the same time, seen increases in their production costs that they cannot pass on in the initial sales price,
Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital R b (new)
Recital R b (new)
Rb. whereas the shift in the market structures for fisheries products and the move away from an acceptable balance between producers and buyers to a situation that may increasingly be seen as an oligopoly by the latter, as a result of the concentration of distribution and purchasing chains;
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital R c (new)
Recital R c (new)
Rc. whereas many of the exports by third countries are creating a serious problem for the competitiveness of the Community sector, as they do not comply with the standards and control systems that apply to Community producers and consumers and the increase in production costs that these entail,
Amendment 92 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital R d (new)
Recital R d (new)
Rd. whereas this situation of falling prices also does not benefit the consumer in the longer term,
Amendment 104 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Reiterates that the main objective of the CFP should be to guarantee the future of both fisheries resources and of fishermen, through the recovery of fish populations and restoring the economic viability of the sector;
Amendment 131 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Emphasises that, with the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, Parliament willis no longer be merely a consultation body but willhas become a co-legislator in the fisheries sector, sharing decision-making power with the Council;
Amendment 137 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
Amendment 181 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Supports differentiated treatment for the deep-sea fisheries sectors and those whose structure and business capabilities are more on a par with other economic activities, and for smaller-scale fisheries with closer links to coastal areas and specific markets, a lower unit production volume and different cost and employment structures;
Amendment 182 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Urges the Commission to conduct a detailed and exhaustive survey on the size, characteristics, and spread of the current Community fleet, since this is essential in order to establish a regime whereby the small-scale fleet would be treated differently from the large-scale fleet, each category being defined according to sound criteria; Supports the drafting of a new definition of small-scale fisheries and of the more flexible criteria upon which this definition should be based so that this is better adapted to the diverse nature of Community fisheries; to that end, urges the Commission to conduct a detailed and exhaustive survey on the size, characteristics, and spread of the current Community fleet, each category being defined according to sound criteria, so that there can be no discrimination between similar fleets or between fleets from different Member States operating in the same waters;
Amendment 199 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Points to the need for greater investment in research and scientific knowledge in the fisheries field, and for the fisheries sector to be dovetailed more effectively into the subject areas covered by the framework programmes to promote research; emphasises that the new ecosystem approach will involve multidisciplinary research;
Amendment 210 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. MaPointains that the exploitation of fish stocks has to be based on the principle of maximum sustainable yields out that the reform of the CFP should take account of the fact that the EU has decided that the exploitation of fish stocks should be managed by means of the objective of maximum sustainable yield, but stresses that this should be reconciled with a multi-species approach that takes into consideration the situation regarding all the species involved in a fishery and avoids the current approach of applying MSY stock by stock; reiterates that this multi-species approach combined with fishing effort control would avoid discards;
Amendment 229 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Urges the Commission to draw up a specific Community support programme fs to support small-scale coastal and non- industrial fisheries in order to help these fleets overcome their traditional structural difficulties by taking greater advantage of the opportunities afforded by the EFF, many of whose measures are already aimed exclusively at small and medium- sized concerns, and by specifically helping them to gain greater access to markets and enhance the value of their products;
Amendment 238 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
24a. Emphasises that professional qualifications are a key factor both in improving productivity and raising wages; points out that skilled jobs are a feature of technologically advanced businesses and imply better remuneration, better knowledge of standards (and thus a greater likelihood of complying with them) and a better understanding of, and respect for, the interaction between fishing and ecosystems;
Amendment 297 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32
Paragraph 32
32. Urges the Commission to carefully explore the possibility of adopting new fisheriesConsiders that there are fisheries conservation and management mechanismodels, as opposed to the TAC and quota system, for example fishing effort management and the use of transferable individual fishing rights, since such arrangements would enable the fleet to be adapted in a more flexible way, in line with the actual diversity and distribution of stocks, and could be supported by structural implementing measures, without neglecting the more vulnerable small-scale sectorhave proven to be very effective in reducing capacity; considers that voluntary schemes should be introduced for the use of transferable fishing rights for industrial fleets and any other segments that may be considered appropriate for this model, and that safeguard clauses should be included to guard against any possible excessive concentration of rights;
Amendment 307 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32 a (new)
Paragraph 32 a (new)
32a. Considers that any change in the management model should include a transitional application period exclusively within each Member State, in order to avoid any sudden changes and to assess the results before extending their application to Community level;
Amendment 308 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32 b (new)
Paragraph 32 b (new)
32b. Also considers that any new management model should build on the existing arrangements based on relative stability, but sees it as inevitable that the future CFP will have to recognise the current situation regarding the use of quotas, giving the system sufficient flexibility to stop hampering the economic effectiveness and profitability of investments,
Amendment 319 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33
Paragraph 33
33. Maintains that Regional Advisory Councils (RACs) and the Community Fisheries Control Agency should participate more actively inboth during and after the CFP reform process and be placed in a position, logistically and financially, to exercise their updated responsibilities effectively and to the full;
Amendment 327 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34
Paragraph 34
34. Maintains that regional umbrella organisations, staffed by representatives of the Member States, the sector, other stakeholders, and the scientific community, should set up to exercise management decision-making power and that the RACs, playing their advisory role, should be merged with them; believes that these bodies, working in conjuncRecalls that governance of the CFP directly involves not only the RACs but also the national and regional administrations, and that all these bodies can play a key role in policy decentralisation and regionalisation, but stresses that administrative simplification, w should remake for genuine and eff objective decentralisation of management, in keeping withof the CFP, and so insists that the Treaty and without undermining the general aims and principles laid down by the Community legislaturform should avoid any overlapping and not lead to new superstructures or more red tape;
Amendment 336 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34 a (new)
Paragraph 34 a (new)
34a. Emphasises that for a control system to function properly, there have to be guarantees that it is applied uniformly and without discrimination;
Amendment 337 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34 b (new)
Paragraph 34 b (new)
34b. Takes the view that the CFP control policy should take the following into account: - more direct control by the European Commission, making maximum use of the possibilities offered by the creation of the Fisheries Control Agency, - legislative simplification through the adoption of standards that are best adapted to achieving the objectives, - application of the principle that the party that breaches legislation must repair the damage done to other operators, and - a bottom-up decision-making process, which will facilitate the implementation of the control system;
Amendment 338 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34 c (new)
Paragraph 34 c (new)
34c. Believes that the current catch control system should be replaced by controls on the fishing effort because this is much simpler and will help eliminate discards;
Amendment 348 #
Motion for a resolution
Title after Paragraph 35 (new)
Title after Paragraph 35 (new)
Management of Community fishing fleets
Amendment 349 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35 a (new)
Paragraph 35 a (new)
Amendment 350 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35 b (new)
Paragraph 35 b (new)
35b. Reiterates the importance of adjusting the capacity of the fishing fleet to the resources available, but stresses that the Commission and Member States should quantify the actual excess capacity, identifying which fleets are too large in relation to their current fishing opportunities;
Amendment 351 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35 c (new)
Paragraph 35 c (new)
35c. Is in favour of setting up a Scrapping Fund as an effective and short-term solution to the problems of overcapacity, with rules to avoid its use being blocked by the Member States;
Amendment 352 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35 d (new)
Paragraph 35 d (new)
35d. Considers that the fishing fleet should be capable in the longer term of financing itself and remaining competitive in a liberalised fisheries products market, but stresses that this can only happen under a CFP whose fisheries management model facilitates the profitability of companies;
Amendment 389 #
Motion for a resolution
Title before Paragraph 41
Title before Paragraph 41
External relations and Community integration
Amendment 393 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 41 a (new)
Paragraph 41 a (new)
Amendment 398 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 43
Paragraph 43
43. MaintainConsiders that newfuture fisheries agreements with third countries should be encouraged in order to affpartnership agreements should retain a special form of trade agreement for fisheries and investment in the fisheries sector, within a legal framewordk the Community fleet easier access to new fishing groundsat guarantees Community investment at the same level as foreign investment in the EU, without excluding the development cooperation dimension;
Amendment 403 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 43 a (new)
Paragraph 43 a (new)
43a. Calls, in addition, for the financial compensation in the fisheries partnership agreements to make a clear distinction between the part relating to the commercial component and that relating to fisheries development cooperation with third countries, in the interests of greater budgetary transparency;
Amendment 408 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 44 a (new)
Paragraph 44 a (new)
44a. Is convinced that the fisheries partnership agreements should be negotiated on a sound scientific basis and understands that other necessary progress should require the inclusion of all technical measures in the negotiating process and substantial improvements in the mechanisms for implementing the provisions contained in the agreement;
Amendment 409 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 44 b (new)
Paragraph 44 b (new)
44b. Calls for the sector affected to be consulted during the negotiating process and for the Long Distance RAC to participate as an observer in the joint committees provided for in the agreements;
Amendment 410 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 44 c (new)
Paragraph 44 c (new)
44c. Considers that the growing complexity of the situation, the need for a more effective follow-up to the agreements and the increasing number of tasks involved in proper participation in the RFOs call for an increase in DG MARE's human and material resources, and that the possible decentralisation of executive management to the Member States should be investigated;
Amendment 411 #
Motion for a resolution
Title before Paragraph 45 (new)
Title before Paragraph 45 (new)
Integrated Maritime Policy
Amendment 413 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 45 a (new)
Paragraph 45 a (new)
45a. Considers it a good decision for the European Commission to have made the IMP one of its priorities, and emphasises that the new ecosystem approach establishes a direct priority link between the CFP and this IMP;
Amendment 415 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 45 b (new)
Paragraph 45 b (new)
45b. States that fishing is one of the economic activities that has the greatest impact on ecosystems in that it obtains significant resources from these, and that it is the one most affected by the actions of other activities in these ecosystems, such as tourism, maritime transport, coastal urban development, etc.;
Amendment 418 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47
Paragraph 47
47. Maintains that proper European maritime spatial planning needs to be systematically implemented, taking into account and safeguarding fishing interests, without altering the current arrangements for exclusive use of the 6- 12 nautical milwith the aim of establishing biogeographical zones in order to protect the most sensitive marine ecoastal band or the specific status of the ORs, and seeking to establish biogeographical zones in order to protect the most sensitisystems; points out, in this respect, that small-scale fisheries, marine aquaculture and shellfishing are mainly conducted in the most vulnerable ecosystems close to the coast, which means that the interaction is even marine ecosystemsore direct and immediate;
Amendment 420 #
Motion for a resolution
Title after Paragraph 47 (new)
Title after Paragraph 47 (new)
Markets policy
Amendment 421 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47 a (new)
Paragraph 47 a (new)
47a. Echoes the complaints voiced by the sector because the reform of the COM in fisheries and aquaculture products has been linked to the process of reforming the CFP, as opposed to what happened with the fisheries control policy, which will probably mean having to wait until 2013 before Community producers have a new framework to help them enhance the profitability of their activity; hopes that the Commission Communication on the future of the current COM will be presented without further delay;
Amendment 422 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47 b (new)
Paragraph 47 b (new)
47b. Calls, in addition, for the compilation of a study providing a detailed analysis of the general situation concerning the concentration of demand in the fisheries products market, in order to check for the existence of market strategies that might breach competition rules and push down the prices for most species;
Amendment 423 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47 c (new)
Paragraph 47 c (new)
47c. Asks, at the same time, that in its future recovery and management plans, the Commission analyze the possible impact and repercussions of reducing catches on the European market and the subsequent import of substitutes from third countries to make up for market shortages;